Author's notes: Well, here's chapter two! The dynamics of Mark and Chelsea's friendship as well as their family backgrounds will be mentioned and explained here and there (although, not so much in this chapter…) and a few familiar faces will pop up from here on out. Like I've mentioned before, pairings are still all up in the air and constantly subject to change so far, so don't take any implications in this and the next following chapters too seriously. I really appreciate the reviews I received and I'd like to thank those who left reviews or favorited this story. Also, I forgot to mention in the first chapter that 'Carpe Diem' means seize the day in Latin; which could refer to Mark and Chelsea seizing the day/opportunity to move to Sunshine Islands and start anew. And lastly, enjoy and any kind of feedback would be wonderful :)

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Chapter Two:
The Arrival

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"Deal."

Seriously, who would have thought the useless objects lying around their apartment combined with Chelsea's "baby" in the form of a beat-up red Lexus would've sprung up the necessary amount of money and then some? After a tearful goodbye to her car while Mark tore her away from it, hoisting her up and over his broad shoulder as he walked away from the parking car lot with her wailing loudly to have her vehicle back, Chelsea certainly didn't think so.

But here she was, luggage in hand boarding off a ship with Mark right beside her. Admittedly, she could already smell the difference in the air here than in the city; the atmosphere seemed lighter, fresher, and the ocean breeze wasn't anchored down with pollution. The roads from what she could see also didn't have trash littered about and plenty of greenery surrounded them. Mark nudged his friend who had momentarily spaced, her eyes wandering from the sky to the sea to the town surrounding them, and she jerked in surprise at the gentle poke to her side, glancing upward at her blond friend.

Even Mark looked different here. His blond hair had appeared golden under the beaming sunlight and the green in his irises had lightened and glowed, his once lighter skin tone darkened slightly on the two day voyage over and his skin turned to a healthy tan color. Everything about him seemed ablaze and gleaming and she was, once again, irritatingly reminded how handsome her best friend was.

"You having a little trouble there?" he smirked as a sea breeze had picked up and blew and swept her hair across her face. She attempted to push the hair away from her eyes, flustered and embarrassed as Mark's chuckles reached her ears and she groaned loudly to herself.

"How could you tell?" she sighed and Mark laughed, gently lowering the bags in his hands to the ground and untied the bandanna around his neck. He handed it to her and she looked at him, eyebrows raised. "You sure?"

"I've got another one," he shrugged earnestly. She smiled brightly at him before tying the bandanna around her head, pulling back the hair that was blowing mercilessly across her eyes and face. He took something from his pocket, grinning at her before asking, "we have everything under control now?"

"Yep," she answered, "except this." She swiped what Mark had taken from his overall's pocket, exhaling in annoyance as she threw it in the nearby trash despite his threatening glare. "You started smoking again, Mark? You know, I bet they don't even sell cartons over here, or if they do, it's outrageously overpriced."

"Nag, nag, nag," he groaned, rolling his bright eyes. "I swear it's like we're married sometimes."

Chelsea snorted. "Yeah right. Good luck to whoever has that job in the future."

She squinted in the sunlight, feeling her arms grow tired as they crossed the bridge toward their current residence: Ranch Island. Tired and a little worn out after the walk, they finally found themselves at the slightly shabby farmhouse they had managed to purchase within the past two weeks, with a large field in dire of need of weeding and cleaning, and a few other barns and areas that needed some fixing up. Chelsea felt herself growing disheartened as the numbers continued to add up in the forefront of her brain.

"It's better than that shithole we were living in before," Mark mumbled to her when he caught the look on his friend's face. He opened the door to their new house, allowing Chelsea to step in before him. "And at least this entire property is ours."

The house was as it was described in the newspaper ad, nothing too spectacular nor entirely rundown, and the two set their things down on or near their respectable beds for the next coming seasons. Chelsea glanced as Mark placed his luggage next to the pull out couch, frowning guiltily as she looked at the mattress before her.

"A bed's a bed, Chels," Mark reminded her reassuringly as he grabbed a red bandanna shoved at the bottom of his suitcase. He quickly tied it around his neck where the one he gave to Chelsea previously was before grinning sheepishly at her. "So work first? Or should we try to meet some townsfolk while we have the chance?"

"We should really start working," insisted the brunette but her body silently ached and she was just beginning to regain her land legs; still slightly unbalanced and wobbly from her trip over on the ship. "But I guess meeting some new people wouldn't hurt."

"Let's start where we came from," Mark suggested, "the Verdure Island I think it was called? I saw a few shops and houses there. We'll check out the shops."

The two set out again, the sun hanging mid-way toward the ocean. Though they hadn't checked the house's clock, they assumed it had to be midday by now and the weather, as if it was almost welcoming them to their new town and home, was pleasantly warm and cloudless. As Mark advised, they walked to Verdure Island, visiting the diner first, meeting the owner briefly, before heading toward the only other store in the area. It appeared to be an animal store, a slightly sour smell hitting their nostrils as they approached the shop before walking in.

They were greeted by the backside of a slender blonde woman. Chelsea felt herself internally flinch at the girl, noticing even from the back the blonde appeared well-endowed and inherited rather attractive genes. Once the door softly shut behind them, the girl reeled around and, as the brunette predicted, was incredibly stunning.

She had a clipboard in hand and gave them small a wave with her free one. "Hello! I haven't seen your faces around here!" She stepped a little closer to them, grinning warmly. "I'm Julia. My mama, Mirabelle, and I run this store. We provide the townsfolk with animals and products that cater to them."

Mark cleared his throat, flustered, before his voice miraculously resurfaced and he spoke politely, "we just moved here. This Chelsea," he thumbed to his left, "and I'm Mark. It's a pleasure to meet you, Julia."

Julia smiled at the newcomers. "Oh, so you're the city boy and girl who moved into Ranch Island." She commented sweetly, a flare of a comforting southern accent to her words. "It's nice to meet you two. I'd love to sit and chat a little more but unfortunately, mama and I are a little behind on inventory counting. Please feel free to look around though!" She gave them another dazzling smile before scooting off to an organized shelf.

"There's gotta be something here in the water," Mark muttered to himself, stiffening when Chelsea snapped her head toward him. She followed his eyes resting on the back of Julia who had continued to preoccupy herself with counting and checking the store's displayed merchandise and jotting down notes on her inventory clipboard.

"What was that?" she smirked, elbowing him right in the ribs. He spluttered up a cough, clutching his side as she giggled. "Oh, you don't even need to say much, city boy, your eyes have been doing most of the talking."

Mark glared menacingly at her, refusing to meet Julia's stare that had momentarily fell upon them at the sound of the blond farmer coughing rather violently. "Shove it," he hissed lowly, eying Chelsea angrily; discouraging her from prodding any further.

Despite his warning glare, she grabbed the bill of his hat from behind, twisting it around his head playfully, receiving his loud, vocal protests in return. She leaned closer to him, bridging the previous large gap between them so she could continue to tease him quietly out of Julia's earshot.

"Keep your pair of eyes from trying ogle all the pretty girls at once; you might find yourself going cross-eyed permanently."

The blond pulled his friend's red bandanna over her eyes, smiling in satisfaction as she squealed in response, batting his hands away. "Mark!"

"Come on, let's get a move on," he laughed as he guided her out of the store. The brunette continued to whine to her friend, stumbling outside as she fumbled with her bandanna in attempt to fix it along with her hair. "Wait, Chels––!"

"Oof!" Chelsea yelped out as she bumped into something Mark was probably trying to warn her about and lost her footing and fell backward to the ground. A small cloud of dust gathered around her and as it cleared, the brunette found herself face to face with a pair of steely, offhanded colored eyes belonging to a thin, tan and rather chiseled face of a young man. "Oh, I'm sorry, I ––"

"Watch it." hissed the boy before hoisting her roughly to her feet, immediately dropping her hands from his as if they were on fire once she regained her balance.

"Hey buddy," Mark stepped in, frowning with his eyebrows pushed together as he spoke, "that's no way to talk to a woman."

The boy standing before them, clad from head to toe in western attire, gave them both a once over before cocking an eyebrow rather condescendingly at the pair. "So you two must be the couple who moved into the old farmhouse," he sneered. Chelsea placed a steady hand on her blond friend's arm when she noticed his hands clench at the sound of the patronizing tone directed toward them. She could feel him sulk back and relax somewhat upon her touch and she sighed silently in relief to herself.

"Friends who moved into the farmhouse," corrected Mark, stiffly. "And who might you be?"

"Your livestock dealer." The boy flicked a piece of his peculiar silver colored hair out of his eyes before he paused, glancing at the petite girl before returning his vision back onto the blond farmer. "But we'll see if you're even capable of catering to any kind of animal."

"I know how to deal with cows, sheep, and chickens," Mark informed curtly before giving the animal dealer a forced smile. Chelsea resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Her friend was always such a polite gentleman, even when she could feel the near tangible distaste he already harbored for the silver-haired man radiating off his tall body in large waves. "So you'll be seeing us fairly soon."

"It was nice meeting you," Chelsea intervened quickly, tugging persistently on her friend's sleeve so he would look at her. She arched an eyebrow at him and titled her head slightly, motioning to him that it was time to leave before the uncomfortable tension that had manifested itself between the three continued to thicken to a dangerously choking level. "But we've got to go. Sorry for bumping into you."

"Just watch where you're going next time. Oh," he added just as the farming pair was about to scurry off, "and no cigarettes near my animals, got that, kid?"

Mark opened his mouth in retort before Chelsea sharply pulled him away, his remark seeping back into his throat as she jerked him farther from the condescending livestock dealer. Once they were half way across the bridge and nearing Sprout Island, Mark gently removed Chelsea's vice-like grip on his wrist. She slowed her pace and he shoved his hands into his pockets, glancing at her through the corner of his eye.

"I don't like that guy," he stated plainly.

"He's rude," she agreed, "but we should remain civil with him. It look like he's the only resource to buying livestock around here."

"Of course," Mark smiled grimly. He took off his cap before fixing his hair only to place his hat back on, allowing himself to calm his nerves. He gave her a familiar grin and she mirrored it weakly. "Well, off to the next island then?"