Hey there, gamers! Hope y'all are still hanging around even after that dumpster fire of a last chapter. This chapter snuck up on me because I just couldn't get it to work from Molly's POV so hopefully you lovelies enjoy this surprise POV. We're almost to summer and I don't know, things just might start picking up. Please enjoy this update at four in the morning because I have no control over my life. ~Shaymie

Chase

He cursed Yolanda as he stood on the porch at Symphony Farm in the drizzling rain.

Maya had found out that the sisters owned a waffle iron and somehow he ended up being the one chosen to ask to borrow it for her disastrous cooking lessons. He didn't understand why they couldn't wait until the weather was clear to ask for the waffle iron. It's not like they need it right this minute. He closed his umbrella and knocked on the door, silently praying for Molly to be the one to answer.

Out of all the people on the island, she was definitely the least annoying. He didn't understand why she kept coming out to meet him. Sometimes she would even arrive at the beach before him. Chase knows he's not the most pleasant person to be around, so why does Molly go out of her way to see him? Even though he ignored her those first few days, she kept coming back. She was either stubborn, stupid, or desperately lonely if she was coming to him for companionship.

The door opened slowly, revealing a sleepy Molly clad only in a long night shirt that practically swallowed her. Paired with her short height and hair ruffled from sleep, it made her look younger than she really was. Then again he didn't know how old she was. He's 23 and he knows that Angela is 25, but Molly's age was a mystery. She blinked slowly at him, her honey-colored eyes glassy. Weren't farmers supposed to be up at the crack of dawn? It was eight in the morning, yet it seemed like she'd only just woken up.

"Heyyy, Chase," she slurred, a smile spreading across her face. Oh Goddess, was she drunk? Her sister already drank enough for two people. She took a step backward, maybe to invite him in or something, but stumbled. His arm quickly shot out to steady her, wrapping around her waist. She was so light, it was concerning. It felt like one wrong move would snap her in half. How could someone so small deal with animals?

"You alright, Freckles?" He made sure she could stand on her own before releasing her, but frowned as she swayed unsteadily on her feet. Tucking his umbrella under his arm, he invited himself into the house and helped her to the couch. If she fell and hurt herself and Angela found out he could have helped, she'd probably have his head on a silver platter. It wasn't often that he was intimidated by someone, but that woman scared the living hell out of him.

"Mmm..." Molly hummed to herself as she was lowered onto the couch, her eyes lidded. "I'm not supposed to be walking around when I take my medicine... Makes me tired. But you knocked so I had to answer."

"Your medicine does this to you?" He's heard of drowsiness being a side effect to medication, but he's never seen it this bad before. She could barely walk straight! Then again, she was... small. Maybe it just had more of an effect on her? Looking around the house, he noticed the waffle iron sitting unopened in a cabinet in the kitchen, but he knew that now wasn't the time to ask for it. The kitchen itself was immaculate, not a dish out of place. Which just begged the question... "Have you eaten today?"

"No... Angie left before I woke up and she normally makes breakfast." She yawned and shifted on the couch. "I didn't wanna miss another dose so I just took the medicine."

It was none of his business. He shouldn't care about her at all. But the idea of leaving her here alone, practically stoned and hungry, bothered him. And it was his fault she'd gotten out of bed in the first place. With a sigh, he set down his umbrella and laid his coat over the back of the couch, heading to the kitchen. He could feel her eyes on him as he opened the fridge, taking notice of the dietary supplements near the back. At least it seems like she's trying to gain weight.

"What... what are you doing?" Molly's voice was barely audible. Glancing over at her, Chase saw that she was watching him with heavy eyes. Something about the sight was strangely adorable. Adorable? Where the hell had that come from? He turned away and went back to rummaging through the fridge, shaking the thought from his head.

"Cooking you breakfast."

"You don't hafta do that... I was gonna go back to sleep anyway. Not like I have anything better to do. I fed the animals already. Bell was mad she couldn't go outside and threw a fit. She didn't wanna eat until I hand fed her... Little diva... Minnie was okay with staying inside, but she's kinda lazy. I still love her, though. I love Bell too, even though she's a pain in my butt. I had to make a baby jail for her because she keeps trying to run away..."

He snorted at her slow, sleepy rambling, deciding on making an omelet as she droned on. If she acted like this on prescription drugs, he wondered what she was like when she got drunk. He almost wished he had a camera to record her. He'd learned during their not-so-midnight rendezvous that she was embarrassed easily, her cheeks constantly flushing pink. He didn't know why he liked messing with her so much, but he did it nearly every chance he got now that he was actually speaking to her.

"...Are we friends?" she mumbled sleepily. He raised an eyebrow as he flipped the finished omelet onto a plate. That's not at all what he expected her ramblings to go. Her warm eyes blinked up at him when he put the plate on the coffee table in front of her—there was no way she'd make it to the dining table in this state—and he noticed a tiny bit of nervousness behind the bleariness. "I mean... strangers don't keep meeting up in the middle of the night even though it's really cold."

"You started coming after I did."

"You didn't tell me to leave. And you kept coming back." Molly dug into the omelet, her eyes lighting up. She looked up at Chase with a small smile on her face. "I'd like to be friends. Real friends that hang out at normal times of the day."

Chase turned away from her and went back to the kitchen to clean up, a confused frown on his face. Aside from Maya, who all but practically forced her presence onto him, nobody's ever wanted to be friends with him. He was too hot-headed, too snarky and sarcastic, and a bit of an asshole. He'd learned from Maya that Molly had helped her with the birthday cake (which explained why it hadn't been terrible) but couldn't come with her to bring it because she was struck with a sudden migraine.

He'd ruin someone as nice as she is. She wanted to be friends now, but she'd change her mind once she spent enough time with him. She would be better off sticking to hanging out with Maya. But... Chase couldn't find it in him to say no. Strange as it was, he felt some kind of pull to Molly. He actually wanted to be around her. He felt different around her, but he couldn't understand why. He cleared his throat awkwardly, realizing that she was still waiting for him to respond.

"Why the hell not? We're friends, Freckles." Silence. "Freckles?"

He turned to her, rolling his eyes when he saw that she'd fallen asleep. The fork was still in her hand, the omelet half-eaten and her face pressed into the coffee table. Figures she'd finally fall asleep the second she stopped talking. He went back to the dishes, taking care to not make much noise even though he knew the medicine had knocked her out and she was practically dead to the world.

...Friends, huh? He could get behind that.