You know, as soon as I wrote in the last chapter that updates would be more frequent, they instead do the opposite and slow down even more than usual. I should have really guessed. xD I don't have any reason as to why that is, so I'm sorry. :c
Nothing more to say here apart from I really hope that you enjoy this next chapter!
"Don't you go near that closet!"
Running out of the bathroom and into her own room, Molly was quick to stop an eager Kathy from repeating the events of the starry night festival. Thinking back to the pile of clothes which were thrown on her bed, Molly was reluctant to spend the same amount of time neatly folding and stacking them away again, which is made even more time consuming when you have a slight OCD complex like herself.
She also swore that Chase had caught a glimpse of some of her private garments as well, which didn't exactly help to relieve the awkwardness of the night.
...Why was she thinking about him staying over again so soon?
"Come on Molly, no time for those perverted thoughts now!" Shoving some clothes into her arms, Kathy pushed the young woman back towards the bathroom, grabbing a comb and some hairpins along the way.
"Kathy..." Moaning, Molly wandered just why she had to go through all of this preparation for a question which she pretty much already knew the answer too.
Well, she hoped that she knew the answer, at least.
A short while later after nearly having her head yanked off by vicious brushing, and nearly choked to death by copious amounts of perfume, Molly was ready, something which she thanked the Harvest Goddess for.
Looking at herself in the mirror, she was pleased with what Kathy had achieved: she wore a light pink dress with white lace trimming at the edges, and patent boots of the same colour which had a small bow at the top of the buttons. Raising her hand up to her hair she felt a small, soft hairpin, which upon examination turned out to be a flower.
"Chase likes hairpins, doesn't he? I put it on the same side as his, he seems the type of person to pick up on these little things, even if he doesn't show his appreciation for it."
Looking towards the voice and smiling, Molly was shocked when she was pulled into a tight embrace.
"Kathy? What's wrong?" worriedly, she hugged the girl back, squeezing tighter when she got no response.
"I'm happy for you, Molly." She began quietly, "But I can't help but be sad that you'll be spending a lot of time with him from now on. It scares me slightly - You're the only real friend which I have around her after all."
"Oh you know that won't be true!" forcing herself not to cry, Molly pulled back and looked her friend directly in the eyes. "You never once left me after you and Owen got together. And that was ages ago now! What makes you think that I'd ever leave you? I love you far too much, you know that."
"Mol...thank you...I-wait a minute." Looking around the corner of the door to catch a glimpse of the clock, Kathy gasped before grabbing Molly by the arm and literally shoving her out of her own door.
"It's already 20 to 4! Hurry the hell up or else he might leave!"
"Me hurry up? It was you who took so long faffing about with what I looked like!"
"Well-"
"Ladies, please."
Stopping mid rant, the girls looked around trying to locate the voice, which appeared to have no owner, until Molly remembered the events of yesterday.
"Is that you again, Snowman?"
"What the fuck Molly? I always thought that sheer amount of farm work would cause you to go completely insane one day, but not so soon."
"Excuse me, Miss, but she isn't insane. As I recall, you heard me as well."
A few seconds passed before anyone decided to speak again, Molly switching her gaze between the snowman and Kathy, who were both staring at each other like they had never seen a similar species in their life. (Which was understandable in Kathy's case. It's not like you see a talking snowman all of the time.)
"Umm..." shifting nervously on her feet, Molly considered what options she had to deal with the situation. " Kathy I'll explain it too you later, just stay here for now and sit down somewhere, he won't hurt you, okay?"
Deciding that it was best not to waste anymore time, she ran off down the farm's path as quickly as possible, ignoring the confused yells which Kathy was sending after her.
...
It didn't take her long to reach Harmonica Town, and soon enough the lighthouse was in sight. The only problem which Molly found however, was there seemed to be no one else there.
"Oh you can't be SERIOUS."
Slowing down to a halt, the rancher stopped for breath and took one last look around, only noticing the familiar white cat which she assumed lived in the lighthouse. Sighing, she bent down to pet it, deciding that maybe she should give it a few more minutes until she completely gave up. She still remembered the starry night festival after all – only this time she knew for a fact that he had a working clock, and it wasn't like he had to make any food this time, right?
She smiled as the snowy cat nuzzled into her open palm, working her way around her body until she reached her bag. Sniffing intently around it, she let out a small 'mew' as she pawed at a certain area of interest.
"Oh, I have some clams which I collected off the beach in here." Unzipping the cloth she fished around the contents of her bag, guiding her hand through the other objects which lay within it; Sakura seashells, seaweed, mushrooms, some other unidentifiable things, and a small, marble edged mirror which Kathy insisted she kept in her bag from now on.
"Ah here we go, have this."
Mew?
Staring at Molly like she was an idiot (Which she was sure cats did most of the time anyways), the cat lowered her gaze to the clam, giving it one swift tap before looking back up at its giver.
For a few minutes there was silence, until it finally clicked that Molly had to actually open it first.
Placing the rough shell between her two hands, she began to attempt to pull it open, only to fail miserably as the object slipped from her grasp. Frowning, she retrieved it and started attempt number two, which only met the same outcome.
"...Let's just smash it."
Just as she was about to pound the uncooperative shell on the ground, Molly was stopped by a hand grasping her small wrist.
"I'm pretty sure you don't open clams like that."
Looking behind her, Molly's deep brown eyes met an amethyst pair, which she knew could only belong to one person.
"Chase?"
"Glad that you remember my name." He sarcastically remarked in response as he let go of her wrist, bending down to be on the same level as her and the cat.
"I can feel my sarcasm meter tingling, guess you broke it this time."
"Only just? Guess my skills are slipping, huh? Give me that thing here...you'll slice your fingers open again if you carry on trying to open it like that."
Pouting as she handed it over, Molly watched as the renowned chef expertly opened the shellfish, breaking off one part of the shell before placing it back down in front of the cat. Smiling as she quickly ate it, the pair watched as it cleaned itself after the meal, giving them a short 'mew' which they assumed was a thank you, before running down the lighthouse path after a stray moth.
"You really are too kind, Mol. You'll be having a barrage of animals waiting outside of your house before long."
"I'm not that bad...the cat always looks lonely every time I come here, is all. I know what it feels like, so I can't help but pet and feed her. It's some happiness, right?" Standing up and dusting off her knees, the young farmer looked up at the chef expectantly, anticipating another sarcastic remark.
The remark never came, however. Instead, Molly felt her small hand being grasped by a slightly larger one, before being pulled away from the edge of the lighthouse bank.
"Come on..." Chase muttered, clearly embarrassed, "let's get away from the edge before you do something stupid like fall in."
Giggling as she got her expected remark, Molly was thankful that her somewhat rude friend hadn't lost his touch just yet.
"So..." he began, stopping and turning on his heel so that he was facing her. "You said to meet here right? Well, I'm on time so you don't need to yell at me, and I just helped you out, stopping you from injuring yourself in the process, so I think that you owe me an explanation."
"An explanation of what? I think it's pretty obvious why I wanted to talk to you here..." Looking down, Molly shuffled her feet nervously. Apparently confessing your feelings to someone is easier said than done.
"I know, but...I know what you want to say, and I'm completely willing to do it for you. But when you said that you wanted to 'do this properly' last night, you just sounded so determined, that I decided that you should really be the one who asks. Unless now...you're reconsidering what you want...and if that's th-why are you laughing?" Stopping mid-sentence, Chase looked at the girl in front of him who was now clutching her stomach out of laughter.
"It's j-just..." the girl in question started, quickly losing herself in the joke once again, "the way you worded those sentences just sounded so...wrong. Seriously, I'd have LOVED to seen the reaction of someone listening to that!" Grabbing Chase's shoulders so she wouldn't fall down completely, Molly felt herself being straightened up by him, before hearing him sigh as she collapsed completely into his supporting arms.
"Moll-"he tried to begin, being cut off by more of the incessant laughter.
"Mol-"
"MOLLY WILL YOU GO OUT WITH ME?"
Stopping her laughing immediately, the girl's eyes widened in shock, along with the rest of the residents in Harmonica town who heard the yell of the question.
"I...I..." she stammered for a moment, not entirely taking in what she had just heard.
Blushing as he looked away, Chase ignored the thumbs up which Paolo and Owen were giving him from outside of the bar, deciding that the fishery was a much more interesting object all of a sudden.
"...Yes."
Quickly turning to face the owner of the voice, Chase took a few times as he tried to fully take in the answer to his question.
"You idiot, don't look so surprised! Of course I was going to say yes...as you pointed out, I was the one who asked you here in the first place."
"Ah, I know...but you can't be too sure, I guess? I mean...just come here before I make a further fool out of myself."
Pulling her towards him, Chase sealed the agreement with one swift kiss, before pulling away again, much to Molly's displeasure.
"Molly, there's several people watching." He exclaimed before she could have the chance to complain.
"Oh..." looking rather disappointed, she clutched hold of Chase's hand once again, her face growing hot as she noticed several winks coming from the numerous bystanders.
Smiling, Chase gave her hand a slight squeeze, causing her to look up at him again. 'Later' he mouthed, laughing slightly at the huge smile which spread across Molly's face.
"Come on, let me walk you home."
Thanking all of the villagers kind remarks and 'congratulations' as they passed by, Molly couldn't help but feel that she hadn't felt this much happiness since she had been on the island. Smiling as she walked back home, she still couldn't quite take in that Chase was now her boyfriend. Her boyfriend. The man which she had been chasing for ages was finally hers, and she believed that nothing could take away or add to the warmth which she felt in her heart at that moment.
Unfortunately for Molly, she was wrong about that. Nothing could have ever prepared her for what she found when they reached her home again.
I had no clue how to write that ending paragraph and line, which is probably why it doesn't make too much sense. Well, I had the idea, just didn't know how to write it so it sounded good. xD Fail.
Anyhoooow...I hope I didn't let people down with this chapter! I feel like it was one I really needed to get right, which is why I didn't drag it on any longer than necessary.
I'm sorry that the chapter isn't really that long, but I'm really not good at writing 4000-5000 word chapters. :c I'm really sorry since I know some of you have been saying you prefer long. D: Actually...what would you class as long? xD Then maybe I can try to work around that as much as possible.
Thank you for continuing to read this!