Chapter 13: I Know Braden's a Girl

-x-

I remember when I fell asleep in the closet as Jack went outside. I had a dream. It was rather simple. Me standing there in a blank background. Then Noe appeared before me.

He said, "I wouldn't think you could cry…?"

"It's not crying. Or maybe it is? … I really don't know. It's tears though, running down."

Truthfully there was no feeling behind these tears. But the memories I did forget long ago came back in the slightest second at that time, and at that second, no matter how hazy and short it was, the lost feeling I had forgotten returned. I did not know what it was, but it made me cry.

"You should be stronger." Noe replied. "You shouldn't cry about that… I surely won't accept such a crying weakling to work on this farm." He continued. I could not recall what he had said, but I can say that whatever he said made me think.

I could not run forever. One day, I'll have to face it all, face everyone, face the forgotten memories I wish to not return. And I'll do it…someday…. Without a single tear on my face. But… I'll smile. Surely, I'll smile.

"But even though you become strong, it doesn't mean you can't get hurt." This was the last I heard Noe say. "Those who are strong have the deepest of wounds…"

-x-

Chelsea's POV

I stared at my cousin stupidly. What did he just say?

"As of right now, I've decided…" Jack started. "You'll be leaving in three days with me."

I walked up to his side and smacked him on the arm. "You're joking." I looked back at him with a grin but found there was no reflection of the same smile. " Seriously, you're joking…"

He raised a brow and walked over to my closet. Opening it up and looking through it, he asked, "You don't have any bags here? Luggage?"

I stated, crossing my arms, "There's no way I'm leaving, Jack. Where am I going to live? You know I don't wanna go back to that stuffy old place. "

"Exactly, so you move in with me." He replied instantly as if he didn't think about it (and I bet he knew it beforehand). "You'll move in…with me…. To Forget-me-not Valley." He stood up and turned. He was stretching my yellow-flowered underwear, looking quite fascinated about how stretchy they were.

"Don't touch that." I snatched it away from him and smacked him on his head, his hat falling off.

He sighed and shifted his weight to one leg, cocking his head to the side. "See Chels? If a guy were to come by and search through your belongings, they would surely figure out that you're a girl."

"And the ONLY guy I have seen looking through my stuff is YOU." I retorted, stretching my underwear and flinging it back in my drawers. "What kind of person looks through other people's things anyway? Especially "guy" things?"

"Apparently, I seem to be one of them." Jack answered. "Anyway, that subject aside, you are still going to leave this place."

I knew it isn't smart, but I came to a decision. Argue. "Jack, you haven't seen these people. They are a really good and honest group."

"Really?"

"Oh, c'mon. You've only seen two of the many others!"

Jack frowned. "And out of the two I already hate two of them."

I frowned also. "You know Denny didn't mean all that he said. And what did Vaughn do anyway?"

"I… just don't like that Mr. Vaughn." Jack looked at me. "He seems to be a scary man."

I smacked him again yelling, "That ain't no reason to not like him!"

The night continued the same. Quarrel, complaint, complaint, hate, hate, quarrel, fuss, fight, hate. Apparently, we acted no different that five year olds. We avoided each other in my little home once we got tired. And since Jack was being a meanie that he was (as of right now), he slept on the floor that night with Lamb chops (his stuffed animal sheep that he needs to sleep with every night).

-x-

The next day, I actually persuaded him to meet with everyone in town. None of the reporters and mobs were around, so we roamed about freely. Although, it was still a bumpy way around town.

First was Natalie's place. I had told Jack that Natalie and Felicia knew my little secret, but Elliot and Taro did not. When Jack first saw Taro, he gave the same description I thought of the old senior when I saw him.

-x-

"Oh, wow." Felicia smiled. "You two are like twins. How wonderful. It's like Natalie and Elliot, but I can't even tell you two apart!"

Natalie just stared at my cousin. Then I remembered her little comment then (Chapter one) which made me laugh.

"Hah, really? We get told that a lot." Jack said grinning. "We are actually cousins though."

"Well -" Taro started. "It's good to meet one of Braden's family members. You seem like a rather strong man. Do you happen to work in a farm?"

"Yes, sir."

Taro pointed his stick at me. "You should teach yer cousin a thing er two about gaining some bone. He's a puny lad." I chuckled at this comment. Forgive me, Taro, but I don't think I wanna be a macho man and surely not by this guy.

Elliot also seemed rather impressed with my brother. The two of them spoke friendly and Jack didn't find him as "stupid" as Denny and as "scary" as Vaughn.

-x-

Afterwards was Chen, Gannon, Eliza, and Charlie. I also told Jack about these two fathers knowing my secret of being a girl, including the reasons why. He scolded me because there was already four people who knew out of how many and he considered it a lot (but I couldn't blame him because I thought it was a lot too).

The sight of Gannon scared Jack immensely though. He also thought that he kidnapped little Eliza too. That is, until he figured out he was a teddy bear in disguise.

-x-

"It's such a pleasure to meet you, Jack." Chen nodded. "I do hope you don't mind of us knowing your cousin's secret."

Jack shook his head with a smile. What a liar.

Gannon smiled. "Yes, it is. It's our first time to finally hear about a thing from Chelsea's family."

"Yeah, our family is quite…" I tried to find the right word to end it. "Complicated."

Jack nodded and bowed a little. "And thank you for taking care of Chelsea. She couldn't have gotten this far without you."

I looked around. "Where are the kids?"

"Eliza and Charlie?" Chen asked. "They should be playing outside…"

We all heard the doors open and found Eliza stomping up to her father. "Daddy! Charlie was being mean and trampled all over my beautiful -" She paused as she caught sight of both me and Jack. Gasping, she squealed, "May I be dreaming a wonderful dream or do I see in the reality before my delicate eyes two of my amazingly handsome Braden?"

Jack, I noticed, was probably blown away by the large and detailed vocabulary that Eliza had, judging from his expression.

"What do you mean two of Older Brother?" Charlie asked, turning the corner to stare at the two of us.

"Uh…Kid." Jack started, looking at Charlie. "You okay?"

"WHOA! A CLONE!" Charlie yelled, pointing at us.

-x-

Third came Julia and Mirabelle… I should've thought twice about this meeting.

-x-

Mirabelle happily beamed. "Well, nice to meet you, Jack. My name is Mirabelle." She lent out her hand.

Jack accepted and shook it nicely. "My pleasure."

"Oh, now I see that this family is full of gentlemen. Runs in the family, huh?" She chuckled.

Jack and I looked at each other and chuckled weakly ourselves.

"Mom, why did you call for me earlier?" Julia appeared from the door behind the counter.

I shifted my sight on Jack and heard him mumble, "Ooh la la, where have you been all my life?" I sighed and kicked him on his ankle, snickering to myself as he stumbled a little on the spot.

"Braden, who is this that looks exactly like you?"

"My cousin." I gritted my teeth between smiling lips. "Jack… Jack, meet Julia, Mirabelle's daughter."

He took her hand gently into his own and smiled pleasantly. "A pleasure to meet the one and only like yourself."

Julia blinked at this and I decided to take this chance to swoop in and dive, but it seems someone beat me to that. We suddenly heard Jack yell out and yank his hand away from Julia.

"Crap, what was that?" He yelled, massaging a small red mark on his hand.

Julia picked up a little yellow chick (which was freakishly adorable) from the counter. "I'm sorry. We've been having a lot of chickens lately. They've been getting cranky because of the lack of space. Vaughn had brought to many here…"

I noted that Jack's face twitches in irritation. "Vaughn?"

Julia smiled. "Yes, Vaughn, our animal dealer. He also brings animals to Forget-Me-Not Valley and Mineral Town." This comment seemed to hit a nail on his head.

"I.. I see…"' Jack trailed off.

Oh.. That's right. Jack's farm is in Forget-Me-Not Valley too… Did he not know that?

-x-

Last was Lanna. Jack knew of her over the radio, but had never seen her before. Plus, he refused to meet with Denny. It seemed that Denny thought the same, since I didn't see him anywhere that day. That fisherman looked really depressed the other day.

-x-

Lanna smiled. "Braden, I never heard of you talking about having a cousin. A good looking one too." Then she frowned. "But I can't even tell you two apart!"

Jack smiled, "Really? Well, I could pull you out easily out of a field of beautiful flowers because your radiance glows as bright as a thousand suns."

I grimaced at this pick up line. It was absolutely horrible. So horrible that I just had to stomp on his foot for it. He was a failure… I could even do better… But I was surprised at Lanna's reply.

"Oh, that was wonderful! You could do poetry." The sparkles in the popstar's eyes glowed. "It is… quite romantic…"

'Geh…I'm probably going to throw up tonight…' I thought, stuffing my bread roll down my throat.

-x-

No POV; The Next Day

Chelsea stepped up to the sand of the beach, looking around hesitantly. There were two objectives for her today: Find Vaughn and Denny. Avoid Jack at all cost. She hadn't seen Denny nor Vaughn all day yesterday and Jack was just being purely annoying. Plus she is under "house arrest" so says her cousin. The rebellion overtook the good in this young escapee and she was sure the her cousin was going insane.

She quickly took a look behind her. No one was there except the road heading in for town. She looked ahead over herself and crept forward. Quickly tiptoeing along the beach, there was no sign of Vaughn and Denny's beach house came into sight. His door was open, creaking in then going back out because of the hot wind. Chelsea tapped on the door lightly, opening the door slowly.

At that instant, she instantly saw a murky dark fog dubbed with the words "depression", "defeat", and "despair", all radiating off of Denny who was sitting at the corner of his house, facing the wall and making a circle on the floor using accumulated dust.

"He's been like this since that incident." Vaughn's voice suddenly spoke out of the blue, startling Chelsea.

"Ack! …Vaughn, what are you doing here?" Then she remembered his comment about cheering up the saddened fisherman. It was hard for her to imagine the animal dealer cracking some jokes. The thought even was given for a laugh. "So.. How was the cheering up? I didn't see you or Denny at all yesterday." By the look on his face, she guessed that the progress was futile and that he didn't need to answer.

Vaughn sighed and sat down on the floor. He then patted the empty space beside him, signaling for her to sit down. Once she was finally in place beside him on the hard wood floor, Vaughn began in storytelling mode.

"Ever since that night, he's been brooding…More like he's been dead." Vaughn said.

-x-

Flashback…

"You know you can't sulk like this forever." Vaughn said quietly, leaning against the post of Denny's door.

"Maahhh…." Denny groaned, sprawled out against his hard wood floor. The image was rather pathetic, making it an eye-sore for Vaughn.

'And I said I would cheer him up… baloney.' Vaughn thought. He quickly sighed and turned to leave. "Forget it. I'm just wasting time here." He then felt a tight pull at the end of his pants and peered back to find Denny on his knees, right behind him.

The fisherman looked up, tears glittering at the ends of his brown eyes and that puppy face of his.

"Let go…" Vaughn sighed. He saw that the fisherman refused. "Let go… Freak." He kicked him away, but to his surprise, Denny had recovered quickly.

Now, Vaughn was rather disturbed. He instantly felt the dramatic mood fall upon them. He watched Denny gasp deeply, clutch his chest and yell out, "What is this? MUTINY!"

-x-

"So since yesterday, we both seemed to be caught up in this… dramatic mood." Vaughn set a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you, Braden, for breaking up this chaos."

Chelsea looked over at Denny to find that he was still withering away at the corner. She looked at Vaughn to find that his expression was still nonchalant. Standing up, she walked over to Denny and squatted down, putting her own hand over his head.

He looked up at her and whimpered. "Bray…"

Instantly, she pushed his head down to the ground.

"AAAHh! It hurts!" Denny yelled.

Chelsea sat on top of his bent over position, with a frown on her face. "What's wrong with you, Denny? You can face the most fiercest of shark and yet you can't even face reality of my own cousin!" She slid down to the floor and sighed.

Denny sat up slowly, his eyes softening. "I'm sorry… You're right…" drawing in a breath, " But… I still feel bad. I… didn't know…"

"About the family issues.. Heh, forget it." She said gruffly. "That doesn't matter. I guess it all doesn't really matter now does it?"

Denny blinked. "What?"

"I have yet to tell anyone this…" Chelsea drew in a breath. "I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon."

Vaughn's eyes sparked as he quickly jerked his head to look out the window. No one was there.

"No way…." Denny turned Chelsea around. "Why?"

"Jack wants me to go. The paparazzi earlier gave him the call to come here and take me away." She said, defeat in her tone. But immediately, the fire flamed into her eyes and she pumped her fist, not noticing that she had totally punched Denny away. "BUT THAT WON'T STOP ME! YEAH, RIGHT AM I LEAVING! HUYAAA!"

Vaughn stared at the both of them quietly. He watched as Chelsea continuously smacked Denny, yelling with inspiration to not leave.

"YOU'RE HITTING ME ON PURPOSE!" Denny yelled angrily.

Chelsea stopped and looked at him with straightforward eyes. "You deserve it for losing yourself and being Mr. I-am-so-glum."

Denny frowned. "You can't tell me how I should act like. NOR dub me as such title!"

Chelsea gasped, clutched her collar and yelled, "BLASPHEMY!"

Vaughn looked back out of the window again just to find the beach and its crashing waves. Behind him, the two were looking at his lean back.

"My, I never noticed that Vaughn has a nice back." Chelsea suddenly blurted out.

"OI! What about mine?" Denny argued. "Mine is pretty lean also."

Vaughn frowned, not giving the chance of turning around. He thought to himself, 'Why do I hang out with such people? So random… Probably it's because I love them…' He looked beside him to find both Denny and Chelsea smiling at him. "Don't go dubbing my own thoughts!" He yelled, smacking them away with his hat.

-x-

"Thanks, Bray. You know… for cheering me up.. I feel good now." Denny grinned, messing up Chelsea's hair. He then came to a pause. "Hey.."

"What?" Chelsea questioned as they both began to walk out his door.

"I remember your hair to be thicker back then. It's light now…?"

Chelsea jumped before him. "Oh really? Hahah. Seems like you noticed. I got a hair cut!"

"Why? It's still the same…" Denny asked, looking at her in different angles.

"Nah. It was getting too long, becoming quite a bother."

Denny brought up his lip to see that she didn't want to continue anymore as it was getting late. "You should get going home now huh?"

Chelsea nodded. "Yeah, I should. But I don't want to.. Knowing that an angry grizzly bear is waiting for me." She chuckled, imagining her cousin yelling and romping the yard. "But it's okay."

"Yeah." Denny beamed. "Don't give up! Or else I won't forgive you, little bro."

"Right, big bro. Later!" Chelsea ran ahead toward the other end of the beach. She saw that the sun was setting and wondered how long was she hanging out at Denny's place. Also, during that time, she noticed that Vaughn was acting quite strange, saying that he wanted to check out something. She couldn't just leave without saying good bye to him either.

She suddenly stopped her pace. An odd feeling overwhelmed her. She was being followed. Quickly turning, she made her stance to find no one was there. Then turning the other way, no one was there either. 'What is this?' She questioned herself. Turning back to her original direction, she felt something slam into her, making her fall into the sand.

"Chelsea!" Jack's voice rang throughout the beach.

It was quite silent…. And awkward.

Chelsea knew one thing. She sure didn't trip over a mound of sand to fall behind the huge boulder at the other end of the beach. And she knew another. Somebody was on top of her back who had pushed her over to not fall into the perils of her dear cousin. She felt the shallow breathing on her chest, then heard the familiar clinging of metal.

She frowned. "Vaughn."

He rolled off of her and on to the ground, sitting up. Chelsea noticed the instant change of mood from awkward to suddenly cool and collected.

"Don't try to suddenly act cool in front of me!" She yelled, not noticing that her voice slipped. He tried not to take notice to this as she continued. "Why'd you tackle me anyway?"

He looked at her and put his hat back on. "I slipped…"

'I slipped…' She repeated in her thoughts. "Oh, yeah. That explains a lot…"

His voice interrupted her, quickly saying, "You're cousin..."

She paused, blinking a few times. Then she smirked. "Since when did you care?"

"Never." Vaughn stood up, brushing off his pants. He began walking away, knowing that Chelsea would follow after.

Chelsea poked him on his shoulder. "But you.. You pushed me over so Jack wouldn't see me."

"I told you… I slipped."

"Then why would you be directly behind me?" His sudden halt made her bump into his back like usual. He looked at her and said bluntly, "You're no different yourself."

"Well either way… You cared enough to hide me from my cousin. I must be talented or something!" Chelsea mused at herself.

Vaughn sighed, turning around. "I don't know what your talking about."

"Don't deny it, Vaughn. You have a soft spot."

"The only things I care about is my future and money."

Chelsea shut her mouth, staring at him. "…You're no different either."

Another silence came upon them. Neither made a sound or movement. Chelsea sighed and looked out to the sea.

"The first time I met you Vaughn, I thought we would never get along. Mirabelle and Julia asked me to become a good friend to you. I had the slightest idea about that. But even so, I still tried to befriend you." Chelsea frowned. "But the more I got to know you… the more I realized we were so much a like."

Vaughn closed his eyes and began walking away.

"So I made a bargain with myself..." This made Vaughn stop on his tracks.

Chelsea's voice continued. "We could have gotten along great since we seem to have only one interest alike. Julia told me that she wanted me to be your friend. It was no use at all since we both selfishly drive for one thing. Money. But I think it was good that we never really got along with each other. You probably never saw me as your friend."

Vaughn grinned. "Heh. That's right. You are only another person to give me the money that I need."

"And I bet that's all I ever will be to you. But, it's good. I'm leaving this place, but at least, you get to stay here and get to know these people. Being here… was probably the worst time of my life as I realized things one by one. And it was a pain… but I liked being here."

Chelsea smiled. "Probably once I'm out of your way, you wouldn't have to worry about how the finances on my farm are doing to make sure your job is going well. Then you could see other things." She sighed. "So.. I miserably failed to become a good friend to you Vaughn. So I'm sorry."

He found her to be standing right in front of him. She was smiling, her hand out. He hesitantly accepted the hand.

She gave it a good shake. "Thank you for the business we shared so far." Her grip suddenly tightened. "AND you can be sure that it will continue."

"What?" He blinked.

"There's no way I'm leaving here! That speech about you was true. I have another reason to be here. Since you and I are two peas in a pod, we have something to learn! I realized that while being on this island! It's like medicine!" She laughed, tugging him across the beach.

'This woman is insane…' Vaughn thought, being dragged along. He found that her grip around his hand softened.

"Like I said, I have failed miserably so far as to being your friend. But no matter how you see me, there is a lesson to be learned from this all." She turned around. "Money isn't everything!"

"It is."

"No it isn't! NO use to deny it!" Chelsea roared. Calming down, she quietly spoke. "I wouldn't believe it either as I stayed on this island, but I was proven wrong, especially when I learned about you. Looking at you, I found a good reflection of myself… so I just couldn't leave it alone,"

"You were never asked to do so, being so nosy. You don't know about my life." He replied lowly.

"Yeah, I don't know a thing about what kind of life you had. But the result is somehow the same as mine. And together.." She tried to pick out the right words… "Together… we could …. Uhh…"

He looked at her as she was puzzled to find the right word.

"Uhh… well, we could do something good about it…?" She knew her inspirational speech spiraled down to a bottomless pit.

Vaughn looked at her blankly. "You're an idiot." He turned, ready to leave.

Chelsea suddenly heard a "pfft" coming from him. "You're laughing…"

Vaughn threw his hat at her face. " I don't know what your talking about." He watched the woman franticly try to search her way out of his hat. 'What did she mean she made a bargain with herself?' He thought deeply.

"Mmm, Vauffhgn…ded dyo huuffen tuh usf a shfamfuu daft smwelld fwike pweaches? (Did you happen to use a shampoo that smelled like peaches?)" Her voice muffled under the hat.

-x-

The Last Day before Departure…

"I refuse to leave this island with a passion!" Chelsea stood tall. "I object to his judgement!"

"Overruled." Jack stood as well. "You must leave the island."

"Who's going to take care of this farm?"

"I'm sure that old man (Taro) could find someone. And plus it would mean that I wouldn't have such serious competition."

"I could never say good bye to all these people though."

"That' why I'll tell them about your departure."

"Taro would be against it for sure. As well as the others!"

"How would you know that? I'm sure that Taro person thing would be happy to know that there could be a bigger better and stronger replacement to take care of this farm."

"LIES!" Chelsea yelled.

As usual, though this was meaning to be a "serious" conversation between the two adults, they were the kind to play around with the mood. And overall… one was a negative while the other was a negative charge as well. It was sure to be some static some where.

"Chelsea." Jack pleaded. "It would be best. You've only known these people for a few months."

"And they are wonderful people that I can trust!" She defended

"And how would you know that?" Jack ended his question short.

Chelsea looked at him. No word came from her mouth as she soon realized how much that question was. If one was raised by actions in her life with no emotion at all, how did one know how to trust?

"Chelsea… I'm worried…" silence "You and I both know that the world of which you grew up in - there is no such thing as trust. And… for one like you - how would you know?"

She didn't reply.

"It's cruel for me to reveal this again before you… But I have to remind you." He was about to start again, but she had raised her hand toward him.

"Please stop. I understand." shortly she added, "Fine.. I'll go."

Jack looked at her intently, expecting her to sprint out of the door swiftly, but she did not. Instead she headed for her closet, opening it up slowly.

"Jack… it's not fun to know that where you grew up was all wrong. But being here opened my eyes little by little." Chelsea smiled. "Probably the reason why I want to stay here is because … because I know being here is good for me. That I could see and understand things I never had felt and known.. And experience more than I could have ever had back home. You wanted that right? And now… you are just taking that away from me."

She never said anything else for the rest of the day, staying in her home, saying she wouldn't go out. The house was silent. The farm was sitting patiently. Jack was rather uneasy as the minutes passed like hours. It was around two in the afternoon that Jack decided to head out.

"I'm going out now.. To tell about your leaving."

Chelsea turned to face him from her bed. Her lips didn't curl to a smile and her eyes looked fogged with distance. "Okay." she voiced lifelessly.

He quickly moved out, closing the door with his back. The feeling was just not right. Her words repeated softly in his head.

Probably the reason why I want to stay here is because … because I know being here is good for me. That I could see and understand things I never had felt and known.. And experience more than I could have ever had back home. You wanted that right? And now… you are just taking that away from me.

He ruffled his hair annoyed. She was right. He was taking away something from her, but he was sure that she could probably still feel the same at Forget-me-Not Valley.

'And yet she's so attached to all these people… what was it again? A second family?' Another voice of his thought in his mind.

He was about to walk toward town until he heard someone say, "Wait. Don't go yet." It caught him by surprise as he heard some shuffling behind him and a brooding cowboy his height appear before him.

"Vaughn." Jack mumbled. He had an eerie feeling inside of him and glared at him. The farmer didn't know why, but this animal dealer brought bad feelings in his stomach. He felt… that this guy before him.. Could be a huge hurdle to jump over. "What are you doing here?"

"I happen to drop by since a certain fisherman wanted to give some fish to his bro and cousin." Vaughn answered coolly. "Are you planning to take Braden away?"

At first, he was thrown off by the use of "Braden" as Chelsea's name, but his eyes widened when reality hit him once again. "You listened to our conversation?"

"And didn't you do the same?" Vaughn replied quickly. "Yesterday. At the beach. I guessed you secretly followed Braden and listened in to the conversation with that fisherman and the farmer, I also being there."

Jack scowled seeing that he was found out. "Hey.. Let's go somewhere NOT near the house. Perhaps… Braden… may hear us."

Vaughn nodded and asked, "Where to?"

"Over there." Jack pointed with his eyes at the river on the west end of the farm. "We could talk there."

As they walked, they decided to continue talking.

"What did you hear?"

"..That you were planning to leave with Braden.. Back to Forget-me-Not Valley right?"

"Oh yeah… You know where I live.."

"Yeah, but that Takakura guy takes care of the shipping from my place to yours." Vaughn said. "Why are you taking him away?"

Jack eyed at him. "Why are you so interested?"

They both stood right at the edge of the river that a long silence fell upon them. It was rather queer since neither of them made a sound, quietly listening to the rush of water.

"I know… that Braden… is a girl." Vaughn voiced deeply.

Jack took a while to respond. "What?" turning toward him. "And what makes you say that?"

"I'm guessing her name is Chelsea right?" Vaughn sighed. "Ever since I figured out I knew her name surely wasn't Braden, especially since she would frown at the thought of her name."

Jack found that Vaughn's voice was honest. "Are you earnestly telling the truth?"

Vaughn looked at him. " I also figured out myself who was on her side of knowing her secret. She's really something to get so many people involved."

Jack didn't say anything.

"When I first figured out…" Vaughn replayed the flashback in his mind slowly, remembering vividly. "I thought she was an idiot to act as a boy when she was a girl. I thought it would be best to tell someone. Surprisingly though… I didn't."

Jack turned toward the river again and nodded. "Please.. Continue."

"I first thought that probably it would be …fun… not to tell, for sheer and quiet entertainment. But as it kept going with me keeping this secret to myself and learning that I wasn't the only one…I found myself seeing a different reason too. For one though, it was plainly annoying since she kept bugging me."

"Ahah… that is like her." Jack chuckled.

"I learned from those whom I am living with that they wanted "Braden" to become my best friend. When I first thought of that idea, I thought it would become impossible." Vaughn stopped, seeing that now… he was the one talking too much.. But for some apparent reason, he didn't mind. "But as I spent time with her… or actually.. The more she annoyed me, the more I began to see myself." He then paused.

Both of them frowned deeply at the thought.

"Ugh.. That's horrible… You … and Chelsea…Alike?" Jack felt like he was going to gag.

"I know…" Vaughn rubbed his temples. "I thought it was disgusting myself…"

"Well.. Pushing that horrific thought aside…" Jack said, gesturing to push away those thoughts. "Continue on."

Vaughn nodded and thought to himself how to put it to words; then he had an epiphany. "Remembering yesterday, Chelsea was at the beach with us two. I saw that you were coming to get her, and apparently I decided not to let that happen."

"Oh. So you're the reason why I couldn't find her afterward." Jack accused.

Vaughn admitted. "Yeah, I shoved her behind that huge boulder at the other end of the beach… I told her I had slipped. It was a lie and she knew it. She also told me … that she knew too that we were alike. And that both she and I had the same thought about the whole… picture. But she had told me… that since we are alike, being here… is like medicine."

You wanted that right? And now… you are just taking that away from me. Her voice rang into Jack mind and he looked away.

" She told me that she saw herself in me.. And that she wanted to help me. Though she admitted that she knew nothing of my life, she said that I was lucky to stay here while she would have to leave with you. " Vaughn sighed though. "But her determination got the best of her and she was flaming, announcing that she wouldn't leave at all."

"She would have to. It is best. " Jack stated stoutly

"No." Vaughn countered. "Let her stay."

Jack stared at him and he stared back equally as strong.

"Why do you want her to stay?"

"It's not my choice whether or not she wants to stay…" turning toward the water he muttered, "But I believe that it's best for her to stay. She likes it here and the people like her. And seeing that we are both alike…"

The animal dealer turned to the cousin farmer. " I just can't leave her alone like that.. In that state.. She too has to change. So please…" He closed his eyes thinking for a moment and bowed down. "Please let her stay."

Jack's eyes flickered with surprise at the bent over figure. He grabbed at his collar and jerked him up. "Don't do that. It's an eye-sore."

-x-

Chelsea blinked a few times at the wall that was beside her bed. Apparently her alarm was the loud banging at her door. "Okay.. Okay.. Hold on…" She pulled herself out of bed to find herself still in yesterday's clothes. She gaped at it, then heard the banging noise again.

Dragging herself toward the door, she found no sign of Jack anywhere. 'Where in the world is he? Were leaving today.' She thought to herself. Unlocking the door, the door itself decided to push right open, ramming into her face.

"GAH! Braden!" Denny's voice rang like a room filled with thousands of angry children having temper tantrums. "Dude, I'm sooooo sorry!" He bent down over the fallen over body and wept.

Chelsea shoved his face away and sighed. "Denny.. I'm not dead yet…"

"Braden! You should take a look outside!" Denny said excitedly, already hauling her out the door.

"Denny! Put me down!" She yelled, pummeling at his back (since he picked her up.) His hands suddenly loosened and she slipped off from him to turn and find this newly built chicken coop standing before her.

She gaped at it.

"Will you look at that! A new building! No, a chicken coop!"

That's when questions ran through her mind. Who? When? How? She was pushed inside by Denny and she found herself now gaping at the inside.

It was nice and tidy, some feeding bins filled with food. A little water trough was sitting at a nearby corner and the food bin was filled with bird food. Then two little chicks appeared from the side of the coop, jumping over one another, flapping their little feathered wings.

Chelsea ran over and picked up the both of them, a huge smile coming upon her lightly blushed face. "They are so cute, Denny!"

Denny smiled. "Yeah." He then noticed an envelope sitting on top of the shipping bin. "Hey look you got a letter.

"Oh really?" Chelsea gently handed the chicks to Denny as she dove for the envelope. Opening it up she found that 50,000 G was already waiting for her in the inside. She gawked at it too.

"JANG. 50,000 G? What is this?" Denny marveled. "It's like you got a Jackpot or something…?"

"I … know…" She felt her eyes sting with the feeling of happiness. She found a letter behind the money and pulled it out, opening it up.

It said:

Dear Braden (depending on who's listening (she didn't read this outloud) )

I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what I had said and put you through. I'm sure me being there gave you a tough time. But I know I was wrong for saying and implying such things. I would ask for your forgiveness face to face, but I just as I had known, I had to leave today. I want you to stay there and grow, just like I wanted you too in the first place. I'll also be expecting something good there from you too. I may come and visit, but not like every month. I know you need your space. But I will be there for you anytime.

Also, I have enclosed here 50,000 G. I thought it might come in handy.. Along with the chicken coop. That old man (Taro) dropped by after hearing you had a chicken coop, but you were still asleep. I too also bought a chick for ya so it wouldn't be lonely (and since they had too many chicks around). You should name the one I got you … SIR CAMELOT!. Ha Ha.

Well anyway, enough of me taking your time. I love ya and hope for the best. You better keep your head strong. And also… you might want to thank a friend of yours since it was him who convinced me. I know.. That he will surely be your side… to my dislike..

Love from your most awesome cousin in the whole wide world,

Jack

Chelsea blinked away from tears. "That idiot. I love him so much…"

"I know right." Denny was also teary eyed.

"Oh.. Wait…" Chelsea looked at him. "Were you the one who convinced him?"

Denny shook his head. Kuu also appeared from his back and shook his feathers.

Chelsea thought very hard. "Huh… I wonder who?"

-x-

"Did you REALLY have to add that part in?" Vaughn asked irritated.

"Yes… she may be quite clueless at first BUT she'll figure out who soon." Jack grinned staring at the island. "Which is you."

Both were already on the boat, Jack returning to the farm and Vaughn going back for business.

"But at least… now I know that there could be someone I could trust to take care of my darling Chelsea."

"Uh..huh.."

Jack stood next to the animal dealer and leaned against the railing. He stared at him deeply which sort of scared Vaughn.

"What?" He asked gruffly.

"I just wanted to know…" Jack said quite differently. "HOW did you figure out that Braden was a girl?"

The image replayed in Vaughn's mind all over again in a second and he frowned, looking away. He thought, 'Dear Goddess… I'm probably going to die if I tell..'

-x-

Just Realized I was joking throughout most of the chapter. Har har.

~ DoJo