OWEN

The weekend rolled in and the night fell as Owen patiently waited at the bar for a certain friend's arrival. He was sipping on a tall glass of beer. Kathy, oddly enough, was nowhere to be found at the Brass Bar tonight, but he wasn't going to make anything of it. If anything, it gave he and Luke some more privacy once the damned carpenter decided to show up. He was always late for things, Owen knew, so why he never told him an earlier time that way he could actually arrive on time, baffled him. It would be too brilliant for him to actually go through with it.

He took another long sip as another long day of hard work was taking a toll on him. His muscles, while built and crafted beautifully, were sore from the heavy wielding he had to do today, some much more than most. Trying to ignore the strangely foreign feeling in his forearms, he took another glug.

He finally heard the door behind him open, when Owen swung around and saw Luke charge in with a wide smile.

"Sorry 'bout that," he said, sliding in the barstool next to him.

"No problem. What's up? What'd you need to tell me?"

"It's about Molly."

Owen grew nervous. All he thought was the worst things that could've possibly happened to her. Was she in an accident? Was she hurt, in danger? He stared at the carpenter with concern in his eyes, nearly gripping his glass for dear life waiting for him to continue.

"I almost kissed her."

A strong wave of relief covered Owen as those horrible thoughts escaped his mind. But suddenly, he was brought into the strange reality that he and Molly almost kissed. Luke was one to talk about the girls on the island, but he'd normally rank them on his hot or not list. Molly was generally an exception; we all viewed her as innocent, a gem, really. Sure, she made the hot or not list when she originally moved to the island (answer: Luke declared her hot) but eventually he called her things like "pretty" and "cute" and even as far as "beautiful." Those words never normally escaped out of Luke's loud mouth, as he was well known for his hook ups and hit-it-and-quit-its. So now, Owen couldn't help but form a grin as he asked, "Really? When?"

"Just a few days ago. It was when the three of us were all in the shop and you dipped early. We just got to talking and I don't really know how we got there, but…O, I was so close. I was right there."

"Why didn't you just go for it?"

"My dad walked in. And I didn't want to give her just a kiss and then have her leave, y'know? I mean, Molly is one of our best friends. Holy crap, she's one of our best friends! What am I doing?"

"Hey. Luke. Ease." Owen set the boy back in the bar seat, as he nearly jumped to his feet. "Take it easy. Look, do you like Molly?"

Silence. Owen figured this couldn't be good. This silence was either him trying to come up with some bullshit excuse (even though the boy should've learned by now that his excuses don't run smooth by him, the two have been best friends for too long for it to be that easy) or because there were actual feelings, or lack of. He stared at his best friend, who had a nervous look to his eyes as he averted his gaze.

"Well?"

"I…I'm not sure."

"What do you mean?"

Luke's eyes finally met up with his. "I mean, I think she's amazing, obviously. But amazing in the way that we all find each other amazing. I mean there's a reason why we're the Crew, right? I'm just trying to figure out…ugh, shit."

"C'mon. Spit it out."

"I mean she's awesome! Seriously, don't get me wrong. And she's beautiful, gorgeous even. And she's sweet but not disturbingly sweet either. Yet, I don't know if she's the one."

"Does anyone ever really know if a girl is the one until they give that girl the chance?"

Luke snorted. "I'm almost positive you told me Kathy was 'the one' somewhere really, really early on in our friendship. I don't even think we got out of elementary yet."

Owen gave him a playful shove. "Yeah, okay."

"But really. I don't want to lead on Molly if this is wrong, you know?"

And he did understand where Luke was coming from. Not necessarily from experience, just from his understanding of the situation. He adored both Luke and Molly, for the obvious reasons. Luke had been his best friend forever basically; there wasn't a memory in his mind that he had where he knew Luke wasn't around to at least hear about it later. Luke was always in the picture. Molly, well, Molly moved to the islands and impacted everyone in different ways. She helped connect dots in himself that he didn't realize were disconnected. Her genuine personality tied along with her playful and innocent attitude made her fun and gave the island another tasteful flair to it. So when Luke mentioned the situation between the two of them, he couldn't lie and say it puzzled him a little bit. He never even thought about them hooking up. If anything, he thought that Molly would find her way to Calvin before she went to Luke. He didn't know why, it was just weird gut feelings. Maybe his gut was off.

From there, he figured the worst couldn't be the worst. So with a shrug and a smirk, Owen said, "You're attracted to her, right?"

"Duh."

"And you wanted to kiss her?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah…a lot, actually."

"Then I say it's worth giving a shot. If it fails, it fails. But at least you gave it a try."

"Hey, I mean, I'm not a relationship type of guy. But she is. As long as you think she'd be able to bounce back, I have no issue pursuing her."

Oh, crap, he internally kicked himself. All this time he was making it seem like he was worried about his feelings, when he was really looking out for hers. Fuck.

At that point, Owen figured it was too late to say anything. He couldn't take the words from the air and stick them back in his mouth. So instead, he took another hard chug of his beer until the last of the foam collected at the bottom of the glass. Without a second to waste, Hayden was already on the other side refilling it.

Owen smiled. "I wish you all the luck."

Luke glanced up at him, and gave him that wide, cheery eyed smile back. "Thanks a lot, bud. You don't think it'll disturb the vibe of the group, right? Like I'm not fucking it up for the five of us, right?"

And with a lie, Owen shook his head and said, "Nah. You'll be fine."

It was early. The day had barely broken through and the sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon. With a puff of the chest, Owen put in his headphones, tucked his music player in his pocket, and began on his jog.

He didn't usually do this. But he figured there was no better time than any. Even though Winter was rapidly approaching, he figured he should at least get a few good jogs in before snow began to coat the island grounds. So until then, he braced the breezes that hugged his body as he pumped his arms and ran to the rhythm of the song.

He first made his way through the Garmon Mine District, before making his way through Harmonica Town. He figured he'd circle around, and then maybe try running on the beach. He knew it'd give him a better workout. He looked out into the horizon, over at the beautiful ocean, and smiled contently to himself. I should wake up early more often, he decided, the island is beautiful at this hour.

Right as he turned his head to continue creating his path, he slammed into another physical being in front of him. He, the larger of the two, still kept his ground, however, the other figure fell flat on their back on the stone.

"Holy—are you okay?" Owen wondered, before looking down to see whom it was.

On the ground, with a manic look on her face, lay Luna, one of the tailors. He didn't know Luna too well—he usually found her talking to Gill and Chase or her sister, Candace—but otherwise, she was never usually seen outside of the shop or around Harmonica Town. She usually had this rugged expression on her face that made her slightly unapproachable. The thought of that even humored him, considering how large and intimidating he could seem to some people. He hoped his smile made up for that.

"Am I okay?" she asked furiously at him. That voice alone made him panic.

She leaned up, and glanced down at the backs of her arms. They were covered in scratches and were beginning to bleed. Her eyes widened at the sight.

"Do you see this? I'm bleeding!" she screeched at him.

Okay, he thought, this isn't exactly what I wanted at this hour of the morning. Especially on a Saturday.

"Agh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Is there anything you want me to do?"

"Lift me up for Goddess' sake!"

Owen, nerve striking through him, quickly reached out for her and brought her to her feet with ease. A look of surprise even crossed her face, but it quickly shook away when she began glancing down at her bleeding arms again. Perplexed, he stood there in worry trying to figure out what exactly to do with her.

"Do something!" she nearly screamed.

Tensing to the sound of her high-pitched tone, he quickly asked, "Uh… do you have bandages or something back at your place?"

"No, why would I?"

He now raised a brow at her, surprised. "I don't know, in case something like this happens?"

"Don't be smart with me! Take me to Jin's!"

"This is way too minimal to bother Jin about at this hour. Here—I'll just take you back to my place. I have disinfectant and bandages. Sound good?"

She gave him a stink eye, before mumbling, "Only if you carry me."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me!" she said louder, seeming more confident in her request. "You pushed me down, so carry me!"

There was no easy way to get around this, he figured. He didn't want to find himself on Luna's bad side any more than he already was, so he complied. With a sigh, he turned around and bent down so that the pink-haired tailor could easily jump on his back. Once she did, he began making the trek towards his home back in the Garmon Mine District.

Once arriving his home, he opened the door with Luna still on his back. Chloe was still asleep, as Ramsey was probably out and about. He was always up early in the mornings. Owen brought her into the kitchen and sat her in a chair. He glanced at her for a second, while she stared up at him with her large, blue eyes. They were mystical, captivating even. They also scared him to death.

"Just…stay," he said, before darting for the medicine kit.

"I'm not a damn dog!" he heard her holler at him, and he just rolled his eyes.

He went into the bathroom and first dampened a cloth he had laying by the sink. He then finally opened up his medicine cabinet. He shuffled through pills and antibiotics that Ramsey had to take. There were sleep medicines, coughing medicines, before he finally found a tiny, bright red little bag filled with gauze, disinfectant, and bandages. He snatched it and made his way back as he braced for his interaction with Luna once more.

Upon stepping into the room, Luna's anger-filled face had calmed. She was just glancing around the room, looking as if she were admiring it, and to see her at more of an ease had a smile appear on Owen's face. It was nice not seeing her so hot headed for once. That was until she looked over at the doorway to see him staring at her. She furrowed her eyebrows again, those piercing eyes jabbing once more. He shuddered.

"What are you doing just standing there? Come help me!"

"I'd really, really appreciate it," he began, as he walked over to Luna and bent down in front of her, "if you could please talk just a little quieter. It's still really early in the morning and Chloe is still asleep."

With a puff, she mumbled, "Fine" as she extended her arms out to the blacksmith who pulled out some gauze and a tiny bottle of the disinfectant.

"What were you doing out this early, anyways?" he wondered, as he dabbed some of it into the gauze.

She sighed into a shrug. "I don't get much time alone. Nobody is usually out in the mornings, so I just like to sit on the beach and have some time to myself. Sit in my own thoughts."

The response oddly delighted Owen. He didn't realize she had a sensitive side to her like that. He was intrigued.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the second I step outside I'm usually bombarded by Gill. It's like he waits outside my door or something. At least, when he's not talking to Chase." She snickered. "And then Candace is always inside the shop. Granted, she likes to keep to herself even more than I do but it's nice actually being… alone. Actually alone."

Hearing her talk normally actually soothed him. It was refreshing seeing this side of her for the first time. He always saw her as someone who was just bratty and got her way, and liked to make everyone else feel below her. It didn't necessarily sicken Owen, but it definitely didn't make the girl her favorite on Castanet. There were definitely others on the island who have gotten under his skin even further. However, that mood, that wavering emotion that clouded his mind, was quickly casted away when her shrill tone filled the room yet again.

"What are you doing just sitting there? Clean me up!"

He breathed a smile. There it is. He quickly picked up the wet cloth and wiped down the blood that was collecting on her skin. He then fingered the disinfectant-covered gauze and looked her straight in the eyes.

"This might sting a bit, okay?" he said warily.

Without second thought, she immediately searched for his free hand and squeezed it. He stared at her for a quick second, while she did the same in return.

She said, "I'm…I'm just preparing myself. I don't like pain."

Owen let out a hefty laugh, before biting back a larger smile. He finally placed the gauze on her skin, and she did jolt and squeezed his hand even tighter. He looked up to see her eyes squeezed shut and her teeth clenched together. He quickly swiped through the first arm. He then got another prepared piece of gauze before cleaning through the other arm.

"Alright, worst part's over," he said, throwing the dirty gauze to the side.

She let go of his hand and opened her eyes, letting out a huge breath as if she had been holding it in the entire time. Owen then turned to his side and rummaged through the kit once more, to find a box of bandages. He pulled out all of the large ones he could find; each scrape needed at least two of the large ones to cover the cuts in their entirety. He placed them each on, and finally flattened them out to complete it.

"There. All set," he said, before standing up.

She sat in the chair and sighed with a strange smile on her face. She finally rose from her seat, and looked up to him. He just now realized how much he towered over her; she was fairly short, especially next to him. Just by looking at her he could tell that she was just a few inches below Kathy. Her glaring expression was gone, and it was replaced with a rather reassuring look. This relaxed Owen, it even calmed him; he really meant it when he said that Luna intimidated him.

"Um. Thanks," she finally said. "Here. I'll help you clean."

Owen watched as she bent over and picked up the dirty pieces of gauze, the damp cloth, and even the scraps of the bandage. She threw out everything that needed to be thrown out, and she then put the damp cloth underneath the sink to rinse it of the blood and dirtiness. After, she wrung it out, and glanced over behind him.

"Where should I put this?"

Stunned at what he just witnessed, he said, "Uh…just leave it in the sink. That's fine."

She shrugged her shoulders and threw it back in, before walking back up to him. He could tell that she noticed the expression on her face because she let out a small laugh. Seeing that smile was alien; Owen liked it. It was nice knowing that maybe, maybe after all, she wasn't too bad. And she wasn't as bratty as she made herself out to be.

"Why so surprised?"

"I, uh—I'm not surprised! I…I just—"

"Drop it," she said with a small smile. "I'm not all bad, I promise."

"No it's just…" Owen couldn't find the sentence he was trying to garble out of his mouth. Instead, some other gibberish escaped instead. "You just intimidate me is all."

Luna now let out a hearty laugh. He had never seen her laugh like that, and he actually enjoyed it. Luna? Happy? Like this? It was a sight that no one ever saw coming, and that was for damn sure.

"I intimidate you?" she nearly bellowed before poking one of his biceps. "Have you seen your own arms?"

Owen, a wave of cockiness consuming him, immediately flexed for her. She rolled her eyes, and that only amused him further. Once he was finished, he put his hands on his hips, unsure of what to do. After all, Luna was still in his house. And by the looks of this, his run seemed to have ended at that.

"So?" Luna looked at him.

Owen raised an eyebrow.

"Are you going to walk me back, or what?"

Later that day, Owen was in the same kitchen with Kathy as they tried to prepare their own meal for a date in. However, whatever Kathy had working at the stove had suddenly caught fire, as she quickly pushed it back and Owen came running over with a fire extinguisher ready. However, once Kathy took it off the lit fire, the fire within the pan seemed to have decreased, only to reveal burnt food. The two sighed, the fear that filled the room dissipating.

"Shit, we should've just gotten Chase to cater our date," Owen teased.

"Shut up," she pushed him with a grin. "I didn't realize I sucked this bad, otherwise I would've just said let's go out to eat somewhere. Or maybe ordered something in."

"I mean…" Owen eyed her with a smile.

She frowned. "No. We started this battle, we're going to finish it!"

Owen smiled at her determination. He always loved that about her. Unable to contain it any longer, he hugged her from behind and attacked the side of her face in loving kisses. She giggled at his actions. He craved to hear her laugh; he absolutely loved it. It was one of the many, many things Owen loved about Kathy before they even started dating. He had always loved Kathy, since they were very young, and like Luke had so kindly reminded him at the bar, he knew Kathy was the one since he was nine years old. It was a regular day at school, where they were all just playing outside. He and Luke were messing around, throwing dirt at each other and climbing on the monkey bars, before Luke pointed out to him that he saw Kathy getting picked on by Gill and Luna. He watched as tears started to form in her eyes. Owen had found her to be really pretty, even as a young child, so he came to her rescue. He told the two of them to back off of her, and when they finally did, Kathy gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek as thanks. She then asked if he wanted to play with her, and he did, and had so much fun, he remembered. Since then, Owen knew he wanted to be with Kathy. And he did whatever he could to win her over. It only took until the two were older did that dream finally come true.

Kathy loved hearing that story. She loved knowing how big of an impact she had on him, especially since Gill and Luna always were pros at tearing down her self-esteem at such a young age. They didn't do so anymore considering they were all finally mature, but at so young no one knew any better. All Kathy knew was that the two of them didn't make her feel good about herself, and she figured them to be toxic people. Kathy doesn't mind them now much anymore, but overall the sight of them makes her uneasy and even a little bit angry. Owen knew all of this, and she just couldn't help feeling that way. He knew she wouldn't be thrilled to know that Luna was in this kitchen roughly twelve hours earlier.

"So," she started, "do…you have any microwavable food?"

Owen gave out a large laugh. "You're ridiculous, did you know that?"

"Is that a yes, then?"

He sighed, giving her another kiss on the cheek. "We have some pizza in the fridge, we could heat that up."

"Can we?" she asked excitedly. She was just too cute.

"On one condition."

She turned to face him now, crossing her arms. However, while her actions showed frustration, the smirk on her face showed how playful she was being with him. He couldn't handle how adorable she was being. "And what's that?"

He tapped his lips gently. "You give me one kiss, right here."

She smiled, and rose on her tiptoes to give him a passionate kiss on the lips. He craved for her touch, as he wrapped his large hand around her waist and pulled her closer to him, feeling her hands grip at the front of his shirt. She played with the hem of the neckline and he so badly just wanted to rip off her clothes and get her to her skin. But now was not the time. Not with Chloe right upstairs…at least with Chloe right upstairs, and awake. At the very least.

"I love you," he breathed after the kiss broke off.

With a smile, she said, "I love you too, ya' big dork."