Disclaimer: wo bu ziji de Shoucheng Yue. (lol did I just commit a crime by using a Chinese dislclaimer on a Japanese game?)

Chapter 6: You Have Me

"B-but why does he get to keep her? Why not me?" Luke stammered...

"But you still have me."

Luke could hear the various sounds being made in the Flower Festival: people buying and selling, some of them striking a bargain, ladies ooh-ing and ahh-ing after smelling perfume, both kids and adults laughing and chatting...in short, it sounded fun.

Flowers weren't really his thing though, and his arm still hurt, he reasoned to himself. Hence, he was out at the docks; near the festival enough so that his Pops couldn't scold him and say that he didn't go.

"Well this is something you don't see everyday."

Luke turned around to see who it was. Leaning against the railing a few steps behind him with one arm over the ledge and an amused expression on her face was no other than the island's resident dancer: Selena.

Luke grinned and waved. "What's up, porkchop?"

Selena rolled her dark, purplish eyes as he started walking towards him and said, "I can't believe you still say that."

Luke threw back his head and laughed. He used the same greeting on Selena when he was first introduced to her about a year just before Akari arrived. Luke ended up with three purple lines on his cheek due to the three bangles Selena was wearing as she hit him with the back of her wrist after interpreting "porkchop" as an insult.

"Anyways, what are you doing out here? You never missed a single Bug Catching game," she asked. "What with all the gloriously comical moments wherein people literally dive face-first in the mud or carve their faces into a tree, and where prim-and-proper Gill exposes his oh-so mysterious underpants and Craig shows his inner animal as he lands on top of Kathy or whoever else is there."

Luke laughed again. "You know what, for a snobby dancer, you're pretty funny."

Selena pouted and said, "gee, thanks for the compliment. Here I was, being a good citizen and friend, innocently asking what my fellow islander was doing out alone during a festival, and I get called 'snobby'. At least I know how to shrug off my problems."

"As much as I'd like to dive and protect ladies like you from Craig, even I think it's too extreme," Luke replied, gesturing at his arm.

Selena now positioned herself in such a way that her bare lower back touched the white, wooden railings and both of her forearms rested on the ledge. "Oh please, stop pretending like a child. I'm at the Sundae Inn every night, Luke, so I know what's going on."

"Oh, you mean like how I stopped going there with Owen? Yeah well, Pops was getting suspicious, and Bo was already teasing me to him, plus he always leaves me for Kathy anyway—"

"Selena snapped her fingers in front of his face. "I'm talking about Akari here."

"Oh that!" Luke said. "Haha, yeah! We looked so funny when we fell, huh?"

"You're giving up on her."

"What? No I'm not!"

"Yeah you are."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Not!"

"Too!"

"Not!"

"'Too' infinity!"

"No fair!"

"Yes fair, you gave up and stopped, so I won," Selena replied. "See? Someone does something different and you give up just because something changed. What happened to the Luke that kept giving me flowers every single day, even if I kept slamming the door or my food in his face, until he found my favorite just so that I'd forgive him for calling me a pig? It took you a week to find out, and another to find the flower."

She reached out and touched his shoulder. "This is Akari. You should do even more than that."

"You know what," Luke said. "You're right! You are extremely right! Yes, yeah! You are!"

He tried to hug her with both arms but he couldn't extend his right arm very well, so Selena met him halfway. "Thanks!" he said.

"Yeah, yeah," she replied. "I don't give hugs everyday, so you better make that count."

She poked his chest. "I'm checking on you again, young man. You have to be better than this. If not...well, you have us and, you have me..." She shrugged.

"I will be better! I'm pumped!" Luke started running.

"Meowr!" wailed a cat.

Selena put a palm to her forehead. "Watch where you're going!"

A tall, buff blue haired man stared at his son in wonder. The boy in front of him was merely poking at the spinach risotto he had just cooked.

"Luke?" he said. "You haven't eaten your food."

He stayed silent. Dale sighed inwardly and resumed eating. How could he comfort his own son when he, himself, needed comfort?

"Is it because she doesn't love me anymore?" he was suddenly asked. Dale's head jerked up.

"There was another boy with her, Papa," Luke continued. "Why does he get to keep her? Why not me?"

"No, son, I—"

"It's my fault! I broke her favorite skull-ture!" he wailed.

"No, Luke, it's not the sculpture!"

"But—"

"It's me!" Dale yelled. His chest heaved and his fists were clenched so tight that his knuckles turned white. "It's me. Come over here."

Luke stood up and sat beside his Papa. Dale breathed in heavily and said, "Luke, sometimes some people make too many mistakes that they end up hurting the people they love. Your Mama tried to tell me this, but your Papa just sometimes doesn't know when to listen."

Dale took off his son's bandana to ruffle his son's hair. "But well, we're here. You still have me."

"You have me too, Papa," Luke replied. For the first time after three nights, Luke, Dale and Bo slept together in one room.

AN:

I WILL FINISH I WILL FINISH I WILL FINISH

That shall be my mantra. I'm so sorry guys! (esp His Lopsided Grin) I had a hard time writing this chapter. I kept getting confused on how the characters will react, so yeaaaah that just proves I don't know them as well as I though :/ I shall work on that.

Meanwhile, if this chapter's too short, you guys should be thankful since the reason for the length is because it will entitle a few more chapters for this story xD I've got this whole thing planned out, meaning I know the most basic plot that I want. But as we can see, plans could still change and all...

LASTLY I forgot one big detail in the past chapter: LUKE'S ARM. It's broken. So I went back and edited it a bit, in order to stay consistent.

That's all! :) Any suggestions and points where I can improve in? ~Iris