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

Save Me From Myself

Chapter Six

Jamie scowled.

It was obvious that he was in a foul mood. Any sane person would have had the common sense to steer clear, but clearly the young brunette by his side was completely oblivious to his current sour condition. He was going soft. It had taken a handful of pleadings and a couple of puppy dog eyes to get him to cave. He glanced over at the brunette, who was still chatting away about who knew what, and he felt the scowl on his face lessen.

She looked happy, sure she always did, but today seemed different. A different kind of happiness was rolling out in waves from her. Her free hand rose from her side and she smiled again before continuing to speak. He shook his head and began listening.

"... and I told her I didn't need anything, but she is so persistent! They came in the mail today, I'm wearing one today... but I think that might have been totally obvious." She cheeks turned a slight pink color and she sighed. "But anyways, this is going to be a fun birthday party. Gwen is going to be completely surprised! Do you know how hard it was for Bob to keep it a secret? Poor Bob, but it'll be worth it, right Jamie?"

He shrugged.

How was he to know about surprises? He hadn't officially celebrated his own birthday since... come to think of it, he couldn't remember the last time he actually celebrated his birthday. It was just another day in Jamie's book. It was another day filled with annoyances, maybe it added a new wrinkle here or there, and it gave him an excuse to splurge on himself. Usually in the form of a jar or two of jam from Lyla's shop.

She laughed. "What do you mean – " she mimicked shrugged. " – That's not the answer I was looking for!" Again, another shrug and she sighed in an exaggerated manner before grinnign. "Well, I think it'll be worth it. It's super hard to get anything passed Gwen. I bet the look on her face is going to be priceless!" Her hands swayed causing the basket in her hand to shake, almost loosing an egg in the process. "Ah! Oops, almost lost one there."

"Why are you bringing eggs?"

"Well, Ellen told me to bring some. Bob ate all her eggs this morning, and since she knew Carl and she were going to be super busy cooking, she asked me to get some for her."

Jamie frowned, "That doesn't make sense."

"What? Why not?"

He hesitated momentarily, "If Bob ate them this morning, she had time to pick some up herself."

The brunette was silent for a moment, "You know what, I think you're right. Weird. Wonder why she asked me to get them then. Oh well, whatever. It didn't hinder my morning anyways, I collected these eggs yesterday morning and a fresh batch this morning from my chickens."

"You don't sell you're eggs?" Jamie asked in true surprise.

She shook her head, "Nope. I keep most of my things. Lately, though, I've been selling off some of my flowers to get some cash flowing."

"Humph."

Abigail glanced at the purple haired farmer. She noticed the frown on his face. "What's wrong?"

He looked at her and for a brief moment their eyes connected. Unlike before, however, instead of having the usual uncomfortable feeling of being seen through, she felt a slight tug at her heart. It felt as if he was actually looking at her, and not just because she happened to be in his line of sight. She knew her cheeks had turned a shade of pink, so she quickly looked away and gripped the egg filled basket close to her chest and tried to ignore his burning gaze.

She heard him mumble a simple 'nothing' to her question and a silence broke through the pair. The walk to the Inn suddenly seemed extremely long to the farmer. Usually she never paid any attention to the walk to and fro, but she also usually wasn't in the company of Jamie... or anyone else for that matter.

The young woman could still feel his lingering stare, but it seemed to be less heavy and critical than a few seconds before. Casting a quick glance back at him, she blushed in embarrassment at being caught and stared down at the ground as they continued walking, in silence.

Abigail squirmed in her seat, bothered by the awkward silence in the room, and threw Jamie a concerned look. That scowl was still on his face and he was still refusing to speak. She was panicking on the inside, but she portrayed her usual happy self to the rest of the party. Carl and Ellen were both in the kitchen cooking what was left for the meal. Bob and Gwen would be arriving in the next ten to twenty minutes from Bob's 'picnic' date.

She gave him another look and sighed. "Lighten up, Jamie. It's a party!" It was a light whisper, low enough for the couple a few feet away in the kitchen not to hear, but loud enough for the sulking farmer to clearly make out her words.

He, in turn, narrowed his eyes at her and remained unhappy in his little corner.

With a final sigh, she shrugged her shoulder and watched as Ellen and Carl moved around in the kitchen. They looked so happy, and if she didn't know any better, she almost had the feeling that the two cooks were in their own little world. Blissfully unaware of their audience as they laughed and playfully criticized each others cooking skills.

'Is that what I'm missing?' She suddenly found herself thinking back to 'the problem with no name' that had begun to bother her the first few days of summer. Was this was she was missing? Someone to love and have love her back?

If it was, then it was a little late to be making itself present. Most of the bachelors were taken, either married or in a relationship. Although there were a few that were still free, like Kurt. But Kurt seemed more like an older brother, or a really quiet, distant cousin that she would occasionally speak to at family reunions. Not a boyfriend. Then there was Basil, he may qualify into the category, but he had been acting so weird lately. She hadn't seen him for a little over a week, which was odd since he would usually be observing the growing flowers near her home. And then there was Dan, but there mere thought of having a serious relationship with that man made her nervous.

She thought for a few more seconds, trying to think of any other possible candidates. But none seemed to pop out, until...

With a glance to her side, she stared Jamie. 'No, he probably hates my guts right now.'

He still held a frown on his face, but his attention was elsewhere. She took the opportunity to really look at him, not as the purple haired farmer who she once held a rivalry with, but as an ordinary man. They had a lot of things in common, both farmers, both good-hearted, but they were also complete opposites. She was a burst of sunshine, he was not. She was friendly with everyone she came in contact with, he was not. She held an optimistic view on life, he did not. But they sort of understood each other, and even if the rest of the town viewed it as a pity friendship, she truly enjoyed being in his company.

Gwen had once asked her why she even bothered with Jamie. Her answer at the time was that she wanted to be nice, everyone wanted someone to talk to, even if they denied in every which way. Gwen had laughed and told her that if she was so interested in the 'silent' type to try with Kurt, at least with him she'd get some positive feedback. But Kurt and Jamie were different. She knew, but she just couldn't see why everyone else in town clumped them both together in the same category.

Kurt had Joe. He still had someone that loved him, and yet he still acted distant and uninterested. With Jamie, however, she had never seen anyone make even the smallest effort to befriend him. At times, he seemed to have some sort of invisible, almost impenetrable, armor around himself, effectively denying any person the opportunity to get anywhere with him.

A sick thought suddenly stuck her. Could Jamie actually love someone? Sure, he had proposed to the pink haired gardener, but she had never once heard him say he loved her. But then again, the only reason someone would propose to someone else was because they loved that person... right?

The brunette suddenly felt like she was being watched. She blinked and found herself being stared at by the object of her attention. But he didn't look upset anymore, he actually looked –

'No,' she looked away and shook her head, 'the summer heat is playing tricks on me again.'

Ellen giggled quietly. "They're coming! Come on you two, places. Don't forget to shout surprise when they walk through the door."

Standing from their seats, she and Jamie took their positions to the right on the front door, while Carl and Ellen took the left. Carl held a party favor in his hand and Ellen held a cake with 'Happy Birthday' written in big red letters. Abigail grabbed the nearest thing, which happened to be loose balloons, for both Jamie and she. She glossed over Jamie's appearance and frowned slightly.

The brunette stood on her tippy toes and pinched his cheeks, "Smile, it's a happy occasion. See, like this." She forced a smile on her lips and waited for Jamie's mirror reflection of the forced smile. Instead of smiling, he glared at her and pulled his face free, shaking his head no. She rolled her eyes. "Fine."

The door suddenly opened, causing the door to bang against the wall. Carl and Ellen shouted first, followed by her own shout of surprise and a meek, barely above a whisper, voice to Abigail's side. She grinned and openly stared at the purple haired farmer. His face was slightly flushed and he avoided all eye contact.

Waiting until all attention was directed towards the birthday girl, she gave a small sigh. "I'm glad you came Jamie, even if all you did was sulk in the corner for almost thirty minutes."

"Humph."

Laughing quietly, she turned towards him, "I am!" He gave her a skeptical look and she shrugged it off. "Whatever, come on, lets go get some cake before Bob eats it all."

Jamie was about to open his mouth to refuse the offer, but she already had her hand around his wrist. As she dragged him away from the safety of his isolation, he felt a jolt from their touch. He rarely came into contact with anyone, his animals, yes, but people, never. It felt strange being touched, willingly, but someone else, and it just happened to be one of his pet peeves. But this time... he didn't mind being touched.

He didn't mind one bit.