Hey everyone! YukinaMizuki here and it's time for the next chapter! Today, the character is… Marlin!

Marlin: Hi and good bye.

(Tries to walk out the room, but stopped by YukinaMizuki)

Me: Hey, you aren't leaving until you do the disclaimer!

Marlin: Hmph. YukinaMizuki does not own us. I'm surprised they still don't know that. We say that in every chapter…

Me: It's sort of a tradition. I think… By the way, there's going to be a little GrayxJill in this Chapter and Gray is a little OOC (though I hope not)….Now, on with the story!

CHAPTER 9

(Jill's POV)

I heard loud knocking on my door, waking me up early in the morning…again.

"I'm coming!" I called back. When I opened my door, I saw this boy wearing a blue hat, with blue eyes, I think blond hair, and judging by the outfit, he's a blacksmith.

"Hey, I'm Gray. I'm from Mineral Town, and I'll be comin' around from time to time," He introduced gruffly, looking uninterested.

"I'm Jill. I'm the farmer," I said. I could have been nicer, but I was too tired. The good part was at least he didn't mind. He didn't even seem to care.

"Whatever…See ya around," Gray said, leaving the farm quickly. Like he didn't want to be here.

"Well, that was weird…and he was a bit rude…nah, he was probably just in a bad mood for waking up early, like me," I mumbled to myself.

Then I was about to start my farming, when I froze in my tracks. Ever since me and Skye started dating, I had this odd feeling that I was being watched by someone. And frankly, it was really uncomfortable. I decided to ignore it and start working.

When I finished all the farming of the day, I went to the spring to wait for Skye. As I waited, I saw Gray coming by.

"Hey Jill. Mind if I hang out with you for awhile?" Gray asked.

"Of course not, Gray. Have a seat," I replied.

We started to talk for awhile. Turns out, Gray is an excellent companion. He really listens to me and is really sweet.

"Gray, you're really fun to be with, y'know that?" I laughed.

"That's a first…" Gray mumbled.

"Why?" I asked, curious.

"Well, people don't like hanging with me cuz it seems awkward for them to talk to me. They also think I'm some rude, mean guy…it doesn't help that I'm horrible at first impressions…." Gray explained.

"But you're not mean Gray. They probably just need to get to know you better," I replied.

"Hmph, tell that to my Grandfather. He thinks I can't do anything right," Gray frowned. I think this was a touchy subject for him, so I changed the subject.

"So, tell me about your life," I asked. It took Gray a few seconds before the question set in.

"You actually WANT to know?" Gray asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. You're my friend now, so I have the right to know," I smiled.

"Friend huh? Well…my Grandfather thinks that…" Gray started to explain, and I listened to what was probably his life story. Surprisingly, I wasn't bored at all.

I loved listening to Gray's stories, like how demanding and ungrateful his Grandfather is to him, how their resident doctor's name is actually Doctor, and how there is a guy named Won who sells 'special' apples for a very high price.

"…And then, the chicken Popuri and Rick were chasing went on my head and laid an egg," Gray shared.

"That…is…so…funny!" I laughed between breaths.

"It wasn't funny when the chicken made my head a nest, and refused to leave until the egg hatched," Gray sighed at the memory.

I just laughed even more at that statement. At first, Gray had on his signature frown, but soon started laughing with me. We were laughing so hard, we didn't stop until someone cleared his throat. There in front of us, was Skye. I guess I forgot what I was doing here in the first place…

"Oh, hey Skye," I greeted, hugging him.

"Hello princess. Who is your friend?" Skye asked. Skye was smiling, but he was glaring daggers at Gray, who was mirroring Skye's gaze with less intensity.

"This is Gray. He is a friend of mine from Mineral town," I introduced, deciding to ignore their glares at each other.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Skye, Jill's BOYFRIEND," Skye said, emphasizing the word boyfriend.

"Nice to meet you as well. You are very lucky having an amazing and beautiful girl like Jill," Gray stated. I started to blush at the compliment, and Skye started becoming red with anger.

"Well, good night Jill. I'll see ya tomorrow okay?" Gray smirked, knowing he won this round.

"Y-yeah, see ya," I said softly, still blushing. When Gray left, Skye stopped smiling and looked at me.

"Now what was that about?" Skye demanded.

"U-umm…w-well…"I started stuttering.

"I don't like that guy…" Skye frowned.

"Aww…c'mon, Skye…are you jealous?" I asked.

"W-what! Me? Jealous? No way!" Skye started stuttering. Then I started giggling. Skye is adorable when he is jealous!

"I will always love you and only you Skye," I assured him, giving him a kiss on the cheek. He still looked unconvinced, but then he calmed down.

"And I will eternally love you, princess," Skye smiled. Then, it started to rain.

"Why did it have to rain?" Skye groaned. I forgot that Skye really hated rain. Then I had an idea.

"Skye, why don't you sleep at my place for now? I'm sure you don't want to get your hair wet," I teased.

"Well, I think I'll take you up on that offer. I'll even cook dinner!" Skye replied.

"As long as it isn't curry," I said, knowing that's what he wanted to cook.

"Oh man!" Skye frowned, but soon we started laughing and running on our way to the farm.

(Gray's POV)

I sighed as I stared at the perfect couple. Why can't I have a relationship like that? Why can't I have a girl like that? I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish I was in that stupid, flirty thief's shoes.

Even in that short time I hung out with Jill, I like her a lot. She makes me feel special in my pathetic excuse for a life. Even when I was a little bit rude when I first met her, she still smiled and was nice to me afterwards. She actually makes me feel like I'm important.

Every day, all I hear are mean words from my grandfather, the whispers and gossip I hear from Mineral Town, mainly Manna, Sasha and Anna, and the demands and words from my girlfriend.

It's actually nice hearing those compliments Jill says, I like how she talks to me like I'm already a close friend even though we just met…And that I guess I like her… a little bit more than a friend.

The only problem is… I'm not her match. I know love when I see it. The way she looks at Skye, the way she acts around him, what she says… its love. That couple sort of reminds me of… my own parents.

I don't like thinking about that, but it's true. They were a match made by the Harvest Goddess, and I wasn't. I don't want to ruin a relationship like theirs, but why am I still going to?

Yes, I said it. I'm going to wreck a perfectly good relationship, just because my girlfriend said so. I guess my girlfriend can be a LITTLE demanding…ok, fine, she is VERY demanding, but what can I do? She's my girlfriend.

I sighed again, as I walked back to her 'hideout.' Then I knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Her voice asked.

"Hey Claire. It's me, Gray," I replied. After awhile, she opened the door, and there she was. She was looking at me with a frown.

"What took you so long Gray?" She asked.

"I just met your sister," I answered.

"Don't even make me think about that woman!" Claire angrily said. Then she tried composing herself.

"Ok, ok. I'm sorry for shouting. Now tell me, what did you find out?" She asked after awhile.

"Apparently, Jill's boyfriend is Skye, and Skye is easily jealous," I shared. She seemed happy at this news.

"Very good! Skye gets easily jealous, and if we push him…" Claire mused. I sighed. I guess my sighing got her attention.

"What's wrong Gray?" She asked.

"I…was just wondering…" I started. But she interrupted.

"-About what we are doing is wrong? Please Gray, we went through this, like, a million times, and I don't want to repeat myself," She glared.

"U-umm…no. I was actually wondering what the next step is," I lied, but she seemed happy at my response.

"Oh, that's a Good question Gray! Actually, I- I mean we, are going to get a potion from a girl named Witch princess. Then, we will use it on that 'perfect' couple," Claire explained, dragging Gray out of the hideout.

"How come I know this isn't going to end well for me?" Gray mumbled under his breath, but followed Claire anyways.

(Skye's POV)

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that I wasn't in my hideout. For one, it looked like a farmhouse. Second, there was a cat on the table. I absolutely love cats, but I don't own one. Third, the place didn't smell of curry. After a few minutes, I remembered the events that happened yesterday.

"Oh yeah. I slept at Jill's because of the rain…" I said to myself. Speaking of Jill, where is she? I wondered, looking around.

Then, I heard sounds coming from outside. I left the farmhouse, and there, near the shipping bin, was my girlfriend. I love using that word. I was about to approach her, when something attacked me. I started to run as far as my legs could carry me, but I stopped when Jill started laughing.

"Why are you laughing?...oh," I said in realization. That thing that 'attacked' me turned out to be her dog. Which was just a puppy. Great.

While she approached me, she still kept laughing, and the more she laughed, the more it was embarrassing for me.

"Please stop laughing…" I begged. She probably thought I had enough torture because her laughing became giggling and then it just became a smile.

"That was so funny-"she started, but then all of the sudden, she was quiet and was serious.

"Hello Witch Princess…you never come to me unless something really bad happened…what happened?" Jill asked worriedly. I looked behind me, to see a blond woman, with red eyes, and was wearing some sort of hood, cape, thing…and she was floating on a broom!

"JILL! IT'S GONE! IT'S GONE! SOME OF MY STUFF IS GONE!" She screamed. I don't really know this woman, and I don't know why she was freaking out over some stuff, but it seemed to be a really big problem, cuz Jill's eyes widened.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S GONE?" She screamed back. There was too much screaming, so I decided to interfere with the scream session.

"WOULD YOU GUYS STOP SCREAMING, AND CALMLY TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON?" I shouted. (Notice how I shouted, not screamed.)

"Skye…this is Witch Princess. Witch Princess, this is Skye," Jill introduced.

"Ok, nice to meet you, blah, blah, blah, now back to the problem at hand… someone stole my stuff!" Witch Princess said.

"Alright…explain how this happened," Jill requested.

"So, I was working at my house…" Witch Princess started.

…..MAGIC FLASHBACK….

"Yes! I have finally done it! I've created… a Jealousy Potion! This will cause even more trouble for the Harvest Goddess and her 'matchmaking,'" the Witch Princess laughed. Then, she heard a crash behind her.

"Huh? What was that?" Witch Princess wondered aloud. She looked around and saw a glass vial on the floor, its contents spewing out fumes that were now filling the room.

"Wait a minute…this is the Sleeping-"then she fell into a deep sleep before she could even say 'Sleeping Potion.'

…END OF MAGIC FLASHBACK…

"…And when I woke up, various potions where stolen!" Witch Princess exclaimed.

"I see…what kinds of potions?" Jill inquired.

"Umm…there were a lot of potions, but I do remember my Jealousy Potion was stolen…and I think a Mind Erasing Potion…there was so much more, I can't remember!" Witch Princess answered.

"Well, now what?" I asked.

"Well…I have an idea on who stole it…but if I'm right…we have to be extra careful…" Jill replied.

"…Alright…let's hope this all works out," Witch Princess sighed, as she left the farm.

"Umm…Jill? I'm going to go back to my place to change and stuff like that ok?" I asked, worried to leave her alone in case the person comes for her.

"Don't worry Skye, I'll be fine. Don't be such a worrywart!" She laughed, and with that, I left for my home.

(Time Skip to Skye walking on the path towards his home)

"Hmm…I wonder why these potions were stolen…" I wondered aloud. As I kept walking, I tripped over something.

"Oh…crud," I breathed. There in front of me, was a vial. With fumes coming out. Then everything went black.

Hello everyone! I'm sorry for not updating, but to make up for it, I've made this chapter a bit longer. Sorry for the Cliffhanger, but I had to. Well, I guess I'll see you in the next chapter!