D: I can not believe that it's been a year since I last updated. It does not feel that way at all. I'm ashamed of myself. I'm so sorry. It was recently brought to my attention that this story has been here waiting for me and I've been neglecting it horribly. I promised that any chapters I'd be writing next would be for this story so here we are. I know most of you probably forgot about this story buuuut lets continue it, shall we? First, reviews!

00Spirited Away00 - Thanks! I'm updating finally. D:

NotSoSlightlyCrazy - T_T Sorry it wasn't soon.

Sprite21 - Thanks! Glad that made you happy. Oh and sorry about Chase. I never focused on him in the games so I don't really know him that well. And yeah, weird dream. Foreshadowing? Who knows? :o

Sam - Thanks! :DD

Unemployed-ninja - Thanks! That makes me really happy! Not that I mind constructive criticism.

Tabs14 - :DDD That makes me really really really happy. Thank you!

BrexChase xD - lmfaoo Thanks! Sorry about the Chase thing. I can't garuntee anything about Maya and Chase but I wouldn't worry too much. The stories about Akari and Gill, not Maya and Chase. xD And yeah Gill = tool bag right now. lol

Inuhana - Here's the neeeeext chapter! Thanks!

DiscoPants - Like the name btw. And sorry about how long it took but I'm updating now! Don't worry!

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Biddy Bu - Okay! Sorry about killing you. D:

Special thanks so BiddyAuthor for messaging me and reminding me that lots of people want to see another chapter up so thank her for this! :D

Disclaimer: Sadly I do not own a million dollar business that can own cool games like Harvest Moon. D:

I Hate You

Chapter 4: New Strategy

I was getting a bit worried about my friend's well being after a few minutes of staring. They both had their mouths agape and hadn't said anything since my startling confession. I could feel the blush on my cheeks as they continued to stare. I felt really dumb about liking Gill with that reaction.

"Can you guys please stop staring like that?"

I reached over and pushed both of their chins up to hopefully close their mouths and at my touch they both seemed to wake up from their shocked trance.

"Gill? As in, the mayor's son?" Anissa asked slowly. I frowned but nodded in answer.

Maya smiled for a moment and nodded. "It makes sense."

"I don't follow." I said slowly.

"Well Gill came back half way through the summer before last and he's been really different ever since."

"You know you're right! I forgot how he used to be. Everyone tried to figure out what happened but he wouldn't tell anyone!" Anissa agreed quickly.

"What are you talking about?" I asked impatiently.

Anissa smiled widely. "Gill used to be a really nice guy. He was kind of rude and cold on the outside but he'd always help if anyone needed him and if you had the time to actually talk to him, he was really nice. But after he came back his cold and rude behavior kind of just took over. I always thought he acted that way because he was shy so he hid behind the snide remarks and quiet ignoring but now that's all he does. Even if you talk to him it doesn't change much anymore. He barely talks to anyone and he doesn't really have any friends anymore." She finished sadly.

"Remember how close he used to be with Luna?" Maya chimed in. Anissa nodded sadly and Maya explained. "I don't think you've met her yet but Luna works for her grandmother at the Tailor Shop. Now Luna and Gill used to be best friends. They were closer then anyone I've ever known! They were almost always together and if you saw one without the other it was a strange site. But then when Gill got back, he just starting ignoring Luna a lot. She used to be really upset all the time but I think she got over it a bit. They don't really talk anymore, not that Luna doesn't still try. It's really sad." Maya said with a frown.

I frowned in thought. He was upset? It couldn't have anything to do with me since he had left me before he even had to. And now I felt for this girl, Luna, who apparently understood what I was going through pretty well. I was really confused about what they were telling me though and decided it'd be easier to disregard it completely.

"Well I don't know what that's about but I can assure you that it has nothing to do with me. I didn't hurt him so there's no reason why he could be upset or angry at me. I didn't do anything to him. He has no right to be upset or angry. He has no right to hate me since-" I stopped and looked over at Maya and Anissa who looked a bit worried about my rambling. "I think I'm gonna find this Luna. I wanna meet her and maybe we can…I don't know, relate. Are you guys done eating? If not feel free to stay. My door is unlocked so you can stick the blanket in there, and the basket if you don't wanna lug it back to the inn. I'll meet up with you guys later."

With that I stood up and started to walk towards Waffle Town. I needed to go to the beach and clear my head a bit. Plus as much as I liked Anissa and Maya I had to get away from their pitying looks and talking about Gill. The truth was, I didn't like that they were making Gill out to be some good guy who is sad all the time. I felt like they were excusing what he had done because he had been down. I didn't want to look at him as a sad boy. I wanted to be angry at him and I wanted to hate him. It was hard to do when they kept talking about how depressed he was all the time.

"They don't even know how depressed I was…" I said bitterly under my breath as I finally made it to the beach. It was afternoon now and the sun was slowly sinking. It wasn't setting quite yet but it would be in another hour's time. I could stay here until then before returning home. Anissa and Maya would be gone by then so I'd be safe to go back.

The beach wasn't as empty as it usually was though. A girl with long, pale blue hair was standing a few yards away. She had her hair up in two big braids and her eyes were a midnight blue. She had on a long, blue plaid skirt and a blue sweater. She looked out at the sea wistfully as if in her own world. I walked over to her and when I was a few feet away I called out to her. "Hi."

She looked over at me quickly, as if startled. I walked up to her and smiled, hoping to dismantle the seemingly large wall between us.

"Uh…hello." She said in barely a whisper. I smiled as her shyness and continued.

"I'm Akari. I just moved here to start a ranch." I told her, hoping to crack the wall she seemed to be putting up.

"I'm Candace…I work over at the Tailor Shop with my grandmother and my sister." She said slowly, as if she was afraid to give away such information.

"Wait, your Luna's sister?" I asked quickly, excitement filling me a bit. Honestly, I did want to meet Luna but not really to relate. I actually wanted to learn more about Gill's life and what she knew about the change that had come over him. It wasn't really a smart idea since I was suppose to be getting over him and hating him, but my curiosity got the better of me.

Candace looked at me thoughtfully for a moment and I could feel the wall dissolve a bit. "You know Luna?"

"Uhh, actually no. I've just heard a lot about her already."

The wall seemed to strengthen again. "Good things…?"

"Yes, yes of course!" I said quickly.

"I-I could introduce you to her…" She said slowly, as if unsure.

I smiled reassuringly at her. "That'd be nice. Is you grandmother home too? I'd love to meet your family." I told her. It seemed that I had finally said the right thing because she smiled and said "Come with me."

I followed her into Town and into a small building with a sign that read 'Tailor Shop' on the outside. We walked inside and I was met with a big showroom full of different kinds of clothes and accessories scattered about the room. Behind the counter an older women was sitting on a stool next to a sewing machine, busy at work. She had her white hair neatly under a pink bandana and a pair of big round glasses on her face. Her blue eyes were focused on her work but when the bell on the door jingled she looked up with a warm smile on her face.

"Oh hello Candace. And who is this?" She asked looking over in my direction.

"Grandma, this is Akari. She just moved here…and this is my Grandma Shelly." Candace explained quietly. I could barely hear her and I was standing right next to her. How Shelly managed to hear her I'll never know.

"Oh it's nice to meet you Akari. Have you met my other granddaughter yet?" She asked kindly.

"No, not yet." I told her.

"Oh Luna! Come out and meet the newest addition to Waffle Island!" She called gently.

A girl came out of the back room and for a moment I thought I was looking at the wrong person. The girl looked like she could've been twelve years old, or maybe even younger. She had bright pink hair that was curled out to her sides with flowers in it and she had on a pink frilly dress with pink sneakers and high socks on. She had the same blue eye as her sister but apart from that, they were complete opposites. For a moment I thought there were three sister, Luna, Candace, and this little girl, but when she came out Shelly smiled and gestured towards me.

"Akari, this is Luna." She looked over at Luna. "And this is Akari, the new rancher."

I began to smile and was going to say hello when Luna's eyes met mine. Luna glared across the room at me and my smile slowly melted. The hello got stuck in my throat and I could only stand there in complete confusion.

"Nice to meet you." Her tone suggested the exact opposite however.

"L-Likewise." I managed to stutter. I was so confused about what was happening that I looked over at Candace perhaps for some support. Candace was looking at her sister in confusion while Shelly had gone back to her work and hadn't noticed anything. "I think I should get home…it's kind of late. It was nice meeting all of you." Escape seemed like my best plan so I turned to leave.

When I made it outside I saw that the sun was finally setting and it was best if I just went home. I was so confused at what had just happened that I could only hope it had nothing to do with Gill. She couldn't hate me because of Gill, because I hadn't done anything to Gill.

I felt a tap on my back and jumped as I whipped around to see who was touching me. And there she stood, still glaring.

I sighed. "What is it Luna?"

"Why did you come here? Are you following him?"

My anger over took me at these words. "I wasn't following him! I had no idea he was even here! How do you even know who I am anyway?" I yelled. I knew that Gill must of told her but my anger was getting the better of me and I wanted to know just how much she knew.

"Gill told me of course. We are best friends after all." She said matter-of-factly.

I snorted. "That's weird, I heard that he ignores you now and you chase him around like a sad puppy."

Luna's face was slowly starting to match her hair. "Yeah well he came back to me didn't he! He's here isn't he?" My heart sank in my chest as her words hit me hard. "Maybe you should just go back to wherever you came from!"

"What's going on?"

We both turned quickly to see none other than Gill standing before us with a confused and almost angry expression.

Words clogged my throat and I looked down. I was standing here, arguing with this girl I only just met, about Gill. My checks flushed in embarrassment as I yet again let my emotions get the best of me.

"I should go home." I said slowly as I began to walk away.

"It's okay Gill, we were just having a disagreement and-"

"No! You shouldn't be talking to her like that. You only just met her and you're so ready to start a fight. Akari! Come back!"

I walked faster and turned towards the Caramel River District. I had to get away from him. I couldn't take his mood swings and seeing him stick up for me only hurt more. He must have told Luna everything that had happened. That stung a bit since apparently he had told Luna about how he had left me there too. I hadn't expected anyone to know my story in this new place before I even got here. He must have told Luna how pathetic I had been.

I followed the path and eventually I ended up in the Ganache Mine District. I must have followed the path towards the spot the big root had been blocking because I was right near the Carpenter's. I turned towards the Praline Woods and decided to sit on a large rock there. I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. I didn't want to think about Gill for once. I wanted it to be over and done with because I was just so tired.

"That's it. From here on out, I'm done." I told myself. I wouldn't allow myself to think about him. I wouldn't allow anyone to talk to me about him unless it was just in conversation. I would say hi to him when I saw him and that was it. We would be mutual acquaintances whether he wanted to be or not.

"Are you talking to yourself?"

I jumped off the rock in shock and saw Luke standing there with an axe in his hands. My heart was beating so fast I thought it was going to fall out of my chest.

"I'm sorry, did I scare you?" He asked, looking worried.

"No, it's okay. Just startled me a bit. Uh, yeah, I was kinda talking to myself. You won't tell anyone will you?" I asked him, a small smile on my face.

He smiled. "Your secret's safe with me."

I smiled back at him and suddenly my stomach roared in protest. I blushed a bit as Luke simply laughed at me.

"Hungry?" He asked.

I smiled weakly. "I forgot to eat dinner."

He frowned. "That's not good. I know you wanna work hard but never forget to eat. You could hurt yourself. Hold on, wait here." He ran to the Carpenter's quickly and I waited as I was instructed. He came back quickly with a plate in his hands.

"It isn't much but my dad made some sandwiches for dinner. Go ahead, have some." I smiled at his kindness and took a half of one. He took another half and sat down on the rock I had been sitting on before. He patted the spot next to him and I sat down.

"Thanks for this. I don't know how to repay you though." I said weakly.

"It's really no problem. Let's just say you owe me some food some time." He said with a wink and took another bite of his sandwich.

I smiled. "Deal."

We ate the whole plate of sandwiches together just talking about nothing or simply not saying anything at all. It was nice that he wasn't asking questions or trying to figure out what I was doing before he had come up to me. He simply just wanted to help me and it made me feel a lot better. It was a nice change from everyone else and I felt comfortable with him, even if I didn't really know him that well.

"Well I should probably get home since it's pretty late." I told him.

He smiled and nodded. "We should do this again sometime." He suggested.

I nodded. "We should. And next time I'll provide the food." I stood as he laughed and turned back towards him. "Thanks again though."

He waved a hand. "It was really no big deal."

I smiled. "Okay. See you later."

"Yeah, see you soon."

I turned towards the exit he had cleared away earlier that day and as I walked through it I could hear him say "Boy am I glad I cleared away that root."

"Who's talking to themselves now?" I called and I could hear him laugh as I made it to my house.

I opened the door and stepped inside before collapsing on my bed. I realized then that I'd be just fine. My new strategy would work out fine as long as I steered clear of Gill and Luna. I'd explain to Maya and Anissa tomorrow that I no longer cared about Gill and in time I would get over him. I knew I could.

I just wasn't quite sure if I wanted to.

Okay! Finally updating! Please don't get too worried about the Akari/Luke stuff. Let's remember what this story is about after all. I need to spice it up somehow though, don't I? Well review, tell me what you think. Sorry it's been so long. T_T