Medicinal Love

Chapter 8

Date: Winter 03 Year 2

It was twilight. Light and dark. Dark and light. Neither here nor there. It was nothingness, and yet it wasn't. This was how Trent viewed himself as he sank into his black comfortable chair. The doctor's gear and lab coat were thrown aside in his private room; the first few buttons of his gray dress-shirt were left unbuttoned, and a palm rested on his thigh covered by black slacks. His mind floated back to conversations—gossiping, actually—currently circling around Mineral Town, and once again, wondered how he fit in its puzzle: neither here nor there, black nor white. Twilight.

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[/flashback]

"They make such a cute couple." Manna gushed to Anna.

"Yes," Anna replied as the two chattered at Mineral Square. "Rick and Claire have been spending more time together. I heard that a certain storekeeper's daughter is getting very jealous about the amount of time those two are wasting. Say, do you think they might get together?"

Manna ushered Anna to come closer, but her voice was still heard widely across the village. "Well, with the way things are going, we might even get a…marriage proposal!" She squealed.

"But Manna, don't you think that's jumping to conclusions rather fast?" Anna said, contemplative.

Manna waved the notion off. "Haven't you seen how those two act around each other? It's a sure sign that there's something between them. Why, not even Karen could bring out the side of Rick that Claire has brought forth."

They continued on with their gossip, not paying attention to how vocal they had become. They had forgotten the fact that their predictions could run wild in a small town such as this, but they were quite adamant that by the end of summer, there would be a new addition to the quaint village.

/end

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He couldn't get rid of that image…of them hugging each other as he accidentally passed by Mineral Beach that day or the memory of those two together, in front of the church saying their vows. He felt like punching something…someone (particularly someone who worked at the Poultry Farm…). This was all too new for Trent to handle. He was not supposed to lose control. No, he was not. And yet…, why did it feel like he should unleash that hideous monster within him? If he couldn't reign in that terrible monster inside of him….A loud sigh escaped his lips.

"Doctor? Are you feeling well?"

Elli. Recently, he'd noticed that Elli was being more forward than usual. No doubt it was Claire's work. He didn't miss the small glances and gestures she made whenever she thought he wasn't looking. But no doubt about it, he was confused as heck as to why Claire would encourage Elli to shower him with affections. Didn't the two of them know that he was not interested in Elli at all? He would have to ask Claire why she insisted in setting Elli and him together.

"Doctor?"

Shaken out of his thoughts, he answered, fearing that if he didn't she would start asking questions. "I'm fine. I'm just thinking of what ingredients to use for this medicine I'm working on."

Elli nearly dropped the object that she was holding. "Oh? Really, Doctor? You're…improving a new medicine?" Her skin paled a bit as she recalled the last time she had to taste-test an 'improved' medicine, and she shuddered.

There was a weird expression on his face as he turned to her. "Would you like to try it?"

Shaking her head sideways, Elli excused herself saying that she was needed at her grandmother's place as she quickly left the room. Trent smirked to himself. He knew what the general opinion on his improved medicines was, though that didn't necessarily stop him from improving the medicines he received or finding beta testers. Trent rustled through some papers. 'Oh, well,' he thought. He could always ask the village's farmer to test-taste for him anyway. After all, there was a discount for some of the medicine in the store for the farmer anyway. …Oh wait. Ever since the last time he'd used an improvised medicine, Claire had gotten on his case rather aggressively and reprimanded him about the potential dangers of doing something like that. Being lectured by a student nevertheless had been an awful blow to his ego.

"Yo, Doc!" A bright and cheery voice echoed through his office as the figure at the door walked in, dropping her stuff off in a corner.

Trent only raised an eyebrow at her unusual greeting. "You're awfully perky today, Claire. Who knew you'd be that eager to clean herbs today?"

A smirk formed on her face. "Definitely the most fun thing to do around here. Cleaning herbs. After all, it's the most vital process in herbal making," Claire commented as she flicked her hair away. Even though Claire was still not her old self and didn't want to see Trent thanks to that birthday fiasco, she knew that eventually she would have to face him again and pretend that nothing had happened between them. The day before yesterday, Rick had bargained with her about coming back to the clinic if she lost at a game of chicken tag; needless to say, she should have never made a bet with someone who'd raised chickens all of his life.

"Well, if it is such an important part of the process, those herbs are not going to wash themselves anytime soon," he pointed out. Piles of herbs stacked neatly in different buckets were laid inside a room just right around the edge of the wall Claire was facing and the doctor gestured to them with a wave of his hand.

"Right," Claire drawled a little bit. As she stood at the edge of the room, she turned and stared at him. "Oh, I almost forgot. There's something really important at the Goddess Pond that you have to attend to."

There was a curious sparkle in his eyes. "Important? And pray tell what that something is?"

If Trent looked a bit closer, he would have noticed a sad look that appeared on Claire's face only a second before it became indifferent again. "I don't know…I'm just told that it's important and that you shouldn't dawdle here any longer. I'll watch over the clinic with Elli."

Claire could see the hesitation and a little bit of suspicion floating inside Trent. She couldn't completely blame him, really, because she was being awfully vague about it, but it wasn't like she could say what she had in store for him, now could she? Claire decided to use her final trump card. "You're not afraid, are you? I'm sure a little trip to the Goddess Pond could warrant you some herbs that you can gather along the way. And you look like you need a break from all those papers that you're holding on to anyway."

He sighed. Already Trent could foresee whining and nonstop pestering coming from her if he did not attend this little meeting. "Fine, I'll go. But I better see those herbs nice and clean when I get back." Claire waved a hand and went inside the room, ready to wash the herbs. Meanwhile, Trent went outside.

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It didn't take him that long to reach the Goddess Pond…or at least it felt like it hadn't been that long to him. He was shocked to find Elli standing there at the edge of the pond. Racking his brain, he wondered how she had gotten there before him. Last he'd checked, she was at the front desk by the time he left. "Elli? What are you doing here?"

Elli turned around, startled by the sound of his voice. "D…doctor!" Her face began to flush and she wrung her hands in the apron she always wore. She started to stutter, making sounds that were not comprehendible to him. Then she began to mumble.

Frustrated at how this was going, Trent counted to ten as he mentally took in a deep breath. "Elli," he asked gently, "is there something you needed to talk to me about?"

"Um…you see, Doctor. It's…I mean…I…." Elli wrung the end of the apron rather harshly. As if she had suddenly gained courage, Elli stood up straighter and stared right at him eye to eye. "I've admired you for a long time and I was wondering if you want to go on a date with me."

On the outside, it seemed as if Trent had no reaction to the declaration at all. But on the inside, it was a whole different story. After what seemed like moments, Trent finally responded. "Elli…" His voice took on a soft tone, but didn't waver as he spoke, "I'm flattered that you think of me this way, but I can't reciprocate your feelings. I only see you as a friend."

"Oh…I see." Elli quickly looked down at her hands, anywhere but at the man who had rejected her. Never before had she felt this embarrassment before. As for sadness, she had already experienced something that was a lot worse than the doctor's rejection. Still, she was left feeling very cold and hurt.

Trent wanted to berate himself for doing this to Elli, but it couldn't be helped. He didn't see her as anything more than a friend. And yet, he stood there awkwardly as Elli tried to hide the incoming tears. Any move on his part might only be interpreted as pity or comfort: neither of which she would want from him at the moment. He gave one last look at her crumpling figure on the ground. There was a sad expression on his face, but it was not of regret. "You don't have to come back to the clinic right away…just take your time." With that said, he walked back quickly. What had started out as suspicion and maybe curiosity was now an all-consuming desire to know the answer. To what? The answer to everything: the rumors that were floating around and Claire's actions as of late. He was going to do something about it.

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The door banged so loudly that Claire almost dropped her herbs onto the floor. Curious as to who would make such a noise, she went outside. She patted the water away with her hands. No sooner than she had reached the door to the front lobby was she shoved backwards. Claire nearly stumbled over her own feet when she heard the door of the doctor's personal office locking tightly. She felt a hand roughly grabbing her before being swiftly moved at an angle where her back was pressed against the bare wall.

"Claire." Trent leaned toward her as he placed his arms on either side of her head, effectively trapping her. "Why were you so focused in getting Elli and I together?"

Claire cursed the wall behind her as she stared at intense eyes before her. "What are you talking about?" She tried to ease the tension, hoping that Trent would catch the diversion and forget all of this. "Why would you think I would do something like that?"

Trent frowned. "I was hoping you would tell me that." He closed what little space existed between them. "You know what I'm talking about, so why?"

At that point, Claire realized that he wasn't giving up and that she didn't know how much longer she could take being in this position. "Just thought that you guys would be perfect together." She tried to ignore the fact that she could feel his breath on her cheek. "Elli is good for you and I think that she will make you happy. After all, how long are you planning to stay single?"

Soft chuckling sounded from Trent. "Are you sure that Elli's the one?"

Claire nodded. "Well, who else could it be then? I don't see you interacting with people other than in professional business." She furrowed her eyebrows as she recalled any other female it could be. "Popuri?" At Trent's bewildered expression, Claire quickly added, "Do you bend the other way?" She treaded cautiously on the subject, not knowing him well-enough to call on his sexual preference.

"What?" Trent said sharply; that question threw him off track. 'Does she think that I like….' "No, no. I…happen to admire the fairer sex more."

"Oh. Okay." Claire stood awkwardly, still trapped between the wall and the statue in front of her. "Well, if you like someone and she's not Elli, why don't you make a move on her first?"

Trent looked at Claire. "I'm more curious as to why you think I should be dating at the moment?"

Claire stared back at him. "Elli…she really likes you. Why don't you just give her a chance?"

He chuckled once more. "Do you really want to know why?" Trent teased as he baited her. The monster that he desperately was trying to bind was quickly becoming released as each second passed.

Staring at him with confusion at the sudden change of atmosphere, Claire plainly responded, "Uh, okay."

"As you wish," he said softly. Before either of them knew what was happening, Trent's face closed the distance between them. Claire could only think and feel the soft pressure that was on her lips. His lips were still on hers. But as his hands moved down slowly across her arms and lingered around her shoulders, lips began to nibble and moved as the owner tried to get the other to respond.

Frozen by the sudden, and perhaps unpredictable, action from him, Claire didn't know what to do. As his lips nibbled hers, the rational part of her screamed to push, to shove, or punch him away from her. And yet, the irrational side, whispered to her of soft longings and desire that she secretly held inside of her for him. A soft whisper of "Claire" threw all caution away as she gave in to her desire. Hands flew to the back of his neck as she pushed him onto her, and her lips began to dance with his.

Claire didn't know how much time had passed since this began. All around her, she felt everything was moving too slow and, yet, too fast at the same time. She was unaware of the soft gasps that left her mouth, how revered his name was spoken by her, as calloused hands gently brushed against her face.

The sound of Elli's voice calling out for the doctor quickly tore away all illusions and destroyed the world they were in as they both pushed each other away at the same time, both with different reasons that had the same point: they didn't want Elli to see this. As Claire quickly began to move back to her previous room, a hand prevented her from going further. "I'll see you tonight at the Inn," was all that Trent said before he quickly straightened himself up and went out to the front lobby where Elli was calling for him.

Too dazed and lost at what had just happened, Claire only went back to the room to clean some more herbs. It was during that time that Claire realized what she had just done and the full impact from it. Tears began to roll down her face slowly as fingers began to gently wash the herbs from the dirt. She knew what she had to do tonight.

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Author's Note: You guys should seriously thank starry-nights88 for motivating me to finish this story. Only one left a review =( , so I'm guessing it's smooth sailing with the story? I guess it wouldn't matter at this point since I got the story completed. =/ Next chapter might be up soon once The Scarlet Sky finishes editing the rest of the story. But anyways, what do you guys think now?

Much love goes to The Scarlet Sky for editing this! ^-^