Howdy y'all, not much to say because I have been kneedeep in Pokemon (Shield, not Arceus because I am Broke) but I hope you lovelies enjoy! ~Shaymie

Molly

"Hmm...? Oh no Fifi, don't bite that!"

Molly turned and gently picked up her newly purchased chick, who had begun to peck at the straw hat sitting on the ground next to her. Fiona peeped loudly, almost in offense, and hopped around on Molly's outstretched palms. She sighed. Great, another tiny bird with a big personality. She could already picture Fiona and Bell getting into fights. Why couldn't they be lazy like Minnie? The cow didn't ask for much, just the occasional head scratch and a daily brushing. Sometimes she'd sing to the cow as she wove her a flower crown.

"You're too cute to have an attitude like that," Molly murmured, petting the top of Fiona's fuzzy little head with a finger. She heard an indignant cluck and looked up to see Bell walking over with ruffled feathers. She leaned in to whisper to the chick, "Looks like big sister's upset. You'd better run off, little one."

Fiona chirped as Molly set her down and bounced off, a cute yellow ball of fluff in the grass. Molly smiled and scooped Bell into her arms. She had initially been upset when Angela told her to take it easy for a couple days, but she was sorta glad to spend some time with her animals. She almost didn't want to go inside to make lunch just so she could snuggle Bell longer.

Being with her animals was relaxing and gave her time to calm down and think. She had dealt with Chelsea and didn't have to worry about her anymore. It felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Maybe... she should do that often, speak her mind instead of trying to hide anything that made her seem not nice or perfect. It seemed like all holding her tongue had ever done for her was hinder her. Would people have stopped constantly asking her out if she'd been more firm in her rejection? Would they stop thinking of her as a pushover?

And then on top of coming down from the high of dealing with her former best friend, Kasey finally called with some shocking news. Not only is he moving here, but he's a father of twins. He texted Angela pictures of them and they were downright adorable. Gideon looked a lot like Kasey even though he didn't seem to think so, and Mara was (Molly assumed) a perfect blend of her parents. There was a lot of Kasey in her but also some features Molly couldn't quite place.

She wasn't mad at Kasey for not telling them about his children. She probably should be, but she wasn't. And it's not like how she was with Chelsea or Mark where she pushed her feelings down. She really wasn't mad. Maybe it'll start hitting her later but right now she really didn't care. She's just happy he's moving here. She missed him, and so did Angela even if she was still sort of mad at him.

Her stomach growled and startled her out of her thoughts. Bell let out a huff at the sound and flapped her wings. Molly blinked in stunned silence. Her stomach... growled. She couldn't even remember the last time it had done that. It's a small thing but it's proof that she's slowly getting back to normal. It was such a stupid thing to cry over but she couldn't help it. This is what she wanted, to finally feel normal again after utterly ruining her body.

Until now, she had just been relying on a schedule to remind her to eat since her body wouldn't. It was odd, not being able to tell when she was hungry but getting full super easily. She could tell her smaller appetite frustrated Angela. She wanted to be able to eat more but couldn't, and Angela wasn't used to her smaller servings. The food luckily didn't go to waste since Angela would eat whatever she didn't finish.

There was a second, stronger grumble that made her set Bell down and stand up. She might as well answer the call of her stomach. After a final look around the field to make sure her animals were alright, she made her way back into the house. Her nose scrunched when she noticed the mess in the living room. There wasn't much, but Angela and Luke clearly didn't have the same eye for cleanliness that she did. After lunch, she'd clean up a bit and then go see her friends.

Molly sang under her breath as she put on her apron and started setting out ingredients, a small smile on her face. She never thought she'd be excited for food again. Eating was something she'd dreaded for so long. It became something she only did out of necessity, but she missed actually enjoying food.

She liked cooking and baking and coming up with new recipes, but tasting what she made was half the experience. Angela said that everything she made was good, but she would also just eat anything put in front of her. She's not really a great judge of food. But now... maybe now Molly can go back to tasting her own dishes. She's had some recipes that she isn't really sure about that she can tweak to her liking. She had a bit of a perfectionist streak, one of the few things that stuck with her after her semester of culinary school.

"Are you home, Molls?" She looked up from the batter she was mixing and, before she could even respond, the front door opened and Luke walked in a few seconds after the question had been asked. He looked around the house curiously, golden eyes brightening when he saw her.

"People normally wait for an answer before walking in, Luke." His curious gaze went to the bowl of egg mixture in her hands. She had decided on a Monte Cristo sandwich for lunch. She hasn't had one in a while, seeing no need to go to the effort to make something she probably wouldn't taste. "I thought you'd spend your lunch break with Angie. What are you doing here?"

"I thought so too, but she took the minecart up to Garmon for something important and wouldn't tell me what it was."

He looked almost like a puppy left out in the rain. Molly gave him a small smile and invited him to stay for lunch since he was already here. The disappointed look on his face cleared right up with the offer of free food.

"You're like a nicer girl version of Chase!" Luke said, grinning widely. Molly let out a laugh at that and gestured for him to take a seat at the dining table. Much to her surprise, he offered to help with lunch. She frowned. Angela had told her about the breakfast disaster that left the kitchen a complete mess. She knew he probably just wanted to help, but...

"I've got it, Luke. You're a guest after all."

And I don't want to have to scrape burnt food from my pans, she thought, turning back to the counter with a grimace. She got to work quickly since she didn't know how long his lunch break was. She wondered what Angela was doing that was so important. Her sister was heads-over-heels in love with Luke and wanted to spend all her time with him. She was always looking for ways to spend more time with him.

"Uh, Molls..." Luke started quietly, drawing her attention from the sandwich frying in the pan. "When is Ange's birthday? I wanted to do something special for her."

"Her birthday's Christmas Eve," Molly said with a smile. The two of them were head-over-heels for each other. It was sweet to see. Angela deserved this, deserved a love so pure and earnest like this one. She's absolutely gorgeous but thought that she wasn't pretty or lovable. Dating Luke seemed to be helping her confidence and made her happier than Molly's ever seen her before.

"Whoa, really? Does she get twice the presents, then?" Molly laughed and shook her head, flipping the sandwich over and grabbing a plate for it.

"Nope. Our family wasn't the richest, and our dad had to get presents for her and Kasey. They didn't mind much, though. We're not that materialistic." Molly hated getting gifts on her birthday. People knew not to spend too much on her birthday presents, but Ash always went overboard. In addition to his visit, he also got her a brand new tablet. He said it was for looking up new recipes and she felt bad for barely even touching it. "The food's just about done so you should wash up."

"'Wash up?' What are you, my mom?" Luke asked with a laugh. Still, he did what she asked, tucking his gloves into his back pocket and walking over to the sink to wash his hands. She hummed in satisfaction and slid his sandwich onto a plate and... she swore he was drooling when he looked over at it. Her mouth twitched as she tried not to smile. She walked over to the dining table and set the plate down.

Luke was easy to be around. She felt bad always comparing him to Mikhail, but that's the only other serious boyfriend Angela's ever had. Mikhail had been uninterested in the family. He'd make small talk with their dad and tolerate Kasey's scalding glares, but didn't make much of an effort to get to know anyone. She's pretty sure her ballet was the only reason he ever gave her the time of day, not that she wanted his attention. She didn't like him and his insistence that ballet was a classy, noble art. He was so damn... snooty!

She almost wished Angela could get some form of closure from him, but there really is no way he could possibly explain cheating on her and marrying his mistress. Not only that, he let Lillian send Angela an invitation to their wedding. There's no forgiveness for that. He left Angela broken after she gave everything to him. She loved him so much and he just shattered her heart.

"Luke..." Molly hesitated, the words caught in her throat. Should she thank him for helping Angela? He hasn't really done anything except love her, but she's so grateful to him. He helped her sister in a way Molly and Kasey hadn't been able to. He's been so good to Angela. But... it would be weird to thank him for that, wouldn't it? She walked over to the counter to prepare her own lunch and shot him a small smile. "It doesn't have to be Angie's birthday for you to do something nice for her. What did you have in mind?"

Unfortunately she happened to ask him right when he took a bite. He started to respond with his mouth full, but quickly swallowed when she gave him a sharp look. One thing she absolutely hated was people talking with their mouth full. It was completely disgusting.

"Heh, sorry about that," he chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "But I wasn't really sure. I just know I want to do something. She's had it rough these past couple of days... Not that you haven't had it rough, either, it's just... I don't think she's giving herself a chance to relax, y'know?"

"Ever since we moved here, she's been handling the field by herself. She started letting me help but this morning I guess she turned off the alarm so I could sleep in. And now she's helping you guys out with the house for some extra money..." Molly sighed and shook her head. If she was guilty of trying to handle too much emotionally, then Angela was guilty of trying to bear all the physical responsibilities. "I think she's trying to make things up to me but she doesn't have to-"

"Make up for what?" Luke looked sheepish at his interruption and apologized. She waved it off.

"What happened after our dad died, I guess. It was so sudden... We didn't know how to handle it. I closed myself off from everyone and Angie... left. We were used to her having nights out with her friends but it went from a couple times a week to every night. We were struggling for money so she'd dress up so guys would buy her drinks and then she'd go home with them. Sometimes we wouldn't hear from her for days.

"She apologized for not being around then, but I couldn't be mad at her for it. We all grieved differently. Kasey tripled down in his protectiveness over me. I basically shut down and he had to take care of me while he was still working full-time. And then my accident happened and she apologized again, like she somehow would have been able to save my career even if she noticed how bad I was getting. Oh... Sorry, I guess this is a lot to unload on you."

Molly had been working the whole time she spoke, even putting on a pot of tea, but she paused and looked away from the sizzling sandwich to turn to Luke. He had already finished the sandwich—maybe she should have made him two—and looked to be thinking about what she said. She hadn't told him about the incident, but he heard what Chelsea said. Everyone did. She hasn't really let herself think about that too much, the fact that everyone at the festival knew about her bulimia. Hopefully they didn't start treating her any different.

"It's fine. I asked you, right?" She nodded slightly and gripped the spatula a bit tighter. She didn't know how to tell Angela that there was nothing to be sorry for. None of them knew how to handle their father's death. It was why Aunt Dee and Fritz had to come by and help out a bit. Kasey might have been mad at her at the time, but he eventually worked things out with her. And the accident was nobody's fault but Molly's. Chelsea might have instigated her eating disorder, but Molly was too dense to realize she had taken things too far. An accident was inevitable. She should be glad it didn't happen when she was crossing the street or something.

"When we were younger, our dad told Angie she had to be responsible for me and Kasey because she's the oldest. I guess she took that to heart without meaning to. I don't know how to help her realize that she doesn't have to bear so much weight." She flipped off the burners for her tea and the sandwich and started plating her lunch. Luke gave her an odd look when she dusted powdered sugar over her food and grabbed the raspberry jam. "Don't you judge me! You're obsessed with mayonnaise and spinach of all things!"

"I didn't say anything," Luke said, taking a quick sip of juice. Molly huffed and grabbed her favorite teacup, a pretty white one with yellow flowers and a gold trim. It was a gift from Linh and probably one of her greatest treasures. She did her best to take care of it. "But Ange... I didn't even think about how hard she's been working."

Molly hadn't thought about it either. Angela made everything look so... easy. It's hard to believe she'd spent so long handling the field on her own. Molly did half of it and ended up winded. She'd notice times where Angela seemed strung-out or tired, but her sister did a good job of hiding it. Mostly, anyway. Angela spent a lot of time in the hot spring out back or soaking in warm baths.

"I think you'll be a lot of help to Angie," Molly murmured as she poured her milk tea into the teacup. She spread some jam over her sandwich and put a dollop of it on the plate next to it. She joined Luke at the table with her lunch and gave him a gentle smile, noticing that his cheeks were slightly pink. "Actually, you've already helped her a bit. She's been happier because of you."

"I haven't really done anything special..."

"You love her. I think that's pretty special. I see the way you look at her, like she's the only girl in the world... I don't think you realize how much that means to her." Molly's stomach gave another growl, reminding her that she had a delicious lunch sitting in front of her that was going to get cold if she didn't dig in soon. She picked up one of the sandwich halves and started eating. Normally she didn't like eating in front of people she didn't know that well, but she was comfortable around Luke.

She didn't have anything to worry about with him at her sister's side.

"We should throw a party!" Bridget said brightly around the fork in her mouth. Molly looked up from the plate in her lap with a frown. It took some convincing but eventually her friends managed to talk her into having a piece of cake. She's trying to get over her avoidance of sweets since she's already been gaining weight anyway. But... a party? Bridget knows she's not a fan of parties.

"No. No parties, Birdie. You remember what happened at the last one," Linh piped up before taking a delicate bite of pineapple cake. Bridget's face flushed red as she stabbed her fork into her cake with a huff.

"It's not my fault Rock can't handle his damn alcohol! Idiot gave himself alcohol poisoning." Her voice lowered to a grumble when Linh's eyes narrowed at her. "Fine, no party. But we have to get together before we leave to go home. Ash can afford to stay all summer but we have to go back soon."

"How soon is... soon?" Molly asked. It was hard to keep the disappointment out of her voice even though their leaving was inevitable. They still had responsibilities back home, and as far as she knew, Angela wasn't paying for their room at the inn anymore. They chose to stay here longer which meant that they were paying from their own savings.

"I dunno, maybe a week? We'll make the most of it, Momo! We have to make up for not going to the festival with you."

Molly told them it was fine and that they really hadn't missed much since it wasn't like she managed to stay the whole day. Bridget claimed the two of them had just overslept, but she blushed when she said it, and there was a hickey on her neck where Molly's certain there hadn't been before. She's been unsure of their relationship since they showed up. She knew there was a mutual crush between them, but neither had been willing to make the first move. Something had to have changed when she was in her moping phase.

It wasn't really her business, but she loved love and wanted her friends to be happy.

"But enough of worrying about our remaining vacation time." Bridget leaned in close and lowered her voice, though they were the only three in the room. There was no need to whisper. "I think Ash has been getting close to a certain little waitress lately. I saw them eating ice cream together earlier."

"Can you stop trying to make something out of nothing? I swear you think Ash tries to date every girl he talks to." Linh sighed in exasperation, her eyes briefly flicking over to Molly. Apparently this was a frequent occurrence. Bridget really was taking after Angela, who nosed around in everyone else's relationships but hated when it was done right back to her.

"I'm just saying..." Bridget trailed off in a sing-songy voice, though she thankfully dropped the issue and focused on eating the rest of her cake. She had an appetite to nearly rival both Angela and Maya. Maya... Ash and Maya have been spending time together, huh? Did Linh think Molly would be jealous or something? Why would she? She was the one that broke things off. It had been a shock to everyone when it happened, but she could just tell that Ash had been harboring some unnecessary guilt. She thought him being around her would only hurt the both of them.

It would make her happy to see him moving on from the hurt she caused.