Medicinal Love

Chapter 4 Part B

Author's Note: Part two of chapter 4! Beta'ed by The Scarlet Sky.

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Part 2

"What's taking you guys so long?" Jack walked over to where they were, Elli by his side.

One last quick glare was thrown at Trent before Claire smiled sweetly at the approaching pair. "Sorry that we made you guys wait. An annoying animal stopped us and I got distracted by it."

There was a boyish smile from Jack, his eyes holding a slight spark. "Don't sweat about it, Claire. I've already set things up at the site. Shall we go?" He half-bowed to Claire, a hand extended to her.

Amused by the exaggerated chivalry, Claire went along with Jack's little game. She took his hand and he straightened up. Trent watched as those two walked away laughing. He was put off at how Jack was behaving toward Claire, even more so with Claire's behavior toward Jack. A long sigh came from the right. Elli was looking at the couple with jealously and wistfulness. "Don't you think they'll make a cute couple?"

When he heard that, Trent wanted to snort in disbelief, but thought that would be too out of character for Elli. "With her in a relationship, who knows what catastrophe she might incur." Apparently, Elli had not heard what he'd said, for she looked at him rather curiously. He continued to stare off into the distance. Timidly, Elli pulled his sleeve, catching his attention. "What?" Surprised at the pull, Trent looked at Elli questioningly. "Oh, right. We should hurry before it's too late."

--

The sky was devoid of any roaming clouds. There was stillness everywhere; only the sounds of small-talk made some indication that they were not alone. The temperature had gone down to an enjoyable coolness. On their right, there was another couple sitting on the blanket. It was Elli and Trent, Claire noticed.

"Nice view, don't you think?" Hands behind him, Jack leaned backwards. When Claire said 'yes' to his invitation, he was more than pleased. Claire was fun to hang around with and, being someone that came from a city, there were many things that they could talk about, something he couldn't do with the other girls in this town.

There was no doubt about it, Claire concluded as she gazed the moon. "Reallll nice Jack. So much nicer than the one back home." Stars twinkled back and forth. There was a parade of them. "The air pollution is so much better here…." Claire trailed off as she reminisced the smog that would form a thick layer in the sky. Her hand grabbed one of the moon dumplings that Jack had prepared for. Hadn't he said something about how it was tradition to bring moon dumplings during the Harvest Moon event?

"Mmm. Yeah it does. One of the better qualities about Mineral Town," Jack flicked some dust off the palm of his hand.

Awkward silence wedged between them. It was as if, subconsciously, both of them knew that there should be something more to this moon-gazing. Uneasy at the sudden high level tension, Claire spoke. "How long is this event anyway, Jack?"

"The whole night." A teasing grin appeared on Jack's face. "Why? Bored already?" He lowered his voice, making it sound all husky. "If you want, we could do a bit of our own fun." Jack raised his eyebrows suggestively.

Whatever mood Claire was in was immediately destroyed by Jack's 'playfulness'. She looked at him with aversion. Truthfully, she does not know whether Jack was playing around with her or not. But she did not want to stay and find out. She scoffed at him as she stood up, arms crossed. "Despicable, Jack. Find someone else to have 'a bit of fun' with."

Realizing his mistake, Jack tried to grab one of Claire's wrists but missed as she pulled it back closer to her body. Without taking one last glance at him, Claire promptly left, not knowing that the couple nearest to them had witnessed the scene.

Claire stood at the bottom of the mountain. When she had left, she had not heard Jack following her. Feeling that it was safe enough, Claire slowed her pace down quite a bit. Claire stopped. "I'm…still…not…used to this much." She heaved her lungs. "Exercise." She leaned back against the mountain wall.

"Claire!"

'Elli?' Claire was curious as to why Elli was down here instead of up there with…him.

Elli, lifting her skirt so that she would not step on it as she ran, looked rather worriedly. She managed to reach to Claire, a red hue covering both her cheeks. "Are you alright?" Elli placed a hand on Claire's shoulder, hoping that would offer some sort of comfort for the poor girl. "Did Jack hurt you?"

Another set of footsteps appeared. Claire glanced over Elli to see who it was. 'It can't be him…can it?' Claire questioned herself, but knew deep down that there could be no other answer. Who else came with Elli? No one but Trent.

Claire's mind went back to pay attention to Elli. She gave her a relaxing smile. "He didn't hurt me at all Elli." Claire gently took Elli's hand off her shoulder. Even though Claire had a hunch that Elli was the motherly type, she was still touched that Elli had shown consideration for her.

"So the date went sour?" Trent appeared in front of the women, smug about something that Claire would not find out until later—much later.

The corners of her lip dropped deeply. "How many times do I have to say this? It. Was. Not. A. Date." Accentuating each word filled with venom and annoyance. "Got that? It was just two friends having a good time watching the moon."

A small noise was made.

Claire looked at Trent. There was an unreadable expression on her face. "Did you just snort at that?!" A bit of disbelief laced her voice.

Tim scoffed. "As if I'd do such a thing." Dark eyes penetrated blue eyes.

Forgotten by the two, Elli placed her input. "He's right, Claire. It's not like the doctor to snort."

'Makes me wonder how much of Trent she sees,' Claire thought, as she looked puzzled at Elli's statement. Deciding to tease Elli, Claire leaned in close so that only she could hear her. "Ah, but right now he's not doctor. Right now…he's human." Leaning back to her original posture, Claire continued, "Just like the rest of us."

Before Elli could protest, Claire cut her off. With her hands behind her head, Claire moved away from the pair. "Well, thanks for checking to see how I am. But tonight's the Harvest Moon festival, and I feel pretty bad taking that time away from you guys. Have fun, you two!" Saying the last sentence panged Claire, but she did not know why. She just knew it did. So lost in her thoughts as she crossed over the bridge, she failed to notice someone following her.

Claire shrieked as a hand grabbed her arm. She whirled around, clenching her fist as she aimed to attack the prowler. A loud crack echoed the atmosphere. Claire gasped as the figure bowled over. She did not know whether to apologize like crazy or to self-indulge in her accomplishment when she saw whom she had punched. Claire sighed, resolved. Crouching down next to the figure, she gently tilted his chin to look at the damage she had inflicted. "It doesn't hurt that much, does it?"

He groaned when she touched the swollen cheek. "Do you do this to anyone who annoys you?"

"Be glad that I punched you on the cheek. There are other places that I can injure a great deal," Claire snapped at him. The cheek didn't look too swollen. Standing up, Claire crossed her arms "Besides, why are you down here," she spread her arms out to show the landscape that surrounded them, "instead of up there with Elli?"

Something flickered in his eyes when she mentioned Elli. Trent glanced sideways, as if he was avoiding Claire's stare. "A woman such as yourself," ('Albeit one very capable of defending herself,' Trent thought as he rubbed his injury), "shouldn't be walking alone this late."

Claire didn't know whether to be shocked or to laugh at the insanity of it all. "You know, I'd expect this coming from Jack, not you."

There was a slight twitch coming from Trent, but Claire wasn't too sure because even though there was a full moon, it was still too dark to clearly see anything. "The way you put it, Claire, you make it seem like I can never be charming."

Claire feigned shock when she heard the word 'charming.' "You? Charming? So there is a side of you that can be…sweet?"

Annoyed, Trent lost his refined coolness and snapped back. "Yes! Is it really that hard to imagine? I'm escorting you back whether you like it or not."

She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs when she heard his strong resolution for 'seeing her home.' "Listen, Trent, I can take perfectly good care of myself. You can go back to Elli and watch the moon with her. I don't need someone to accompany me." She stepped away from him and turned her back on him.

A hand roughly pulled her back. For the second time that night, Claire felt her body falling backwards. She watched, wide-eyed, as Trent held her—making sure she did not fall.

Ta-thump. Da-thump. Ta-thump.

'This shouldn't be any different than when Jack caught me,' Claire thought, confused by the sudden tempo of her heartbeat. Blood was pounding in her veins as she fought to ignore the pulse on her neck. 'But why…is it so different with him?' She looked deep into Trent's expression. It unnerved her. "Why…are you so adamant on this?" Claire asked breathlessly.

"I don't want to see you get hurt." Trent set her upright and brushed away a strand of hair that had fallen across her face.

When his fingers lightly skimmed over her forehead, her breathing hitched. A howl echoed throughout the woods, and Claire jumped away: from the noise and Trent's touch. "H—how?" Claire asked, confused as to why he would be so worried about her getting hurt. Crimes didn't exist in Mineral Town at all. The town was such a tight-knit community; everyone would know who committed what.

Seeing the nervous expression on Claire's face, Trent collected himself and reverted back to his usual 'prim and proper' self. "There are wild dogs that roam around the woods at night. You'll see them more in the fall than any other season. Which is why I should accompany you," he sighed. "I don't want to fix you up if you get injured."

That comment snapped Claire out of her unusual daze, her eyebrow twitching as she glared at Trent. "Oh, that's nice. Though if you walk me home and the wild dogs attack you, who's going to fix you up? In case you've forgotten, you're the only doctor around here."

Trent cocked an eyebrow. "I don't remember saying anything about shielding you." Truthfully, Trent would have protected Claire if any wild dogs had come. But she didn't need to know that. He watched as she sputtered around indignantly. 'Who knew she could place so many different emotions in her expression?'

Claire blew another strand of hair off her face. "Fine! If you want to follow me, go ahead. I don't care anymore." Turning her heels, she promptly walked away, hoping to create some sort of distance between herself and that joker. Trent stopped his inward chuckling and quickly followed her out of the hills.

--

They had crossed the Blue Moon farm and were now on their way to the town's square. Walking through the village was chilling for Claire. She felt uneasy, though that uneasiness came from the fact that she would be attacked by animals rather than people—something that was unlikely at her college or in any society in particular. The emptiness of the square only served to remind her of the fact that she was walking with Trent: just him and her.

The moon was steadily raising its peak, a fact that neither Claire nor Trent were aware of. Taking a swift left on the road to the Inn, Claire reminded Trent. "You can leave me now and go back to Elli. The inn's just right around the corner."

"My, my, so rude to the one person who's making sure you're safe. Aren't you a grateful person?" There was a slight smirk from Trent. "I'm not going back until I see you enter through those doors."

Claire counted to ten as she reminded herself to not do anything stupid after hearing the sarcasm dripping out of his mouth with the words "grateful person." 'Just get in so he can leave,' Claire assured herself, confident that she would not be spending any more time with him. 'I feel pretty bad for Elli….' Claire had heard rumors of how the nurse was infatuated with the local doctor, but was not reciprocated with his affections. 'Here I am taking some of that precious time away from Elli.' Knowing that made Claire feel like the other woman, even though Trent was not seeing anymore at the moment. Claire sighed.

Trent watched many emotions fly across Claire's features: one of annoyance, anger, contemplativeness, and finally, sadness. He was about to ask her what was wrong, but then he remembered that he had no place to ask her that. So he settled for something else. "The door is not going to open by itself, you know."

Surprised and confused, Claire's eyes strayed from Trent to her hand—that was centimeters away from the handle. She scowled. "I knew that! I was waiting for you to leave."

"I will once you enter."

Claire groaned in frustration. She grabbed on the handle firmly and tugged. The door would not budge. A couple more shakes later, Claire still found herself stranded outside the inn. 'No, no. This can't be happening to me!' Claire cried in her mind, but noticed there was a slight elevation of joy when she realized that she would spend more time with him. 'Why? Why does someone hate me?' She denied the possibility that such a positive feeling could exist at the mere thought of spending more time with the jerk.

It was near midnight. Two hours had passed by since Claire left Jack. "You're seriously going to wait with me until I'm safely inside, aren't you?" Tired eyes sought the usual posture of the doctor's as Trent nodded in agreement, arms crossed.

Confused by Trent's decision, Claire asked him, "Won't Elli mind?"

He waved it off as if it meant nothing to him. "She'll understand." Seeing how Claire was still unsure about the decision, he reassured her. "Elli's a kind and caring person. She wouldn't be a nurse if she didn't care about other people's welfare."

"You don't get it," Claire said to him, disbelief flickering across her face.

Trent scrunched up his face as he stared intently at Claire. "Get what?" She started to leave. "Where are you going?"

"Away from the idiocy of men," was her only answer as he watched her figure grow smaller with each step.

--

Waves gently treaded the shore as they teasingly touched the sands with their beckoning chill. Legs dangling off the pier, Claire spoke, "Why are you here?" without glancing to see who was there. It was a rhetorical question whose answer was known, but that was used to break the cold tension.

Trent sat down right next to her as he faced the ocean. "I told you already, didn't I? Must I repeat myself constantly for you?"

There was no answer from Claire. Nothing at all. She played with the hem of her shirt, and after a moment of hesitation, she began to speak. "…You win." As she said this, she was fervently looking at anything but the person next to her.

Watching her like that, Trent wanted to grin goofily but stopped before that could happen. Unbeknownst to him, a smile leaked. Claire took a sneaky glance at him to see whether he was smirking in his 'I knew it' expression or not. Instead, she saw a very different person. 'Who knew a smile could do so much.' Claire turned away before he noticed her staring at him. 'He…looks…' She could find no other words to describe him.

Her face flushed at the memory of his smile. 'Am I blushing?' Claire placed a hand on her cheek. It felt like she was blushing, but it was hard to tell because everything around her was cold, except for the body heat next to her. 'Oh no.' Sudden realization dawned on Claire as she recalled past feelings and signs that appeared whenever she was in the same approximately as Trent. 'No. No. I do not have a crush on him! I can't have a crush on him. This must be a fluke. Yes, a fluke. It's been so long that my heart must be ticking wrong.'

While Claire was struggling with her inner turmoil, Trent, on the other hand, was enjoying everything. The scenery, the girl sitting next to him, everything. In his opinion, this had been the best Harvest Moon event. With Elli, he noted, everything was dull. The same routine played repeatedly. He had not felt this relaxed in ages.

Trent watched as the moon reached its peak. He had lost track of time since they had been sitting at the pier. "Claire? It's getting cold. You can sleep…" He stopped as he saw Claire's head nodding up and down continuously. Eyes closed and mouth slightly opened, he watched her sleep. A small chuckle left his mouth. Tim stared at her; unconsciously, he pulled her toward him. An arm around her waist, he made sure she was comfortable before continuing gazing at the moon.

"So very different from last year's…," he muttered, tugging the body closer to him. Trent didn't even notice that the moon had gotten brighter.

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AN: How do you guys like that? Best scene in my opinion ^.^. Again I like to thank The Scarlet Sky for taking her time editing this.