Oh hey y'all, I'm actually updating on FFN and AO3 on the same day this time! It's a miracle! Last chapter had Molly and Luke having a bit of a conversation so I decided to have Angela and Chase talk for a bit. May have another Chase chapter coming up, I don't know. You're gonna have to wait and see. Bye for now, hope you lovelies enjoy this chapter! ~Shaymie

Angela

Of all the people she expected to see when she opened her door, Chase was definitely on the bottom of the list.

"Um... Molly's not here right now." Angela suddenly felt about ten years older, having heard this line countless times from Muffy and Reina's parents growing up. It was weird being the one delivering it, and even weirder saying it to a grown man. But she didn't really know what else to say. Chase was Molly's friend. The most she's ever talked to him is when she's ordering for Owen and Luke at the bar after they've gotten too drunk to even speak properly.

"I actually came here to talk to you." Chase fidgeted nervously and rubbed the back of his head. "I was wondering if you had any advice on what to do for your sister's birthday. Like, her favorite food or favorite cake flavor or... flowers? I don't really know what girls like."

Well, that's... surprising. She stepped aside to let him into the house since all the cool air was going out. When he hesitated in the doorway, she tugged him inside and shut the door behind him. The awkward look on his face twisted into the scowl she knew oh so well. She let go of his arm and raised an eyebrow at him.

"I didn't think you were the type to celebrate a birthday."

"Normally I don't, but considering your sister's been so stubbornly nice to me these past couple weeks, I thought I'd change things up a bit." The eyebrow raised minimally higher. He was trying to sound nonchalant about it and treat it like it was nothing, but she could tell that this meant more to him than he was letting on. Someone who thought this was nothing would do whatever he wanted. He's a talented chef, so anything he made would be delicious even if it was the most basic dish. But he went out of his way to come here and ask her about Molly's favorite things.

"Her favorite kind of cake is strawberry lemonade. Our dad always ordered it special from some fancy place downtown." None of them could bake like Molly, and their father refused to have her bake her own birthday cake. He had heard about it from one of his coworkers and decided to take Molly there for her birthday. It was ridiculously expensive, but luckily the head baker was a fan of Molly and gave them a discount. Angela smiled at the memory. Molly had been like... well, like a kid in a candy store. It was rare for her to accept being treated to something nice.

"Strawberry lemon—what kind of fancy city shit is that?"

"Hey, you asked. Favorite food... I... don't really know anymore." The smile slipped from her face. It was odd thinking of Molly having a good relationship with food. Nowadays she just ate what was put in front of her without thinking about it. And before that, she'd glare down at everything on her plate like it was trying to sabotage her dancing career. Chase's expression grew thoughtful.

"Freckles has an eating disorder, doesn't she?" How'd he...? She blinked at him in shock. She knew Molly would never tell anyone about it. She still thought it was all her fault and didn't want people to pity her for what she thinks is her mistake. "Every time I serve her at the bar, she looks... I don't know, nervous. Like she doesn't even really want to eat to begin with. I've met girls like that before. It doesn't help her case either that she's so small..."

"You must spend a lot of time watching Molly. Got a crush, blondie?" she asked as he trailed off, a small frown on his face.

"It's hard to not notice her when she sits right in front of me," Chase scoffed with a roll of his eyes. She huffed. It was no fun trying to make fun of him. Nothing phased him. But there was no denying that Molly was special to him. In all the time that she's been here in Castanet, she's only seen him smile—really smile—around her sister. They were shy, awkward smiles that he tried to hide if anyone was nearby, but they were smiles nonetheless. And the way his eyes would subtly light up whenever he saw her...

It was similar to how Ash would look at Molly before they had started dating.

The sharp ringing of the phone distracted her from those thoughts. There's no way Chase of all people could have a crush on Molly. She didn't think he had any sort of love in his heart. She excused herself, telling Chase to grab a seat, and headed over to the phone. She wasn't expecting any calls. Reina was still getting settled in at her new job, so she didn't have a lot of free time to chat. Last she heard though, Reina had mentioned that Olive Town had a cute farmer she was interested in. And Kasey... He said he had to take on double shifts, so his sparse calls were due to become nonexistent.

"Hello?"

"Oh thank goodness you're the one that answered," Linh's lilting soprano rang out through the receiver. She sighed in relief, and Angela could practically hear the smile in her voice. "I was just calling to tell you that we made it to the Sunshine Islands and we should be in Castanet just in time for Molly's birthday."

Angela grinned. It was expensive, but she had paid for Linh and Bridget to visit for Molly's birthday. After finding out about their plans, Ash decided to join them, paying for his own travel expenses out of pocket. Ash was definitely the better of Molly's exes. He treated Molly like a princess for the couple years that they'd dated, managing to drag her out of the dark place she'd been in after the Mark situation. Even though the two had broken up, they were still friends. She could hardly wait for Molly's birthday. Seeing the smile on her sister's face was going to make it all worth it.

"That's great! Has the trip been okay? I know this was a last minute thing..." She's surprised they had even been able to come on such short notice. Linh's grandfather gave her the okay to visit as long as she made sure to call him every day. Bridget's parents ran a vet clinic but insisted that they could hold down the fort while she was gone. And Ash... He lived with his little sister. His mother had all but disowned him after he came out and Cheryl chose to follow him instead of staying with Jessica. Lucky for him, she's at summer camp for the next month.

"It's been fine. Mostly... We learned that Ash can't handle boats very well." Angela flinched in sympathy as she heard the sound of nearby retching. She understood how he felt. She was fine with spending a little bit of time on the water, but long stretches of time felt like torture. Linh sighed. "He's been like that on and off the whole trip. Bridget's planning on giving him some sleeping pills if the nausea medicine doesn't work."

"And if that doesn't work, I'm knockin' him out," Bridget's voice could be faintly heard in the background. Angela rolled her eyes as Linh and Bridget started bickering and shot Chase a quick glance. He looked bored as he stared up at the ceiling, blowing some peachy curls from his face. She cleared her throat as she turned away.

"Sorry to go so soon, but I was kinda in the middle of something important..."

"No worries, we'll talk more when we get there," Linh replied sweetly. "Stay safe, Angie."

"You too." She put the phone back into the receiver after Linh hung up and grinned excitedly. Everything was coming up roses. Molly Roses, to be exact... She winced internally at the bad joke. Maybe she should leave wordplay alone and just stick to farming. She walked over to Chase, taking a quick glance at the clock as she did. "Holy shit, it's later than I thought... Got any other questions before you go?"

"Kicking me out so soon?"

"I do have a date in a couple hours, y'know. Luna and Julius are coming over to help me get ready." When they had found out she hadn't been on a date in a year-and in all the years of dating Mikhail had never gotten herself ready since he hired stylists to take care of everything- they had assigned themselves her personal stylists. Kathy was stopping by to help with her hair a little bit later. Chase sat up on the couch, a teasing grin on his face.

"How could I not know about your date when Luke comes to the bar every night gushing about it like a lovesick kid?" He stood up, rolling his shoulders with a sigh. "I think I got all the info I need, thanks. Uh, good luck on your date."

She walked him to the door, giving a wave as he walked off towards Flute Fields. She sighed and closed the door once he was halfway down the path, the fleeting thought she'd had earlier coming back to mind. There was no way he had feelings towards Molly that were anything but platonic... right?