Hi gamers. This chapter is what you'd call a Hot Mess. The first bit is something that I kinda lost the fuel for writing but didn't wanna completely abandon so it's just shoved at the beginning of this chapter. I promise this'll get less sloppy now that I've used my tiny little pea brain to do some planning, which is why one of the pairings has changed. I love Wizard as much as anybody else, but he just wasn't a good fit for the way I've characterized Angela. Sorry fellow Wizard simps, but maybe I'll write something else and give him some love. Anyway I've been going on long enough so here's the next chapter, hopefully you enjoy! ~Shaymie

Angela

"Luke, I'm going to kill you!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please don't cut me up!"

Angela stood over Luke, her eyes blazing. Her grip on the axe tightened as her mouth settled into a scowl. These past few days they had been going into the forest so that she could learn how to use an axe and gather the lumber she needed for repairs around the house. It was tedious work, her hands blistering from holding the axe for hours on end. Paired with the roughness of fieldwork, Angela was left constantly exhausted.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me your father offered a construction package that included the price of materials?!"

"It slipped my mind! And you sounded so excited to learn how to use an axe, I didn't wanna let you down." She sighed at the earnest look in his eyes and set the axe down. As annoyed as she was at him, she knew she couldn't actually hurt him. It would be like kicking a puppy. In hindsight, she probably should have checked with Dale instead of taking Luke's words at face value. After all, what kind of carpenter forced customers to gather their own materials? That would just be bad for business. But still, this misunderstanding had led to so much wasted time and energy.

"You owe me big time for this," Angela pouted, joining Luke on the forest floor. She didn't want to go back to the farm just yet and have to deal with Molly's overbearing concern. She felt bad for worrying her sister so often when she was supposed to be the older one, the responsible one. She's the oldest of the three siblings, but sometimes it felt like Kasey and Molly were the ones always looking out for her.

"I'm sorry, Ange. How about I help you with the crops?"

"No offense Luke, but I don't want my crops to suffer an untimely death by drowning."

"Hey, I'm not a total idiot!" Luke said, sounding offended. It was the first negative emotion she'd ever seen him display. The guy seemed to be perpetually happy. Even insults from Chase seemed to roll off of him like water off a duck's back."How about I treat you to some drinks at the bar?"

Oh, he was definitely going to regret making that offer.

"Um... What's going on here?"

The kitchen was a mess, flour and pink icing staining the countertops. The smell of sugar cookies filled the small farmhouse. To her surprise, the waitress from the inn was sitting at her dining room table, trays of pink frosted sugar cookies in front of her. Piles of plastic baggies and pink polka-dotted ribbons were laid neatly next to them. Molly was at the stove, pulling out another tray. Angela was surprised the trays in front of Maya hadn't been devoured yet, considering the waitress' gluttonous nature.

"Hi Angela! Gill asked Molly to make some cookies for the Flower Festival."

Upon closer inspection, Angela realized that the cookies were shaped like cherry blossoms. She'd heard about the Flower Festival in passing, but it didn't really interest her since she wasn't dating anybody. Maybe she'd stop by to take a picture to send to Kasey. Even with that explanation, though, it doesn't explain why Maya was in her house. She'd heard that Maya was a terrible cook so it's unlikely that she was helping.

"And that's the last batch," Molly sighed, setting the tray of unfrosted cookies on the countertop. She wiped the sweat off her brow with the back of her hand and gave Maya a tired smile. "Sorry about this, Maya. Your baking lessons are gonna have to wait a bit. I wasn't expecting Gill to stop by so suddenly."

"Wait, he stopped by today and asked for this?" Molly nodded. Angela's mouth twisted into a frown. The Flower Festival is tomorrow. This is typically the sort of thing you ask for in advance, not the day before. Molly isn't supposed to be working herself so hard. Even with the windows cracked, it was a surprisingly hot day for spring. She got overheated so easily... "Is he at least paying you?"

"He's paying me double because it's a rush order." Angela sighed in relief as Molly took a seat at the dining table and started packaging the cookies. Her sister was way too nice for her own good, which often led to her being taken advantage of. It wasn't surprising that Gill had asked her to cater for the festival. Everyone on the island has had a taste of her baking (with the exception of the grumpy chef), and fell in love with it.

"Just make sure you take it easy, Molls."

"I'm fine, Angie. Maya's been keeping me company and making sure I take breaks."

Well, that was an unexpected friendship. Molly tended to befriend people similar to herself. It wasn't at all odd to see her hanging out with Candace from the tailor's, or Renee from Horn Ranch. But Maya... The two couldn't be any less alike. Maya was loud, rambunctious, and a little bit childish. While not nearly as shy as Candace, Molly had never been comfortable around extroverts, preferring to stay within her own small circle.

One of Angela's biggest worries about Maya is that she'd inadvertently trigger some bad memories for Molly. She knew the younger girl would never do anything to hurt her sister on purpose. Nights spent at the bar had given her enough information about practically everyone, thanks to Kathy. The blonde loved gossiping and keeping her up to date on whatever was happening around town. It was through her that she learned about Maya's near superhuman ability to ruin anything she tried to cook.

Angela got to work cleaning up the kitchen while Maya and Molly put the frosted cookies into the plastic bags. She wiped down the pink and white stained countertops and grabbed the cookie sheets as they were slowly emptied, putting them in the sink to be washed later. As much as she wanted to, it was impossible to ignore the stinging in her hands from the blisters. Jin had given her some cream to put on them, but she hadn't been expecting to come home to a bakery. The medicine had slipped her mind, and she was really feeling it now.

"Well, you two kids have fun," she said once all the cookies were bagged up and put into a box. Molly rolled her eyes as Angela walked off into the other room.

"Angie, you're 25, not an old lady."

"Sorry, can't hear you over the sound of my bones cracking!"