Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon or its characters. This story was only written for entertainment purposes.

Save Me From Myself

Chapter Four

Jamie had found himself thinking very much the twenty four hours.

She wanted to leave Flower Bud Village and, for some unexplainable reason, it bothered him. While outwardly he refused to acknowledge the unusual feeling nagging at him, it was hard to completely ignore said feeling.

If she wanted to leave, then she should. It wasn't like she was forced to stay. She wasn't married and she wasn't use her farm as a means to support the village. There weren't any responsibilities rooting her to the sleepy village, therefore she could easily fulfill her wish of leaving. With that being said, however, it confused Jamie to hear her state that her decision wasn't written in stone.

Confused as he might have been, it was impossible to brush aside the subconscious floor of relief at the words. He would never admit to this aloud, much rather be stubborn as a mule, but if the brunette were to leave... then he would be alone. The sprites had stopped their pestering a long time ago and the Harvest Goddess was always too busy to be bothered, although she never came out and said a thing it was quiet obvious.

And his mediocre conversations with the town folk were limited to mumbled greetings and frivolous comments about the weather, if that. Of course there were those few exceptions, but for the better part of the people in town would go days without saying a single word to him. It got lonely, but Jamie managed.

After all, who need friends? They only stab you in the back given the chance and motivation.

Frowning as his animals grazed calmly, the same question continued to filter through his mind. Why would she, or anyone for that matter, want to leave Flower Bud? Could she be bored already? She'd only lived here for a little over two years, so how could she be disinterested in the village.

There was plenty to do. She could fish from morning to evening, a majority of the time catching plump and healthy fish to cook. Or she could explore the caves and dig for ores and gems, which can be taken to the local blacksmith for jewelry, until she passes out from exhaustion. And then there were also the festivals –

Like the one taking place tomorrow.

The Star Festival.

A soft 'humph' escaped the purple haired farmers lips and he scowled at the ground, "What a ridicules festival."

But however stupid Jamie might have thought it to be, a petite voice in the back of his head couldn't help but wonder, 'What is she going to do tomorrow?'

The next morning, Abigail awoke early and began her morning routine.

She moved around her home like she always did and finally came to the calendar. It was the seventh day of summer and it was a festival. Sighing, she wondered if she was going to worry about it.

Truth be told, she wasn't exactly in celebratory mood today. All she wanted to do was water her plants, sell the ones that where in full bloom, possibly plants a few more in their place, and spend the entire day home or mining.

"Mining sounds good," she mumbled to herself. "Maybe I can dig up some ores to sell."

Sighing once again, she continued to glide through her home. Changing and brushed both herself and her pet, she ate a quick snack before heading out. As she opened her door, she gasped and jumped away.

Kurt was standing at her door, a hand raised to knock. An embarrassed blush tainted his cheeks as he quickly pulled his arm down and gave her a half smile. "Morning."

"Good morning," she murmured with a smile back.

Kurt became quiet, which wasn't unusual, but then he scratched the back of his head. "So. What are you doing today?" She shrugged and Kurt nodded. "How about we go sail a bamboo ship together?"

Her smile faltered, but only slightly.

There had been a hope that someone else would have been standing at her doorway asking her the very same question. Her first year here, Alex had been kind enough to ask her out, but only as friends, and it had been fun. Her second year had been her favorite. Blue had been the one to ask her that time. She had the biggest crush on the blond farmer, so it was no surprise she had spend the day in absolute bliss.

But then his engagement to Ann had effectively destroyed any hopes of advancing their relationship beyond being just friends. That was last winter, however, and a certain blue eyed bachelor had already caught her attention.

"Oh," she started, staring at the brown haired carpenter and slowly forcing herself to nod her head. "Sure! I'd love too."

Mustering at much enthusiasm as she possibly could, she grinned. She stifled a defeated sigh and resigned on her hope of having that blue eyed crush of hers to have been the one to ask her out. There was a creeping feeling that she knew it wasn't going to happened. He had been acting strange lately after all.

Kurt's smile seemed to grow a bit as he nodded, "Great. Meet me at the town Square before five then?"

"Sure."

"Okay, I'll see you then."

Waving goodbye, she watched as Kurt headed back home. Slumping her shoulders, she rested against the threshold of her home and tried to ignore the building knot at the pit of her stomach.

With a shake of her head and yet another sigh, she quickly scrapped the idea of mining. She'd have to wait to explore another time and be content with watering her plant for the moment. Tugging at her pigtails once, she pulled out her watering can and gave it an experimental shake before beginning the long process of watering her plants.

It was an hour before her – er, date with Kurt and the brunette was tempted to just stay home. But it wasn't like her to just stand someone up, plus Kurt didn't deserve that.

Sure he had been a tiny bit mean to her when she had just moved to the small community, with his little comment about wondering how long she'd last which had engraved itself into her memory, but still. Kurt was a friendly fellow when he wanted to be.

Besides, it would do her some good to get out of the house. She had spent all of last week working herself nearly to death in the cave. It was time for a bit of fun and distraction, if only for a few hours.

Biting the inside of her cheek, she looked herself over in the full length mirror. No longer dressed in her everyday clothing, seeing as they reeked of sweat and stained with dirt, instead, she wore a simple white and orange dress. A pair of brown colored boots, free of the clumps of dirt, finished off the outfit. For a moment, she felt like a pampered girl now that she wasn't confined to her usual sleeveless vest and short.

Tugging at her hair, she debated whether or not to leave it in her usual pigtails or loose. But with a roll of her eyes she brushed the thought side and smiled at her reflection before turning away. Fax, the ever loyal companion, barked and she grinned at the animal before patting his head.

"I'll be back soon, Fax. Don't make a mess while I'm gone, okay?"

Another bark from the canine was her answer.

With one final look at the mirror, she headed outdoors and locked the door behind her. Lingered for a moment at her door, she turned slowly wondered which path she would take to get to her destination. Lived at the ocean side gave her a few choices in paths, but she also had an hour until she was supposed to actually be there.

Shrugging, she took the longer path and headed in the direction of Saibara's shop.

Jamie watched as his animals shuffled back into the barn. It had been a boring day, but he had still been plagued with the same questions as the day before. Shockingly, he had debated whether or not to visit her today, but he wasn't certain whether she was going to be home or not. If she wasn't there, however, he could always fish at the beach and wait for her to return. But if he did that then she'd probably think he was stalking her –

"Jamie!"

Turning towards the voice, he wasn't at all surprised to see it was her. As she smiling at him, Jamie stared and was barely able to comprehend that she was speaking to him.

"Hi! I didn't think I'd catch you outside."

He nodded and she continued smiling as a single thought echoed in his mind. She looked very – "Why are you dressed like that?"

"You mean the dress?" He nodded again. "Oh, well. My other clothes were dirty and I had these laying around, so... yeah. Besides, they look nice! ...Right?"

'Better than nice,' a voice silently answered, but Jamie gave a curt shrug.

"Good. I didn't want to look like a mess tonight."

Azure eyes narrowed, "What's special about tonight?"

The smile on her lips faltered and he took mental note of the blush that made itself present on her cheeks. "No real reason."

Jamie made a small noise underneath his breath, but nodded.

"Well, I wish I could stay, but I'm supposed to meet someone soon."

A familiar scowl etched itself into Jamie's features, "For what?"

She cocked her head to the side, "...the festival."

The festival. Someone had asked her out for the festival and she accepted! An unexpected tightness coiled itself around his chest, forcing him to breath deeply through his nostrils as his eyes mimicked slits. "With. Who."

"Oh – Um, with Kurt," he caught wing off as she mumble her response with caution and a confused expression etched into her features.

The scowl only deepened on Jamie's face as he turned away from the brunette farmer. Kurt. What the hell was he asking her out to anything! Forcing himself to sound as calm as possible, he asked, "What are you two going to do?"

A nervous sound came from the brunette, "We're just going to sail a boat with our wishes. Why are you asking so many questions all of a sudden?"

The nonchalant tone of the response seemed to be Jamie's breaking point because as his hands balled into fists, he turned towards her and glared, "Because I can!"