*laughs* Here's an update for you all! I won't be able to give you a gaurenteed date for the next chapter, so enjoy whie you can! But I will update soon! Please review an tell me what you think! Sorry for spelling errors. It's the middle of the night, you can forgive me. As a reminder, I do not own Harvest Moon and I also do not own the song "Ready to Love Again" by Lady Antebellum.

Ready to Love?

An hour after taking the Advil Chelsea gives me, I can walk on my own two legs again. Chelsea stays the entire time, just to make sure I'm okay. The entire time, I'm telling her she can go; but she doesn't listen to me. As soon as I can stand, I flee the room.

I make my way out to the meadow again. Immediately, I begin to pace again. My thoughts were a huge jumble; it was hard to make anything out of them.

My mind would simply not comprehend the fact that Sabrina was coming here. I hadn't seen her for almost six years, but I could see her in my mind like it was yesterday.

Sabrina had been my girlfriend for all of high school. We started going out in the ninth grade; pretty much the first week. We had been forced to sit next to each other in all our classes, and after about a week we just…got together.

She had been the first girlfriend I'd ever had. We had great times together, and trying to forget her was like trying to forget myself. My entire life had been about her back then. Though, now that I think back, we did have a lot of problems.

For one thing, she always did exactly what her father told her to do; no matter what it was. Eventually that was the reason we broke up. That day had been awful. But it wasn't the only thing we

Sabrina was obsessed with diamonds and minerals, just like her father. I ever really liked mining to begin with, but all her talk about it drove me to hate it. For her, pink diamonds were her favourite. I had been so mad that Chelsea had that earlier.

And she always argued with me about the way I dressed. She said that cowboys were really out of style and that I should update my outfit. That really ticked me off.

We always ended making up. I had really thought we would get married one day. That's how it all ended.

It had been right after we finished our last year of high school. Sabrina and I had gone out to a movie and then out for supper to celebrate. Then we ended up back at my apartment. We had gone straight to the bedroom, for some serious make-out sessions. Looking back, I had to admit that I was being reckless but she let me.

We had gone pretty far, when at the last second, I backed out. She had a curious look on her intelligent face at that moment. I had smiled at her, gotten off the bed and taken a ring out of my jacket. I proposed to her. I knew I was being old-fashioned, but I didn't want to lose my virginity to her until I knew she could be fine forever.

But she refused. She said she didn't want to get married yet. At first I thought that was fine; I could be patient and wait. Then she dropped the bomb.

Sabrina was moving away with her father. I had asked her why and she wouldn't say. I was burning with curiosity and kept badgering her. Finally, she cracked and told me that she was engaged already.

As you can imagine, my world was shattered. I yelled at her; cussed her out. Desperately begging her to tell me why she did it. Why she got engaged to another guy, why she was even dating another guy, and why she led me on.

She wasn't even in tears or anything. Calmly, she told me that he was rich, powerful and her father approved of him. So it was logical to marry him. I on the other hand was poor; practically a nobody and her father hated me.

I was in tears. Although I wouldn't admit it if you asked me now. I told her that I loved her, didn't that count for anything?

Sabrina gave me a cold hard look, said no, and then dressed herself and walked out my front door. Like she was saying goodbye to a stranger instead of someone she'd been dating for four straight years.

Angrily I kick at the ground. A clump of grass flies into the air and lands a short distance away. My fists clench and my nails dig into my skin.

Suddenly someone taps me on the shoulder. I spin around; ready to yell bloody murder at the person behind me. It turns out to be a girl I've never met though.

"Hi, I'm Lanna." She introduces herself.

I growl at her. She jumps back a bit, and I find that I'm pleased by her reaction. The girl has long flowing blond hair and stunning brown eyes, but it doesn't capture my attention romantically or anything. There was a green bandanna on her head and pink bows on the sides.

The girl speaks up again before I can turn around. I'm a retired pop singer. I'll be living on this island. You're pacing around where my house is, so I came to ask you to move please."

I growl at her again. "Then how old are you? Thirty? You did some surgery to make yourself look twenty?"

She frowns at me. "I was a one-hit teen pop star. I'm twenty one now."

Lanna leaves in a huff and slams the door of her house, which was indeed near where I was pacing.

Slowly, I begin to try and calm down my breathing. I close my eyes and try and empty my mind of thoughts. Then I begin to walk towards the beach.

I reach the beach without being intercepted by anyone. When I reach the beach, I walk up to the shore line.

Impulsively, I take my boots off and chuck them to the side. My socks follow them, and then I roll up my pant legs.

I take a few steps forward so that the water caresses my feet. The cold water is actually really refreshing. As I close my eyes, I can pretend that all my emotions are being dragged out with the tide.

How long I stand there, I don't know. Eventually, I put my boots back on and walk away from the water. I don't go far though; I stop at the he rock on the beach.

My Zen like state was still intact, so I sit down and lay against the rock. My hat tipped over my face, I begin to meditate.

What feels like mere moments later to me, I'm being shaken. It takes me a few minutes to fully get out of my state. Had I fallen asleep? Or had I been really in the zone?

"Vaughn! Vaughn! Oh my god, Vaughn! Please get up!" A voice cries and I hear someone sobbing.

I blink my eyes to a pitch black sky. How come I was lying on the ground? And where was my hat?

Confused, I try to sit up, but find that I can't. Someone was crying, and they were crying into my shirt. I make out long brown hair, and a rucksack on the ground.

Before my mind can tell myself not to, my hand is gently stroking her hair. It feels really smooth in my hands, and I smile at her.

Then her head snaps up. Her face is tear streaked and red from crying. She looked like a mess.

I sit up to get a better look at her. Then suddenly, her arms are around me in a tight hug as she begins to cry again.

"I-I thought you were d-dead." She chokes out through tears. Instead of pushing off like my normal reaction would be, I put my arms around her too and stroke her hair in comfort.

"Why did you think that?" I ask her softly.

Chelsea mumbles into my shirt. "You weren't m-moving. Your eyes were c-closed and you weren't b-breathing. I thought you'd had a h-heart attack or something."

I actually laugh. "I'm not that old."

She leans back and sniffles. "How old are you then?"

"I'm only twenty four." I tell her.

Chelsea smiles and sniffles again. "I'm twenty one."

"Legal drinking age." I tell her.

Her eyes go wide. "That's right! You missed dinner. That's why I came out to find you. I had dinner at your place and you weren't there. Mirabelle and Julia were worried, so they sent me to look for you."

My eyes go wide themselves. I had been out for a really long time. They must have been really worried.

"How did you find me?" I ask her.

She gives me a real smile, not that she was sure I wasn't dead. "There are only so many places to look on an island this size."

I smile back at her. Then her eyes go wide, and she jumps off of me. For a second I'm shocked. She had been sitting on my lap. I had barely even noticed. It just seemed so…so…right, for lack of a better word.

Chelsea is blushing like crazy though. She leans down and picks up my hat, then hands it to me. I take it slowly, and then place it on my head. Though when I put it on, I keep the brim up so I can see clearly.

I stand up and walk over to her. She's backed up against the rock I had been sitting against earlier. When I'm standing in front of her, I stop.

We're really close together. Not touching, but I wanted to so badly. When she was around, I could forget everything else. She made me feel like it was possible that I could love again.

Chelsea looks up at me. I swallow. "I'm…sorry."

She blinks a few times, to be sure she heard right. "What for? You never apologize for anything."

I swallow again. She was right; but I had to say it. "I'm sorry, for scaring you. Just now, and this morning. I didn't mean to make you worry."

Her gaze softens and her smile is sweet and innocent. "Thank you Vaughn. For apologizing. It means a lot to me."

Neither of us moves. Sick fantasies speed through my head, and I do my best to banish them. The Zen state would be good right about now. Only when I've completely ridden my mind of the fantasies, do I notice that I've unconsciously closed space between us.

I don't think I could stop myself. Chelsea stood there with her big innocent blue eyes, and her head tilted up at me. For the second time, I glance at her lips. They were perfectly curved and looked slightly moist.

At that moment something rises up inside of me that is dying to kiss her. My head tilts a bit as I watch her reaction. Her eye flutter closed as she leans in towards me.

Before our lips touch, I can feel her breath on mine. It was warm, and sent tingles up my skin that I had never felt before. We're both breathing hard and we haven't even done anything yet.

I'm about to close my lips around hers, when my stomach growls. Loud. Her eyes flutter open as my stomach growls in protest at me.

She leans back against the rock and I take a step back, the moment gone. My stomach growls at me, and I want to growl back. Stupid stomach.

Chelsea smiles at me. "You want to get something to eat? Maybe a drink?"

I nod as I pull my hat closer. "A drink would be good."

We walk in silence to the inn. No one else is inside. I guess it was later than I had thought. Music is playing dimly in the background as we go and order our food.

Chelsea sits down at a table and I follow suit by sitting next to her. As we wait for the food, I decide to take my hat off for a minute; I knew how much she licked it off.

Sure enough, she smiles and looks at me. My attention is on the hat though. The stupid purple ribbon was still wrapped around it. Why did I still have that? Sabrina had given it to me on our one-year dating anniversary. I should have gotten rid of it.

I scowl and growl at the thing. I've had enough of it. Quickly, I tear the ribbon off. I stand up from my seat and walk over to the trash can where I throw the ribbon inside.

A huge sigh is released from my mouth; like I was glad to be rid of it after all those years. I walk back to the table, where Chelsea is looking at me with a curious face.

She doesn't ask me about it though. Instead, she smiles and laughs. "Your hat looks so bare now."

I sit in the seat next to her. "It's not bad."

She chuckles softly under her breath. Then she reaches up to her head and takes out the red bandanna that was on her head.

Chelsea grabs my hat and glances at me. Then she looks back at the hat and ties the bandanna around it. When she's done she smiles and look back at me. "There you go. Not so bare anymore."

Then she takes my hat and places it back on my head. Her fingers leave quickly and I can't help but wish they wouldn't.

I nod at her. "Thank you."

Then I blur out a question. "Why do you keep talking to me?"

"Excuse me?" She responds.

"Well, I never talk to anyone on the island beside Mirabelle and Julia and that's because they're my family. Outside the island, I only talk to my customers when it's necessary. But you're different. You always come up to talk to me, even when I tell you to go away."

"Yeah, a lot of people think you're being rude by not talking to them." Her face is slightly sad.

I scoff. "It's not my concern what other people think."

"Well, you could smile more." She offers timidly.

"Why?" The question bursts from my lips. "It's not like anyone cares."

Her expression falls, and I know immediately that was a bad answer. She hangs her head and whispers. "But I'd like to see you smile."

My mouth was open in shock. "No…no one's ever, ever, told me that before."

She looks back up at me. "I've seen you smile once. It was beautiful. And…I'd-I'd like to see it again."

My face is blushing a deep red. As an automatic reflex, my hand goes to my hat to pull it down farther. However I notice it and instead of pulling it down, I take it off and place it back on the table.

Then I give her a smile. Not a huge one, but it was a smile. Her entire face lights up, and I wish I could keep it like that forever. She actually was really beautiful. Wait…I've said that before. Well, it's not any less true.

One of the waiters comes by and puts our food down on the table, as well as two glasses of red wine. Chelsea takes hers with a smile. "Legal drinking age, remember?"

She laughs and takes a huge gulp out of it, as I sip mine. Then we begin to eat. I'd ordered Spaghetti and Chelsea had ordered a small thing of porridge.

I finish mine quickly, as I'd been deprived of food all day. Chelsea's only poked at her food though, having just eaten.

"May I?" I ask her.

She looks up and nods. I take a spoon and finish her porridge for her. Now that I had warm food in my stomach I felt much better.

Chelsea is just about to stand up, but I put my hand on her arm. "Can you sit for a while longer?"

She nods and stays seated. I take a deep breath in. "You know how Julia told you that I have a rough past? That first day you met me?"

Once again she nods, all her attention focused on me entirely. "Well, it's true. I told you about my mom already. My dad left the day he found out she was pregnant; and they were already married. But after he'd gone about ten miles, he realized how much he truly loved my mom and that he really did want a family with her. On his way back, he got in a car accident and died. In his car were three dozen red roses and a note that said 'I'm sorry I ran away. But I only did it to realize that I was going in the wrong direction. I love you, and I want to have a family with you.' My mom got the note, but she never saw her husband again."

I pause to gauge her reaction. Nervously, I tap the table with my fingers. Her eyes seem to be piercing me, so look down at my hand. As I watch it, a smaller hand wraps itself around mine and silences the tapping.

The move gives me courage to go on. "I hated him for dying on her. I hated that I didn't have a father. But that's not the only reason I'm messed up."

I look up at her and gaze deeply in her eyes, trying to get her to understand. For some reason, I really wanted her to accept me. "I dated a girl in high school, for all four years. I thought I was going to marry her."

I sigh gently. "Long story short, she broke my heart in the worst way possible and I've never recovered. I closed myself off from the world, thinking it would keep me safe from that kind of pain again."

"Did it work?" She whispers softly.

I shake my head. "No. All it did was remind me daily of how she rejected me. That purple ribbon on my hat, she'd given it to be after we'd been going out for a year. We've been broken up for six years now and I only just took it off."

My hands clench as I take in another deep breath. Her hands close tighter around mine, as if she thought she could take my pain away from me. "Sometimes, I try to open up to people but it never works. There's just no one I connect with."

Her eyes glance downward slightly and then look back at mine. I sigh again. "You remember Will, right? And his uncle and cousin that will be moving here?"

She nods her head again. "His cousin, her name is Sabrina. She has dark black hair and light purple eyes. She wears round glasses and always dressed in pink and purple. There's a pink bow she has in the back of her hair that she always wears. She loves pink diamonds. And she's my ex-girlfriend."

Instead of releasing my hand like I thought she would, Chelsea scoots her chair closer and then wraps her arms around me in a hug.

I'm shocked, so I don't put my arms around her. In my ear, she whispers; her breath warm and intoxicating. "I'm sorry you had to go through all that."

My arms snake around her as I hug her back. We sit that way for a minute, her consoling me while I try not to cry or let my fantasies come back.

Suddenly the music seems to be a little louder. I let go of Chelsea and look behind me. The chef and his staff had cleared a part of the restaurant. For a minute I'm confused, and then it hits me.

Chelsea speaks up. "I know this song."

I'll admit, it has a nice beat to it. And it seemed like it was country, instead of whatever stupid rap music is playing now.

Seems I was walking in the wrong direction

I barely recognized my own reflection, no

Scared of love, but scared of life alone

One of the waiters catches my eyes. He makes a motion like he's dancing with someone. I sigh and roll my eyes at him. At least no one else was in the restaurant.

Seems I've been playing on the safe side baby

Building up walls to save me, oh

But it's time for me to let it go

I turn back to Chelsea. "Would you like to dance with me?"

"It's a slow song." She whispers, as if I couldn't tell.

"I know."

Yeah I'm ready to feel now

Chelsea takes my hand and we walk to the cleared area. She wraps her arms around my back as I wrap mine around her waist. We don't move much; just shift from side to side.

No longer am I 'fraid of the fall down

Then she lays her head on my chest, and my breath is nearly stolen from me. Her head seems to fit perfectly on my chest. Heck, we seemed to fit perfectly together.

It must be time to move on now

Her breath is on my neck and sends shivers down my spine. Her hands on my back seem to fit perfectly, and they feel amazing.

Without the fear of how it might end

My hands on her were almost better than any of my fantasies. Just being with her like this made me feel weak at the knees; something I haven't felt in a long time.

I guess I'm ready to love again

I gently lay my head on top of hers and close my eyes. We sway back and forth, no longer concerned with the world around us.

Just when you think that love will never find you

You run away but it's still right behind you, oh

It's just something that we can't control

Finally it hits me. The lyrics to this song seemed to refer to me directly. Was I falling in love with Chelsea? Oh dear god, I hope so.

Yeah I'm ready to feel now

No longer 'fraid of the fall down

It must be time to move one now

Without the fear of how it might end

I guess I'm ready to love again

Chelsea moves to wrap her arms around my neck. This brings both of our heads up, so we're looking each other in the eye. She gives me a slight smile.

So come and find me

I give her a smile back. It makes her face light up, the way I treasure it to look. Without a word, I remove a hand from her t take my hat off and drop it on a nearby table.

I'll be waiting for you

Her hands reach up slowly. The tips on her fingers brush my skin and make my breath hitch. Then he fingers get to my hair. She softly strokes my hair out of my eyes, but once that's done she doesn't remove her hands.

I'll be holding out for you tonight

I tighten my grip on her, pulling her closer to me. My heart was pounding. Our bodies were pressed tightly together in the dance.

Yeah, I'm ready to feel now

No longer am I 'fraid of the fall down

Her tongue snakes out and wets her lips nervously. I can't help but stare and watch. She blushes when she catches my gaze; as I do as well.

It must be time to move on now

The lyrics were right. The girl in front of me was all that was on my mind right now. This song was trying to talk to me.

Without the fear of how it might end

My head leans down until my forehead rests against hers. Her eyes are close to mine and I gaze in admiration at the purity in them. Our eyes close as we lean in.

I guess I'm ready, ready to love again

I can feel her breath on mine again, and I want so badly to kiss her. But I pause too long. The song ends abruptly and someone taps me on the shoulder.

Furious, I turn on the servant that bothered me. He appears nervous at me obvious anger. "Excuse me sir, but we need you to leave now. We're closed."

"Vaughn, it's okay. Let's go." Chelsea tugs on my arm.

I growl at the servant and then put on my hat. Chelsea puts her rucksack back on as well and then we leave.

I walk her back to her house in silence, mentally kicking myself the whole way. Why couldn't I kiss her? I wanted to, so bad. And I think she wants to as well. I don't know what was stopping me, I just hadn't done it. I'd had at least three or four chances today, and I blew them all.

We reach her door, and she turns to me. I notice in horror that she's been silently crying.

"Chelsea, why are you crying?" I ask her softly as I take her face and wipe away her tears. "Your eyes are too beautiful for there to be tears in them."

"You're leaving tomorrow, aren't you? And you won't be coming back." Another tear streaks down her face.

I stop it. "What makes you think that?"

"Sabrina. You don't want to be around her, so you'll move away won't you? You'll stop coming to the islands." She sniffles and more tears run down her face.

I swear I heard the walls around my heart fall at that moment. My heart still may be a little cold, but I wasn't going to make her sit there and cry.

I gather her in my arms and hold her tight. "I'm not going anywhere."

She pokes her head up to look at me. "Really?"

"Really." I give her a smile and she smiles back, the tears stopping. "In fact, I'm not going back to my job in the city for another six weeks."

"Did you get fired?" She asks worriedly.

"No, my boss gave me a vacation. So I'm spending it here."

She bites her bottom lip, but she's smiling. "I'm glad."

"And I will see you tomorrow morning." I tell her.

"I'm getting my first cow tomorrow. You want to help me pick one out?"

"Gladly."

She gets out of my grip and opens her door. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

I nod to her, giving her another smile just because it makes her happy. She bits her bottom lip again and then rushes forward. In one swift motion she reaches up and kisses me gently on the cheek. Then she retreats back to her house and the door closes softly behind her.

A real huge grin spreads across my face. And it stays on my face as I walk back to the Animal Shop and fall into bed.