I really liked writing this chapter!

Peter's POV

I hated her. I hated her, I hated her, and I hated her. And I hated her more.

That ass. She knew I could've taken her. I could sense her fear. I was just a little tired from all the commotion of leaving college to move to a crummy old farm.

She thinks she's so smart and tough. I hated that smug smile she gave me after she kicked my side. I had a huge bruise there. Not to mention the bigger bruise on my butt.

I wanted her to die. Ok, maybe not die, but certainly move far, far away so that I would never have to see her again. And to think that I have to work with her for the rest of spring! There's still two and a half weeks left!

I just hoped Thursday will be better. For the time being, I hung around the house, not sure about what to do. Bob doesn't pay his workers until the end of the week, so I had no money yet.

I decided to take a walk around town and introduce myself to the villagers. I was sure they would remember me. I walked north to the café, the place my grandpa would always take me for lunch. As I walked in the door, I came face to face with a young girl, about 16. Her nametag said "Katie".

"Hi Katie, I'm Peter," I said extending my hand.

She shook it nervously, and looked away. She was probably shy. I had that effect on women.

I quickly moved on towards the counter. Wallace was there. I remembered him from my childhood and said hello to him. It took him a few seconds, but he remembered me too.

"Peter! How are you, sonny? Boy, it's been a long time. What brings you here?" he asked.

"Well," I replied, "as you know, my grandfather recently passed away, and my father asked me to watch over the farm until he can find someone who wants to buy it. I'm just here for a year."

"Oh, is that so?" Wallace seemed disappointed. "That's rather sad. I do hope you'll stay longer. We missed you when you stopped visiting." He paused. "And my, my, you've changed. Such a handsome boy now."

"Uhh, thanks," I said, a little embarrassed. It was weird having a man tell you how handsome you were. "Anyway, it's nice to see you again. I should go though; there are a lot of people I still haven't said hello to."

"Well you'd best be on your way! See you around, sonny," Wallace said.

I walked out the door and came face to face with a woman. She had violet eyes and blond hair strung up in a ponytail. She was wearing tight jeans that showed her hips, and a tight tank top that hung low.

You know what I was thinking. This was my kind of girl. I extended a hand and introduced myself.

"Hey, my name's Peter. What's yours? No wait, lemme guess. Beautiful?" I said, playing one of my favourite pick ups.

"Hey, I'm Gwen. And thanks for the compliment," she said smiling, and shaking my hand.

"So, then Gwen," I said pausing. "Where's the boyfriend? No one as hot as you walks around single."

She gave me a sly smile and replied, "Well, I must be the first. I'm single, but after seeing you, I dunno if I wanna be anymore."

I smiled. "Wanna go out tomorrow?"

"Where?"

"Anywhere you want, beautiful."

Gwen looked at me with intense eyes. "Bob has a lot of horses. We could go horseback riding. Do you know how?"

"I've ridden a few times. I'll catch on."

"So, see you there around… 3?" Gwen asked hopefully.

"You got it, beautiful."

I watched her as she walked past me into the café, and then I set out south to my farm.

As I walked around a tree, I came face to face with her.

Aurelia's POV

"You again," I muttered as I almost bumped into Peter on my way back to Mallard Lake.

"What, you didn't get enough? Want another punch?"

"There's no crime in walking, Arlie," I replied.

"Aurelia. And I know, I was just teasing. Seems like you don't know a joke from reality."

Peter scowled at me. "Whatever. Move."

There was a tight space between the bushes we were standing in. The thing about Leaf Valley was that nearly every place was blocked off by bush. A narrow path was all that led you in and out.

"No," I replied. If this guy wasn't going to be nice to me, I wasn't going to be nice to him.

"C'mon just get out of my way. I need to go home now."

I waited, silently crossing my arms over my chest. He finally got the message.

"Can you move, please?" he asked.

"There's the word!" I exclaimed as I moved aside. "Have a nice day Jackass!"

Peter stopped in his tracks and turned around. "Will you please stop calling me jackass?"

"As soon as you get my name right, buster," I replied with a smug smile.

He sighed. "Fine. Aurelia, will you please stop calling me jackass and teasing me?"

"Sure thing kiddo!" I loved playing this game. He was really getting mad.

"Look, I'm not a kid! I'm as old as you, maybe older!"

Wow. Did I look that young? "That's what you think. Bet you can't guess my age."

Peter narrowed his eyes at my request, and then said, "Bet I can. What do you want to bet?"

I pretended to think about it. "10 bucks," I said. That was all I had in my wallet. Not that he would get my age right anyway. "You get three tries. And it has to be right on."

"How do I know you won't lie to me," Peter asked.

I pulled out my birth certificate from my wallet and waved it in the air, making sure he couldn't see the front.

"Ok, fine," he said. "You are… twenty-four."

"Nope."

"Twenty-six?"

"No."

"Twenty-two."

"Not even close. Ooops, you're out of guesses. Pay up!" I said looking him right in the eye.

"Wait. Tell me your age first."

I handed my birth certificate over to Peter. He took it, touching my hand at the same time. I watched as he calculated my age from my date of birth.

"Wha… no. You can't be thirty!" Peter looked sincerely astonished.

I chuckled. "Do you think the certificate is fake?"

I think a small smile hit Peter's lips as he handed it back to me. "No, I believe you. But you don't look it." He handed me a 10 dollar bill and started to walk away.

"Was that a complement I just heard?" I called to him.

"No. Just an observable fact," he called back. I smiled. That was definitely a complement. I just didn't know if I wanted one from him.

It's coming along, please keep reading!