A/N: So, my laptop broke. Ended up having to delete all my saved documents and everything, which is extremely annoying but not devastating. And it's still messed up; it keeps shutting off on its own when I'm in the middle of something. I do apologize for my late updates and replies and all, my laptop is my only way of accessing the Internet. Except for my Ipod, I suppose, but I'm not going to type up chapters on that.

Also, I have definitely not given up on this story. I also understand that things have been pretty peaceful and non-scary in this story as of late, but there is actually a reason for that, as you will soon find out. That's all about to change, as this is the last chapter before the story takes a turn back into the horror-type genre where it started. I'm sure Claire will love that.

Thank you again!

-CCM

Chapter 18: Heating Up

Knock knock knock...

"Huh?" Claire awoke groggily to the sound of someone's fist persistently hammering away at her front door. The farmer girl's sleepy thoughts immediately jumped to the worst conclusions.

Who is that? Jack couldn't be here already, could he? Who else...?

Sliding her bathrobe on over her pajamas and stepping into the pair of fuzzy slippers nestled at the foot of her bed, Claire braced herself as she flung open the front door.

To her surprise, she found herself face to face with a tall, bespectacled Asian man in a bright, mustard yellow jacket, his black hair tied back in a braid that was even longer than Claire's own golden locks. The man's hand was suspended in the air, fingers curled into a fist as though he had just been about to knock again when Claire opened the door, but he quickly drew it back with a sly smile as he inspected the girl.

"Ah... So you are the new farmer in Mineral Town? I see..." His eyes darted over the girl's shoulder, sneaking a peek past her into the room beyond. "You have a beautiful home."

Already uncomfortable, Claire repositioned herself in the doorway in an attempt to block his view. "What do you want?"

The man straightened up, his eyes narrowed at the blonde farmer. "I am Won. A traveling salesman from the East, who has come to Mineral Town on one of my frequent visits to sell a variety of rare, high quality items I currently hold in my possession. And you are...?"

"Claire." She wasn't really in the mood for conversation at the moment. Not when she had just climbed out of bed about thirty seconds ago.

"So... what do you want?" Claire repeated. It came out more rudely than she had intended, but the salesman seemed unfazed.

"Why, I have something very rare and very valuable on sale today." He opened the bag that was slung over his back and pulled out three shiny red apples. Claire scoffed at him.

"Apples?"

"Yes, apples. These are the SUGDW, HMSGB, and AEPFE apples."

Claire raised her eyebrows as Won recited the list of letters that made no sense to her whatsoever. "What does that even mean?"

Won shook his head at the ignorant girl, a smirk on his face. "These are not just your ordinary apples. They are very special, with very long names." He raised the apples to eye level, pointing out each one as he named them off, though they all looked exactly the same to Claire.

"This one is the Super Ultra Great Delicious Wonderful Apple, and this one is the... Hyper Miracle Sweet Gorgeous Beautiful Apple! Doesn't that sound lovely? ...Oh, and this one here is the Angel Eternal Pure Fresh Elegant Apple! Sometimes even I can't remember all of it!"

They didn't look anything special to Claire. They looked like regular old, everyday apples.

"Is this some sort of scam?"

"Oh no, no... the price is very, very reasonable, for something so incredibly special. 500G for each apple!"

Claire could buy an entire meal at the Inn for the price of just one of those apples. Two meals, in fact.

"...I don't have time for this." Goddess, I thought I left the overly persistent salesmen back in the city.

"...But-"

"Listen," she cut him off, "my patience is wearing very thin right now, so if you don't mind, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Oh, but m-"

"I'm not interested. Good day to you, sir." And she promptly closed the door in the man's face. Oh man, have I always wanted to do that to someone...

Retreating to the kitchen for breakfast before starting her workload for the day, Claire's thoughts began to wander. Specifically, to the events of the previous night. The phone call from Jack...

Jack was Claire's older brother, and possibly one of the most irritating older brothers on the entire planet. At least, it sometimes seemed that way to Claire. He was controlling, bossy, definitely a know-it-all at times... maybe most of the time.

But a good brother at heart, she had to admit. He wasn't all that bad. When their father had passed years ago, Jack was the one who took control, caring for their sickly mother, giving up college to take on a job so that his younger sisters Claire and Jill could continue their educations, making sure the family always had enough to eat, etc. Honestly... it was very selfless of him, to an extent that Claire could never have hoped to compete with.

And Jill… Jill was the youngest of the three siblings, still in high school. Though there were quite a few years age difference between the two sisters, Claire had always been closest to Jill, and they shared many secrets and experiences together, both good and bad. Hopefully, Jill wasn't angry at Claire for leaving her behind...

Claire shook her head. She missed her family, yes, especially Jill, but sometimes you had to give things up in exchange for new opportunities that you always wanted. And although Claire had given up a lot to become a farmer in Mineral Town, it was all going to be worth it in the end.

It was what she had always dreamed of.

And not one little mystery (however creepy it may be), nor a visit from her brother, was going to stand in the way of that.

Hours later, Claire had just finished up her farm work for the morning, caring for the animals and watering her now abundantly sprouting crops, and had barely taken a seat at the table for a moment of peace when there came another knock on the door.

Claire groaned. That was the second time today, and it wasn't even noon. She immediately stood up, notably irritated. Ugh... now what?

She grumbled audibly as she made her way to the door. "What is it this time? I thought I told you, I'm not interested in your Goddess damn-"

Claire froze mid-sentence at the sight of the fuchsia haired girl standing on her doorstep, the expression of excitement on the pinkette's face fading slightly with confusion.

"Oh – I'm so sorry, Popuri!" Claire corrected herself, visibly embarrassed by her outburst. "I... didn't realize it was you. Thought you were... someone else."

Her curly haired visitor nodded in understanding, though she still looked vaguely puzzled. "That's all right, Cl – oh!"

She was interrupted by Claire's hyperactive puppy, who had just awoken from his nap and tried to tackle her. In a loving way, of course.

Popuri immediately squealed in surprise. "Oh... no! Ah!"

Claire rolled her eyes in exasperation at her overexcited canine friend. "Stop that, Bailey... Get down, boy!" She quickly scooped him up into her arms, allowing him to plant a slobbery puppy kiss on her cheek, and then turned to properly address Popuri, who looked almost terrified.

"I am so, so sorry about that!"

Popuri managed a grin, though she still looked shaken. "It's all right, I guess... Anyway, I was just wondering if you cared to go to the beach with me today? It's such a gorgeous day!" She gestured upward at the sky, a cloudless sea of clear, azure blue. "You know... if you're not busy, or anything."

"Oh... yeah, of course, Popuri! I'm not too busy now."

Claire had been to Mineral Beach with Popuri quite a few times already that summer. It was an enjoyable thing to do with just about any of the younger people living in Mineral Town, but Claire went there with her pink haired friend more often than not, where they would sunbathe, take dips in the ocean, and grab a bite to eat at Kai's Snack Snack. And though she didn't tell anyone, Claire mainly agreed to go each time with the girl because she hoped the sun and relaxation would help to keep both their minds off of things.

The farmer looked down at her current outfit, a pair of tattered, dirt-stained jean overalls over an old T-shirt, the look completed with her muddiest, most worn-out pair of sneakers. "Um... just let me go get my swimsuit and stuff first, and then we can leave."

Popuri nodded, still slightly uncomfortable. "Sure... I'll just wait here. Outside."

Bailey barked at her once in response, and she suppressed a shudder. Claire glared at the dog, though she couldn't hold back a smile. "Shush, you."

Not an hour later, Claire and Popuri were all set for another fun-filled day at the beach, donning their bikinis, sunglasses, and flip-flops, their towels and various reading materials under their arms.

As they stepped off the stone staircase leading down toward the sands of Mineral Beach, Claire caught sight of a very familiar man in a canary yellow jacket entering the building next to the Mineral Town dock, where Zack lived and worked. Zack, meanwhile, could be seen stacking boxes out on the dock, completely oblivious.

Quickly, Claire motioned for Popuri to go on ahead of her. "Give me a sec, Popuri... Hey, Zack!"

Zack glanced up, looking around for the source of the voice, and Claire darted toward him.

"Sorry... Um, Zack, do you know who that man is?"

"Who?" Zack swung around to see what the girl was pointing at, but the man had already entered the house.

"That salesman guy... wears a yellow coat, black hair tied back in a braid..."

"Oh," Zack's face took on an expression of recognition, "him? That's Won... He's a merchant who regularly visits Mineral Town to sell things door-to-door. When he's here, he stays at my place, since it's convenient for him, being so close to the dock, and I have an extra bedroom. We have a business deal going on, so it's okay with me. He sets up shop in the front room pretty often."

"Oh... well, is he... legitimate?"

Zack shrugged. "His stuff's rather... pricey, and he sometimes acts a bit of a con artist, to be frank... but honestly, he's not that bad a guy."

Claire nodded, unconvinced. "I'll just take your word for it, then."

The older man grinned. "Yeah. Anyway, I'll see you later, when I come 'round to collect your shipping box. You girls have fun, say 'hi' to Popuri for me."

The blonde smiled as he returned to his work. "Yeah... Bye, Zack."

Popuri was waiting for her in the center of the beach when she returned, the two towels already spread out across the sand in the perfect position for ocean viewing, their other stuff in a pile between them. She grinned as Claire approached her setup. "Ready to get your tan on?"

"Yeah, of course."

After nearly an hour of sunbathing, and only limited conversation between the two, Claire glanced over to see how her friend was doing. Popuri sat contentedly in the sun in her frilly magenta bikini, almost completely still but for the wind rustling her hair and the occasional flipping of pages. A pair of sunglasses was perched on top of her head, and she was staring down at some magazine in her hands.

"What are you reading, Popuri?"

The girl flipped over her magazine to glance at the cover. "I don't really know... some fashion magazine. From the city."

"Oh."

Popuri nodded. "Yeah... some of these fashions are so weird. But strange as they are, they always remind me of the city." She leaned backward. "It's silly, because I've never actually been to the city or anything, but this is how I imagine it to be. People all over, wearing all sorts of different clothing; lots of cars, and noise, and bright lights, and unusual foods... action around every corner... I'm probably totally wrong, though."

She sighed. "But I really wish I could go some day... Kai has been there, and he's told me all about it, but that's nothing compared to seeing it with your own eyes... And you used to live there, didn't you, Claire? But me... I seem to be destined for a life stuck in the middle of nowhere."

Claire shook her head. Her own feelings couldn't be any more different. "You know, the city isn't all it's cracked up to be... It's smelly, it's dirty, it's loud... People are rude, and the streets are crowded... It's not always a nice place. But Mineral Town... Sure, it's a small town, but it's not nowhere... I haven't been here long, but I can honestly say that it's definitely somewhere, you know what I mean?"

Popuri merely shrugged her shoulders. "I suppose." A sudden thought came to mind, and she tossed her magazine down on the sand beside her, turning to look Claire straight in the eye.

"Hey... You want to go grab something to eat? I think the Snack Shack's open for lunch."

"Sure."

Popuri and Claire were met with a gust of beautifully cold air pumping out from the air conditioning system as they stepped into Kai's Snack Shack.

"Oh!" Kai immediately glanced up from the counter to greet his customers, and an impish grin crossed his face at the sight of the two girls. "Hello, ladies."

Popuri beamed at him, flipping her long pink curls over her shoulder, while Claire managed a nod and looked around the room. Only one other person was currently seated at the Snack Shack, at a small table in the corner all by himself, and Claire found herself pleasantly surprised by who it was. Though perhaps she should have expected it by now.

"Gray? ...What are you doing here?"

Stupid question. He's eating, of course.

The blacksmith's apprentice, however, simply gave her a small smile, though it was gone in a flash, as he hurriedly adjusted his cap to conceal it. "I'm on my lunch break. Thought I'd come here for a change."

Kai nodded enthusiastically at Gray's words.

"Oh, yeah... Gray loves my cooking."

Ignoring Gray's reaction, Kai turned back to his female customers, eyebrows raised in what Claire found to be a mildly suggestive manner as he leaned forward over the countertop. "So... you girls hungry?"

Popuri nodded earnestly, sending her voluminous curls bouncing. "Oh, yes... Could you make us a..." She glanced over at Claire, who mouthed a single word, "…pizza?"

Kai snorted. "Can I make you a pizza... Why, of course I can, Poppy! In fact," he nodded his head in the direction of Gray, "this guy ordered pizza as well, and I'm pretty hungry myself, so I'm going to make one for all of us to share."

Without further ado, Kai sauntered away toward the kitchen to prepare the meal, and the girls took it upon themselves to take a seat at the table with Gray, regardless of his obvious discomfort.

Luckily for him, they didn't have to wait long for their food.

"Pizza's ready! With pineapple, one of my specialties." He winked at the girls, a large tray containing a full pizza pie and four glasses brimmimng with yellow pineapple juice balanced on his shoulder. He set the tray down on the center of the table and took a seat beside Gray, directly opposite Popuri.

Looking around at the faces of his friends seated around the table, Kai gave them all a wry grin as he busied himself with cutting slices out of the pie. "Two girls, two guys... Why, this is practically a double date!"

Claire immediately spat out a mouthful of pineapple juice from the glass she had just taken a sip from. And from the look on his face, it seemed that Gray had a similar idea. Was Kai implying that she was on a date with Gray? Sure, he was a nice guy and all, once you got past that cold exterior and got him to open up a bit, but... no, just no. That thought just didn't sit right with her.

Kai must have noticed her discomfort with the idea, because he looked over at the blonde innocently, a smirk on his face. "What?... I never did specify who was supposed to be on a date with whom."

He gave Gray a knowing nudge on the shoulder. "Besides, we all know Gray likes the dark haired girls..."

"Preferably with glasses, and an obsessive love of books," he added in a stage whisper. Gray's eyes widened in a faint mix of anger and embarrassment, though Claire couldn't blame him.

Popuri gave Kai a playful smack on the wrist. "Kai, stop teasing!"

He grinned at her mischievously as he took a bite out of his slice of pizza. "Well, how 'bout I tease you, instead?"

"No!"

"Bye, guys. I'll see you later."

After finishing up her portion of the meal, Claire left Popuri, Kai, and Gray in the Snack Shack so she could pack up her things early and head back home. There were some things she wanted to attend to; namely, cleaning up her entire farm in preparation for Jack's arrival. Plus, the crops required extra watering after such a dry, sweltering day, if they were to grow properly. Claire didn't want to mess up her first shot at farming.

As she exited the beach stairway and turned toward the road that led past the church, Claire heard a sudden commotion coming from her left. Two voices, angry sounding but not quite loud enough for her to catch exactly what they were saying.

Instantly intrigued, Claire made a risky split-second decision. She darted into the row of bushes that lined the side of the road without a second to spare, as just moments later, two figures appeared on the path in front of her. They must have just left Rose Square... but who were they? Their voices sounded very familiar...

Claire took a chance and peered over the uppermost leaves of the bushes to get a better view, holding her breath and hoping that her bright yellow hair wouldn't immediately give away her hiding spot.

With a slight gasp, she saw just who the arguers were – a bespectacled young man wearing an apron and a white headband in his shoulder length brown hair, and a tall, light haired girl in jean shorts and a purple tank top.

Rick and Karen.

What could they be arguing about? Claire ducked back behind the bush to listen in on the heated conversation with less chance of being caught.

"-the attack? What do you make of that?"

That was Karen, and she sure sounded irritated. Claire bit her lip to keep the gasp from escaping her mouth. She's obviously talking about Ann!

"I don't know," Rick replied. "I don't know any more about it than you do." His voice was firm, though something about the way he said it... it sounded as though he wasn't being entirely truthful. Evidently, Claire wasn't the only one who noticed.

"You know something, don't you, Rick?" Karen accused angrily. "You fucking know something, and you won't even tell me!"

Her voice became oddly quiet. "I thought we were friends, Rick... you used to tell me everything."

Claire snuck another peek at the couple. Karen was staring at Rick, her gaze stony and unwavering, and Rick quickly averted his eyes.

"We are friends, Karen."

Karen snorted. "You sure got a funny way of showing it, boy. Coulda fooled me... Or anyone else in town, really."

Rick turned away, hurt, and Karen continued her rant.

"I know you and Ann aren't the 'best of friends', but one would think that you would at least have the common decency to not keep secrets about vital information that could be used to help her! This is – this is practically life or death!"

"Karen... you just don't understand." He sounded as though he were about to cry. "You don't understand what I go through... keeping Popuri safe from harm, taking care of the farm practically on my own, worrying over Mom and everything – but it's not just that. And I wish I could tell you... but I can't, Karen. I just can't."

"What – what do you mean you can't? Of course you can, just tell me!" Karen's voice cracked slightly, though she tried her best to mask it. "Tell me what's bothering you."

"No, urgh – just stop it, already. You would never understand, nobody could... in fact, I don't want you to understand."

Karen's voice became decidedly cold, sending a chill down Claire's spine. "I see how it is."

Rick wouldn't look at her. "I'm going home, Karen... Goodbye."

Karen merely snorted and stormed away without another word, leaving Rick alone on the street. His hands shook as he lifted the glasses from his face, wiping them down on his apron before replacing them on his head. He closed his eyes, hard, blinking away tears.

Claire had half a mind to step out and comfort him, but quickly decided against it. She didn't know the whole story, she admitted to herself with some regret, and had only the slightest clue what was going on between the two. The only information she did know was what she had just found out from eavesdropping on their personal conversation, which probably wouldn't sit very well with Rick.

After a few moments, he shook his head vigorously and briskly walked away. A feeling of dread washed over Claire – what if Rick really did know whom Ann's attacker was? And he wasn't telling anyone?

She hoped dearly that that wasn't the case.

A/N: I just had to include that whole apple scene with Won, since I wanted to include Won in the story somewhere, and I always thought that part in the game was rather funny. Even if it was just something random and totally unrelated like that.

-CCM