Heyoo, wow i'm sorry how long this took to put up... i've been like super swamped with school stuff lately, i'm sorry D: I was writing this chapter and it got to be wayyy to long so I split it into two, hope that's okay :P the next chapter should be up in a day or so! So I'll not to make y'all wait so long this time! ANYWAY! let me know waht you think (Reviewwwww, and i will loooveee yooou)
I had finally named my horse. Since I had already started with the generic hillbilly names for my animals, what with Betty the cow, I settled on Gary. I couldn't help but find humor in going into my barn each morning and shouting.
"GARY!" To which a happy foal would come trotting over to me whinnying agreeably. Betty had become quite pleased with the company and the two of them had taken to chasing each other around the field, before munching lazily on the fresh grass. I loved my animals, and my crops had started to pay out substantially so I decided to head down to Horne ranch again.
"Renee!" I waved enthusiastically at the little brunette as I walked into her barn. She turned from the large pony she was grooming and grinned at me,
"Kari! I didn't know you were stopping by today, did you want to ride?" She hugged me briefly, our usual greeting,
"Naw, I'm just here to buy some chickens," She grinned again, taking my arm and leading me to the coop. We chatted lightly on our way back to my farm to drop of the chickens I had picked out, she gushed slightly about her and Yuuki's latest date. I blushed when she asked me if anything had happened between Gill and I since the night he had come to my house: Of course the morning after this auspicious night I had run full tilt to the bar and grabbed Kathy before heading to Horne ranch and telling my two best friends everything. Kathy's eyes grew the size of dinner plates as the two girls giggled approvingly. Nothing really had happened since the night he broke into my house. I skipped down to town hall a few days later, hoping to hang out for a while but he was buried in his work load. After shooting me a truly sorry look, I left feeling rather disappointed. He had promised he would take me to the circus, and that was tomorrow. I grinned to myself thinking about the fun I knew we would have.
"Hikariiiiiiiii," Renee snapped her fingers in front of my face and blinked back to reality,
"S-sorry," I stammered, placing the two chickens I was carrying into the barn. She had already put down the handful of fluffy yellow chicks she brought over and placed her hands on her hips,
"Are you sure you can look after all of these?" She pursed her lips, "How are you even going to name them… We all know what you're like about that," She laughed when I scowled at her,
"Of course I can take care of them, and naming them won't be a problem: I already thought of names," I was proud of myself for doing so, and gave her a smug look as I tilted my nose into the air,
"Oh, really?" She eyed me skeptically," What are they then?"
"Well!" I pointed to each chicken as I revealed the names, "Omelette, Scramble, Sunnyside, Poach, and Pickle," I grinned at my own cleverness. Renee just laughed,
"That's actually great. I'm impressed!" She beamed at me as a familiar brunette boy appeared at the door. He leaned against it casually and looked over at Renee, wolf whistling. She blushed but I rolled my eyes,
"Yuuki, you two have been dating for a while now: I think you can quit with the cheesiness," As I spoke Renee skipped towards him and they embraced each other grandly, "And enough with the over-affection. Oooie," I turned away, grossed out to say the least.
"You shouldn't talk," Yuuki eyed me, "Renee told me about you and Gill's late night rendezvous," he snickered as I shot Renee a glare,
"Sorry," She giggled, "I couldn't help it,"
"Its fine," I sighed as Yuuki and Renee spoke affectionately to each other, leaving the barn. Renee shot me a goodbye and Yuuki waved; his stupid grin still on his face. I sat down on the cold floor of the coop and pulled Omelette onto my lap, she was a full sized hen and soon the other chickens waddled over to me as well. Apparently Scramble was jealous and Pickle, Poach and Sunnyside were probably just following the crowd. They all started climbing on me, the little chicks on my head and shoulders as I protested, constantly putting them back on the ground one at a time, but they would simply jump back on, "Get outta here!" I laughed as Pickle stumbled backwards but jumped onto my knee, rolling up my leg. I fell into a pile on the ground with all my chickens on top of me, clucking happily. I was laughing rather hysterically when I heard someone clear their throat at the door. I froze and looked up slowly,
"What is this?" Gill said, staring down at me. His hands were in the pockets of dark jeans but he was still wearing his white vest, he must have just come from work,
"Chickens!" I snorted, trying to sit up once more,
"No, really?" he rolled his eyes sarcastically and picked up a fluffy yellow chick, bringing it close to his face, feigning interest, "Huh," he said lightly plopping it back onto my head, "Well if that's that then," he turned to leave,
"Noo, come baack!" I called back dramatically; "Save me from these fowl beasts!" he chuckled quietly and gathered up the chicks in his arms, shoeing the large hens away. I stood up and brushed myself off, "Did you see what I did there? Fowl beasts? Like Fowl… like birds… like chickens?" Gill just stared at me blankly before rolling his eyes,
"Yes, I saw what you did there," he flicked my forehead, "but it was funnier before you explained it," he laughed and I grinned widely, I'd been waiting to hear that laugh for a few days.
"What are you doing here? Don't you have work?" I asked, suddenly remembering the crazy work stress he'd been under lately. He just shrugged,
"I cut out early, figured I should skip work to see you. After all, if I'm going to be mayor I have to make sure all the farms are running smoothly. From this display I can see yours clearly isn't," he joked, gesturing to the chickens.
"Well, guess I should just pack up and leave then," I looked at him slyly, "No point in me staying around a place where I'm not needed!"
"You may be needed elsewhere…" Gill said thickly, taking my hand and pulling me into his arms. He held me tightly: he was so warm. I nuzzled my head into the nape of his neck, relaxing in his arms,
"And where would that be?" I murmured, closing my eyes and smiling,
"Right here," he breathed, kissing the top of my head before resting his own there, "I couldn't wait until tomorrow to see you, I'm sorry,"
We were out in the field for a long time talking: he was sitting with his legs out in front of him, ankles crossed as he leaned back on his elbows so the sun could warm his face. I lay beside him, hands behind my head staring up the puffy clouds. Every now and then I would catch him staring at me slightly, but the second I noticed he would look away and smile to himself,
"What's the circus like?" I asked, rolling onto my side so I could see him better,
"It's fun," he shrugged slightly, looking at me from the corner of his eye in only a way Gill could make alluring,
"Fun how?" I encouraged, wanting to know more,
"There are animals, rides… almost everyone comes to it. Owen usually drinks too much, but that's pretty much every night," I laughed loudly and he grinned down at me, "Are you excited?" He raised his eyebrows,
"Mmhmm," I nodded, falling onto my back once more, my hands now playing with the grass at my sides, "I've never been to one,"
"You'll have fun, it's more of a little kid thing, but that's good once and while," Gill smiled at me, but as soon as he did, it faded, "The circus has a new ringleader though, it used to be someone else when my mom took me. I don't really know what happened to him, but the new one lost all the animals the first time he showed up. Luckily Yuuki brought them all back quickly and everyone could still go, and no one was hurt. It was really irresponsible of that guy to even let that happen though, he should have realized the responsibility he had to the island when he brought them here! People could have gotten hurt, especially with an elephant running around!" Gill was clearly upset, so I sat up and smiled at him,
"I love the way you care about the people on this island," He blushed and turned away,
"I… It's not… He should have just… thanks," he finally settled on before turning back to me and sighing, "I wish my dad took his job more seriously," I tilted my head to the side slightly,
"I know being mayor is a big job, but I think if he took it too seriously he would be boring. And then be unhappy, I like Castanet because most people here are not only easy-going, but they care about people more than they do about work," I lay back down, but when I looked over at Gill he seemed uneasy, upset even,
"I'm sorry," he breathed, looking away, "I don't mean to care more about work then people…"
"What?" I laughed quickly, "You care about people! You may not always know how to show it… but that's why you take work so seriously; your work is making sure the island runs right so people are okay. I know that, don't be silly," I jumped on him, knocking him over in a hug/tackle. He laughed quietly and tousled my hair, before sighing and pushing me off playfully,
"I'd better get home, my father will start to spread rumors if I don't," he scowled, but I was puzzled,
"He'll spread rumors? Why? About what?" I furrowed my eyebrows, trying to figure this out. Gill just looked blankly over at me, before crossing his arms and gazing into the distance,
"My father…" he paused and looked at me for a moment, when I said nothing he decided he should go on, "He really wants me to… I don't know… be dating someone? But not just that…" He closed his eyes, clearly frustrated, "It's like he wants the whole village to know that dear Gillian isn't single, and I don't want you to have to deal with all that kind of trouble… but it's not even that… I just… ugh," he stood up suddenly and I jumped back a little, startled, "I don't understand what he wants from me! One second it's do all your work, the next it's find a wife, have a kid!" He froze suddenly his eyes fixing on me; I could feel the blush rising to my cheeks but couldn't find the right words to say: all of this seemed to come out of nowhere. Gill started backtracking frantically, "I mean, no I don't want you to be my wife, I mean, it's not that I don't want that, it's too soon, I mean, no I don't I just, I like you! And I don't want anything to—I didn't mean that we should—I just wanted-," I stood up slowly, smiling as Gill sputtered some more. I slowly took wrapped my arms around his neck and planted a soft kiss on his lips. He froze, but soon I felt him relax, his hands found my waist and he kissed me back, gently. I pulled back and smiled at him sweetly,
"I know," I grinned, "I like you too," Gill blushed before stepping back and adjusting his vest,
"Good. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to just go off like that…" He scuffed the ground with the tip of his shoe. I reassured him once more before waving him goodbye. It was already past dusk, and I figured I might as well go to bed early so that the circus would come sooner: that being said, I couldn't sleep. Of course.
I'm sorry if it seems like hardly anything happened in this chapter: I assure you the next chapter is very eventful, but like I said, I had to split it up. Please Review! You'll be my very most favorite if you do :D Love you guys!