I noticed that the Flower Festival was one hardly ever written about. I don't know why, but I think it's a nice festival (to a certian extent I suppose). ANYWAY: here it is! Hope you guys like it!
The days seemed to pass in blur. Had it really been a week already? I wasn't sure. I kept forgetting to glance at the calendar, but even if I had it would have taken a while for me to figure out just which day it was: although it was rather unimportant to me. I had spent the last few days fishing, mining and exploring Castanet. I now knew my way around fairly well, but still got lost a few times. Caring for Betty came easily to me, so I was rarely concerned about her. I had finally been able to harvest my crops, and after visiting Marimba farm, planted all new ones. I then brought my business to Horne Ranch,
"He's all yours," Renee had beamed, leading a small foal towards me,
"Thanks!" I responded, happily taking the reins and handing over the remaining inheritance money I had left; I knew I'd have to start bringing in a larger profit from the farm but my new crops were sure to do just that. My recent horse racing with Kathy and Renee had reminded me just how much I loved riding and how much of a necessity it was to my happiness. I caved and bought the new foal from Horne ranch, placing him comfortably in the barn,
"Crap," I had muttered as Kathy cooed over the little horse,
"What is it?" She looked up at me,
"Now I have to name it," I rolled my eyes as she laughed; having something like horse riding in common was great for Renee, Kathy and I. We now found even more excuses to hang out together, and thus got more opportunities to tease Renee about her new boyfriend.
Yes, it must have been about a week since I saw Gill and Luna in the bar. A week since Kathy had beaten the living daylights out of the snotty tailor. A week since Gill hadn't thought twice about asking me what had happened between Luke and I… A week… Yet I couldn't stop thinking about it. I felt a familiar weight in the pit of my stomach any time I was reminded of the mayor's son: which was more times then I wanted it to be, believe me. So when Kathy excitedly showed up on my doorstep, I was less than thrilled,
"Flower Festival?" I asked again,
"Yes, it'll be fun!" She grinned at me,
"Like… a festival for flowers?"
"Kind of," she rolled her eyes, "We go watch the cherry blossoms,"
"You sit and stare at trees? Sounds lame," I laughed quietly
"They're pretty."
"Since when do you care about pretty flowers?" I teased,
"Since its fun and an island tradition and—"
"Is Owen going?" I interrupted her. She blushed for a moment before muttering a quiet affirmation. I eyed her skeptically, "It's a couple event, isn't it?"
"Not at all, lots of people go! Come on Hikari, I hardly beg you for anything: come to the stupid festival. You haven't been into town in like a week. It'll be good to forget about Gill for a bit," she glared at me a little but her expression softened when she saw the twang of pain across my face at the mention of Gill, "Just come Hikari, it'll be fun I promise," I sighed and then nodded,
"Fine, but if it's all couples making out I am so outta there," I grinned sheepishly at her and she beamed back,
"Great! Meet you tomorrow near the church! Dress nice." she waved as she ran back towards the bar. I sighed and leaned hard against the door frame, crossing my arms and wondering what I had just signed myself up for.
I showed up to the church grounds in my red sundress a little late: the last thing I wanted was to be early and have to wait around for everyone. There were blankets spread all across the ground, each with a picnic basket placed near the center. I saw Coleen and Jake holding hands near the large cherry tree on a hill; I watched them embrace and turned away, suppressing a blush. Renee and Yuuki were lounging happily on a pink picnic blanket, his arm around her casually as she dug through the picnic basket beside them. They waved me over,
"I'm so glad you made it!" Renee smiled,
"Hopefully I will be too," I muttered, sitting down at the edge of the blanket. Yuuki's eyes were fixed on Renee, his lips pursed,
"It's good to appreciate the islands beauty every once and a while," She said, focusing on the basket again,
"Mmmhmmm," Yuuki nodded, his eyes wandering to Renee's face, "Sure is beautiful," She blushed after looking up and him and giggled. I gaged dramatically,
"Get a room," I rolled my eyes and Renee's blush deepened as Yuuki let out his carefree laugh, leaning up and kissing her on the cheek. So much for it not being a couple's event I thought, cursing Kathy. Speaking of,
"Hey!" Kathy waltzed over to us, she was wearing a pretty little blue sundress and her hair was down: her cowboy boots, however, stayed. I giggled when I saw her,
"You look great!" I said, standing to greet her,
"Thank you, thank you," She tossed her hair dramatically before shouting behind her; "I found them! Over here!" An olive skinned girl turned to face Kathy, her brilliant red hair in an intricate bun, leaving her long bangs free to blow in the breeze. She was wearing clothing that flowed and jingled with each step she took, but also left patches of her skin bare, showing off her curvy body,
"Selena," Renee smiled at her, "How are you?"
"I'm fine, no one has bought me any flowers yet," Selena examined her nails, clearly disinterested, "Maybe I'm losing some of my charm," she shrugged and then laughed humorlessly, Kathy grinned at her,
"Selena, this is Hikari, she's been here just a bit longer then you have: but lately she's been scared of the bar or something and hasn't been coming around," Kathy winked at me,
"I see," Selena nodded thoughtfully, "Let me guess: man trouble," She gave me a blank, bored look,
"It's… I… N-no," I sputtered, taken aback by her frankness. She just laughed, this time carefree and light,
"I was only joking, but now I can see it actually is," she held out her hand, "Sorry, I'm Selena, I dance at the bar," I smiled taking it,
"Hikari, like Kathy said," She nodded as a familiar blue haired carpenter appeared behind her accompanied by the beefy blacksmith,
"I bought you lilies," Luke grinned toothily, offering Selena the white flower. She smiled,
"Never mind: charm's back," She took it, "Thank you," she said, gazing at him under heavily lidded eyes. She seemed so disinterested and carefree, but it seemed to make everyone ogle her.
"No problem: anything for my girl," Luke laughed as she turned towards him,
"I'm not your girl," she grimaced, "And I will throw this away the next time you imply that," she held the flower away from her as Owen boomed with laughter,
"What happened to her falling head over heels for you? I thought 'girls dig flowers?'" Owen laughed, razzing his friend. Luke elbowed him,
"Only kidding Selena," he winked at her before turning towards me and grinning again, "Hey there Hikari,"
"Hiya Luke," I smiled back. Owen walked over to Kathy and let out a long whistle,
"Well would you look at you," he said holding his arms out, "Screw flowers, I'll just chop you down that whole tree over there: you deserve it," He grinned,
"Shut up Owen, don't make fun of me," She blushed
"So I'm not allowed to say that you look nice?" He tilted his head to the side, confused,
"N-no, you can…" Kathy scuffed the ground with the toe of her boot,
"Well you look nice," Owen beamed, scratching the back of his head,
"Well… so do you!" Kathy almost shouted, clearly embarrassed. Selena rolled her eyes,
"Just kiss already, all this tip-toping around it is making me nauseous," She said focusing on her nails once more,
"W-what?" Kathy turned towards Selena, her cheeks a dark crimson, "K-kiss?" she stammered,
"Isn't that what lovers do when they greet each other?" Selena crossed her arms, clearly annoyed,
"He's not my lover" Kathy made a face,
"Coulda fooled me," Yuuki mumbled. Luke and Renee laughed loudly but Owen looked down at Kathy,
"Come on, you don't wanna kiss me?" He pouted dramatically, "When are you going to? I've beaten you at horse racing already," He suppressed a laugh, "But that didn't work out so good,"
"S-shut up!" Kathy stomped her foot, "You're an idiot!" She turned around and huffed.
"What, was a kiss asking too much?" Owen placed his hand on top of the blondes head,
"No… I just… you… and then…" I had never seen Kathy struggle to find the right words, and I could see Owen suddenly felt bad for embarrassing her,
"I'm only joking Kathy," He smiled down at her, removing his hand and looking slightly disappointed, "Only joking,"
Owen spent the next while apologizing to Kathy as the other's settled down on the blankets. I sighed, not coupled off huh? I thought as I walked towards to pink trees, leaving everyone else to their love interests. I sauntered up the hill to where Coleen and Jake were earlier; most people were now sitting happily on their blankets watching the petals float delicately across the breeze. I got to the top of the hill silently thanking the Goddess that Luna and Gill weren't around. I leaned up against the large tree and stared up at its blossoms. They really were beautiful. I closed my eyes and let myself be taken by the fragrance, feeling the setting sun on my face.
"Pretty, aren't they?" I jumped a little and stared incredulous at Gill who was standing a few feet away from me. I was so intent on the pink petals I hadn't even noticed him climbing the hill,
"Y-yes," I stammered, not knowing what to say,
"My mom used to love watching the trees blossom," He sighed walking towards me, running his hand through his hair and smiling slightly. I didn't say anything, just continued to stare at him, "I'm sorry Hikari," He finally said, his eyes suddenly intense as ice-blue focused on me. I felt my heart pick up its pace. I wanted to walk away, I wanted to yell and make a big scene, but the truth was: it felt good to look into the eyes I had been thinking of all week long.
"For what?" I managed to say. He sighed, stuffing his hands into his pockets,
"I find myself saying sorry to you a lot," he looked off to where the sun was now setting, bathing us in orange light, "I keep doing things that are so... so… stupid. I'm sick of hurting you," He looked back at me, his eyebrows furrowed, "Every time something happens with you that I don't particularly like or understand I hurt you to make myself feel better. But it's not working, I just end up hating myself." His eyes were glossy as he took another step towards me, "And I'm really sorry." I was silent. My mouth was dry and I was afraid of what my voice would sound like if I spoke. He gazed at me again before turning away, he took three paces down the hill before turning back, "I understand," he breathed, "I wouldn't forgive me either," he continued to walk away,
"Wait!" I finally shouted. He froze but didn't turn around, "What about Luna?" I had to ask, although I didn't want to… All I wanted to do was hold him and tell him it was alright. I saw his shoulders stiffen before he turned back to me, his expression pained,
"She's not you," He said flatly, "And I'm sick of fooling myself into thinking she could be," he shook his head, walking back up to me, "Hikari, I'm so sorry," He came close to me and paused, looking at the petals floating all around us, "And I'm sorry I never did this earlier," Before I could say anything his hand gently tilted my face up towards his and he softly placed his lips against mine. I could feel my eyes widen with surprise, but I soon relaxed and gave in, my hand finding his and our fingers entwining as he kissed me, cherry petals floating around us.
Maybe festivals for flowers weren't so bad after all.
Yaaayeeee he finally kissed her! :D Hope you guys liked this chapter! Review to let me know what you thought! When you review, you get in my good books for life. Love you guys! :D