Falling asleep the night of Nami's birthday, I kept recalling on how much money I currently have so I could attempt to calculate the maximum number of sweet potato seeds that I could buy from either Matthew or whoever the heck is present on Vesta's farm the next morning. I thought about it so much as I drifted off to sleep, that I had a freaking dream that a humongous sweet potato was chasing me! Talk about a nightmare! Note to self: never again think about sweet potatoes obsessively before drifting off to sleep.

Anyway, shortly after I had given Nami her birthday gifts yesterday, Lou entered Nami's room and announced that it was time for the birthday girl to go downstairs and blow out some candles on this red-velvet birthday cake Lou had kindly made for her. At first, Nami protested against it but still told Lou she appreciated the gesture; however, of course Lou eventually convinced the red-head to do otherwise. I'm convinced Lou made a red-velvet cake because of Nami's red hair, haha.

We all ended up going downstairs in the the inn's kitchen yesterday with the lights turned off and Nami blew out the candles on her birthday cake. As Lou, Tei, and I all gathered around Nami and sang happy birthday to her, Nami stood there somewhat awkwardly as she averted her eyes from us while blushing; I could tell she was not used to this at all and maybe she was a little annoyed, but I could tell she greatly appreciated Lou and Tei's efforts. I don't know why, but I just felt this lonely kind of vibe radiating from Nami when we sang to her...when was the last time she celebrated her birthday like this with anyone, I wonder?

Also... Lou suggested to Nami that I should stay the night in her room since it was already so late at night and before Nami could even say anything back to Lou, I immediately said without thinking that I had to go and my face was utterly flushed of the brightest pink imaginable. I somewhat regret leaving so suddenly and kind of wished that I had stayed the night, because now I'm going to wonder what if I had stayed and... ... EEEK!

I mean I already stayed the night with Nami in that cave recently but if I stayed the night in Nami's room, who knows what would HAPPEN!- Ahhh, I'm getting way too ahead of myself here. Knowing Nami, she probably would have offered to sleep on the floor or something, there's no way she would actually let me sleep in her bed right next to her... Ahahaha. That's right...I-

Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock.

I instantly turned my attention away from the fridge and turned around to face my front door.

Who the heck could that be this morning? Takakura? I was just about to finish making breakfast too. Or I hope it's not Rock... I don't want him sabotaging my cooking like he did that one time he barged into my house. I really don't feel like talking to him right now, especially after yesterday. Sigh.

With much reluctance, I opened the door to see Molly standing there with an eager, cheery smile plastered on her lips and she flashed me a wink once we locked eyes. Both her hands remained behind her as she swayed them in a flirty-way back and fourth once she finally began speaking.

"K-AY-LA!~ Goooood morning! I just wanted to let you know about the big beach-party we're having today down at the beach! They'll be all sorts of games to do and there's also a big swimming contest we're having with big prize money! Provided by Lumina and her rich family members of course! Hee hee!~"

Perplexed, I innocently cocked my head to the side. "But... It's the second day of Fall? Why didn't we have this beach-event thing during the summer?"

Molly chuckled as she flipped her long curly blonde hair. "Oh it was my idea, Sweetheart! After watching that latest soap opera on tv where they had a big beach event, it inspired me to ask Lumina to help give the funds to put something together! Ooh, the show was so romantic during the beach arc! I'm sure something outrageously romantic will happen today and that this event will both sprinkle us and bring fourth some romance in some way!~" Molly swooned as she giggled and excitedly twirled around.

"Wait, I think I know what show you're talking about! I LOVE THAT SHOW!" I raved as my lime eyes sparkled and I clasped my hands together, daydreaming about the characters. My excitement then died down and I paused. "But wait... Molly, won't it get super cold out later? It's not exactly summer anymore..."

"Oh Honey, please! Don't you know that the weatherman said that today will be the HOTTEST day of fall? That's why it has to be TODAY!~ Plus, there's still some green leaves out there, not all of them have changed color yet! Hee hee!~ Summer's still kind of here, Sweetheart!~" Molly explained while playfully waving a finger at me and she winked at me once more while giggling.

I stood there, still processing her words, and Molly kept talking on and on.

"...I only started arranging this event four days ago and, well... I invited other people from the city and other villages by sending some mail out the other day, but I know it's pretty last minute, so I don't think any outsiders will really show, but this still could be really fun! Forgotten Valley has never had an event like this before! It's something new; something exciting!"

I laughed nervously and put my arms behind my back somewhat sheepishly. "Ehehehe... I see. So, when does it start today exactly?"

"Ten o'clock this morning, Sweetheart! So you still have a few hours to complete your farming stuff and whatever else! It'll last the whole day! Plus, if you win that swimming contest later, I'm sure that will help your farm with some money!~"

A look of determination immediately engulfed my face and a twinkle sparkled in my right eye. I can finally buy my pink sheep!

An abrupt devilish smirk soon appeared across Molly's lips as I noticed her eyes looking my body up and down, making me start to blush and feel uncomfortable, and she let out one flirtatious giggle.

"I'll be looking forward to see what swimsuit you wear! Hee hee!~ See you later, Kayla!"

My face flushed as red as her alluring dress while I watched the flirty blonde walk away.

What is she GAY?! ...Like me?! I just always get that vibe from her - that she's freaking thirsty for me! I don't know...maybe I'm crazy or imagining it. But... She's definitely bi at the very least, I think! Why is she always so damned flirty with me?! She was no better than a MAN just now! ...Sigh.

Wait. Swimsuits. Swimsuits... WILL I SEE NAMI IN A SWIMSUIT IF SHE SHOWS UP?! KYAAAA!~

I'M NOT A PERVERT I SWEAR!

...

- A few hours later -

After convincing myself that there was no way Nami would ever show up to this beach event thing since it's not her style to go to those kinds of things, I was able to finally calm down and find my only swimsuit that I had packed when I first moved to this valley, and I got dressed in it.

I blushed furiously as I looked at myself in the mirror. Damn, I look... hot!

I kind of wish Nami would show up now, but at the same time it'd feel so mortifying if she actually saw me like this! EEK! It just feels all too overwhelming! But... But... I need that prize money to buy my pink sheep! Hopefully I can win that contest while just swimming in...this.

My swimsuit consisted of: a two-piece, light-pink bikini. On the top portion of my bikini, there is a large slightly darker-pink (close to magenta) ribbon placed in the center, or in other words, the chest area (like Nami tries to do with her swearing, I'm trying to keep this PG-13), while there's the two same-colored magenta ribbons on the sides of the bottom piece of my light-pink bikini. I also decided to tie some light-pink ribbons around my two pigtails to match with my bikini. No one can tell me that I don't look cute! Or hot!

Hee hee~

Ten o'clock sharp, I began walking out of my farm and ventured towards the path that lead to the beach. On my way there, I noticed that there was hand-written posters hanging everywhere advertising the big event at the beach today. Wow, Molly most have made these.

From the distance, I saw that there was TONS of people at the beach. Wow, maybe everyone in the valley is here today for the event? I first noticed most of the girls around my age there: Molly of course being in a rather spicy-looking red bikini and her long wavy hair now being up in a ponytail, Cecelia in a dark green one-piece swimsuit with her hair down, Flora in a light-orange one-piece as well with her usual lower ponytail, and finally I saw Lumina wearing a pastel cream-yellow two-piece swimsuit; her hair was even in tiny little cute pigtails! I noticed that most of the young bachelors were there too, all shirtless and wearing swim-trunks, and oh...groan, of course Rock is there too. I can't escape him, I guess. Oh wow, looks like Popuri is there too with the girls! She's wearing a black one-piece with her hair down and-

"Eek!" I suddenly shrieked while closing my eyes and wincing in pain. Of course I wasn't paying attention and I bumped into someone. I felt myself almost falling backwards; until I felt someone grasping onto my wrist, pulling me up so I could resume fully standing.

"Crazy, watch where you're going or you're going to hurt yourself."

The one who was holding onto my wrist was none other than Nami. My heart skipped a beat once I realized it was her and she slowly released her grip on me. I nervously put a hand on top of my heart as we locked eyes. I blushed insanely at seeing that... she was wearing swimming attire. She was wearing an oversized black t-shirt that looked almost pretty similar to what she wears on a daily basis along with red swimming trunks, with black stripes being on the sides of them. I thought I was going to crazy right then and there; SHE LOOKS SO HOT!

My face turned brighter than her sexy-messy red hair. "N-Nami?! You're actually going to the beach too?!"

Nami put her hands in her pockets and shrugged. "I'm only doing it for the prize money. Otherwise beach parties aren't really my thing. ...Weird how this is taking place in Fall though."

A nervous laugh escaped my lips and I sheepishly scratched my head. "Haha, I know right? W-Well... If I win the contest, I'll share my prize money with you! I might use it to buy a pink sheep next!~"

Nami rolled her eyes and looked away from me for a moment. "That's not necessary. Plus, I'm not taking your money again."

I flashbacked to the day we were rolling around on the ground, Nami fighting to put my bag of money into my pocket as she was on top of me, and then our almost-kiss...

Blushing, I timidly looked down a bit and wasn't sure what to say as I played with my fingers slightly. "Well... I don't mind at all giving you some, you know... You probably need the money more than me anyway."

Nami completely ignored what I said and then I noticed her face blushing bright-red while she looked a little annoyed, as she was staring down at my...cleavage?!

"Eek!" I shrieked while blushing furiously and instantly hugging myself, attempting to cover my chest more so she wouldn't see.

"...Are you really going to wear that? You can borrow one of my shirts from the inn, if you want." Her voice was quiet, slight jealously and a certain over-protectiveness lingering in it, as she averted her eyes from mine and she blushed even harder. Nami paused for a moment and then added in a mutter, "You know... so you don't get sunburnt." Rightttt. Sounds like an excuse so no one else sees my freaking body! Nami sounds so...so jealous at the thought of someone seeing me like this! She says she doesn't have romantic feelings for me and then yet, she acts like THIS?! Geezus, am I in a situationship?! ...

Feeling a little mischievous, I decided to tease Nami a bit (as mild revenge) and told her in a flirty tone, "If you're so worried about me getting sunburnt, then you can apply sunscreen on my back then. Hehe!~"

Nami was taken aback by what I said, her sapphire eyes widening, and she blushed ferociously. "Uh... What?"

"You heard me!" I said feistily with a giggle and then flashed her a wink. "Now come on! Let's all go greet the others!" Ooh, that was bold of me! I'm surprised I'm feeling so confident with Nami right now! It really does feel like she is into me, like she's down bad... I'll just try to convince myself she is either way for my own sanity.

I heard Nami sigh from behind me, as we began to walk towards the beach more.

As the two of us finally approached the beach, we walked up to a group that consisted of: Cecelia, Molly, Lumina, Flora, Popuri, and ugh...Rock.

"BABE!" Rock shouted obnoxiously as he began to sprint up to me, him putting his arms out as if he was going to HUG me.

Nami immediately tripped Rock before he could wrap his arms around me and he fell flat on his face. He coughed and spit up some sand as he stood up. The girls in the background all giggled, especially Lumina. Man, she must still be really holding a grudge against him, especially after yesterday. "Urgh!" the blond-haired moron groaned as he dusted off some sand off of his red swimming trunks. "Totally uncool Nami! Stopping my hug from Babe! It was gonna be like heaven to her! What is wrong with you?! How dare you deprive her!" he hissed as he glared at her and clenched his trembling fist.

Rock's anger instantly subsided once he noticed the light-pink bikini I was wearing and his mouth started watering like a dog, making me shiver in complete uneasiness.

His eyes began to sparkle as he walked towards me. "Babe... You look... You look so good and deliciou-"

Hands in her pockets, Nami protectively stood in front of me. "You're being creepy."

Annoyed, Rock rolled his eyes and crossed his arms in a pout. "Tch! Quit interfering with my mojo! Jealousy is an ugly thing, Nami! You'll never be me! No matter how hard you try to be!"

Nami let out a sigh of annoyance and turned towards me while muttering, "That's one of the reasons why I offered you one of my shirts..."

I let out a nervous laugh. "Ehehehe... Fair enough."

Rock huffed and puffed as he stomped away from us, but he was still pretty nearby, and I saw him knock down Hugh's sand castle he had just built. The two began to get into an argument. I twitched, beyond disturbed by Rock's actions. Where the heck are Hugh's parents so they can stop Rock from bullying their kid...?

"NAMIIIIIIIIIII!~" Popuri suddenly shouted as she sprinted up to Nami and clung onto her arm. "I've missed you!"

I felt a small pang of jealousy invade me; however, I did my best to ignore it, especially since Nami has told me before that she's not interested in Popuri. I still feel this small sense of guilt for feeling jealous though... I guess I can't control it, the feeling jealous part.

Without any hesitation, Nami forcibly pushed Popuri away and sternly hissed, "Don't touch me!"

I'm not going to lie; I felt a little relief when Nami pushed her away so fast.

Popuri gave Nami the puppy-dog eyes and began to whimper. "But... But! But Nami!"

The pinkette's eyes then began to shimmer once she saw me. "Kayla! You're so cute and pink! I love your pink bikini!~" Popuri gushed excitedly as she clasped her hands together.

"A-Awe... Thank you," I responded bashfully while smiling.

"Nami, you should wear a bikini too!" Molly then playfully said as she walked up to us, along with Cecelia, Flora, and Lumina following from behind her. "You should definitely try wearing something way more feminine for once! Hee hee!~"

She rolled her eyes at Molly. "Sorry, you'll never catch me in a bikini. You'd have to kill me first," Nami deadpanned.

I blurted out laughing at what Nami had said and I couldn't contain it as I hugged my stomach, laughing so hard I was almost crying. "HAHA! Oh my gosh... Haha! Nami, you're so funny!"

"Wasn't trying to be..." Nami muttered as she stared at me erupting into an endless amount of giggles.

"Hi Kayla!" Cecelia, Lumina, and Flora all sweetly said to me unison.

I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down from laughing and couldn't fight off the goofy smile that kept crawling onto my lips. "H-Hi guys!" I finally managed to say while giving them a little wave.

I then took once last deep breath and fully composed myself, then proceeded to turn more in Molly's direction to look at her. "You know Molly, I just have to say this before I forget to, but... Not all women are naturally feminine and they don't always have to dress feminine, you know! Especially if that doesn't feel authentic to them, like if it doesn't feel authentic to their individual personality and style, is what I mean. There's some masculine gals out there too that exist, ya know! Like Nami! And there's feminine men who exist too, and people who are a little bit in-between as well, a little bit of both! It depends on the individual person! Plus, I like how Nami dresses! It's sexy-OOF!"

I immediately covered my mouth at saying that last part by accident and blushed OUTRAGEOUSLY. Oh my gosh, I HOPE NAMI DIDN'T HEAR THAT!

Molly covered her mouth as she snickered a bit. "Hee hee. You sound so nerdy when explaining all that Kayla, it's cute."

My jaw immediately dropped. W-What?! I am NOT nerdy! Ooh, I hate whenever someone calls me that! It's so-

Gustafa's voice then interrupted my thoughts. "Kayla's right, you know. And I think the way how Nami expresses herself like that is truly beautiful and unique." He walked up to us shirtless while wearing dark-green swim trunks and then handed Nami one of the fall flowers that could be found the valley - a fall Trick Blue Flower. "I heard it was your birthday the other day, but I couldn't find you. Happy Birthday, Nami."

"Uh...thanks." Nami muttered awkwardly as she took the flower, and put it into her pocket. Gustafa gave Nami a small wave before he walked away from the rest of our group.

I felt slight anger at Gustafa, it's like he was totally hitting on her again like last time during the spring time! But in a subtle way... Ugh, maybe I'm just overreacting here. Sigh. Rock was right - jealousy really is an ugly thing.

Speaking of Rock, he charged right up to us.

"Molly! Where is all the other beach-babes?! I thought you said you invited other babes from different towns, cities, and villages?!"

Molly frowned and a sigh escaped her lips. "I did, but this event was all so last minute... It looks like Popuri is the only outsider to join us today."

Rock then noticed Popuri, he instantly smiled big, his teeth sparkling, and he gave her a thumbs-up while winking at her. "Why, hello pink-haired babe! The Rock must have not noticed you before! My biggest apologies! You're really beautiful-ACKGAH!"

Lumina immediately started pulling on Rock's ear and began to drag him away from our group.

I let out a nervous laugh. "Rock is really... Uh-"

"Insufferable," Nami finished my sentence and she scratched her head while a sigh escaped her lips.

The rest of the girls in the group began to laugh at Nami's very accurate description of Rock.

Molly giggled. "Anyway... Ladies, the swimming contest isn't happening until another hour, so you're welcome to swim or chat, or just do whatever you please! Actually - who's up for some volleyball?!"

"Me!-" I started to excitedly exclaim; however, my smile gradually fell once noticing from the distance a familiar silhouette approaching our little group. Eyes widening in pure shock, I quietly gasped in horror upon the realization of who it was, and felt my heartrate accelerate with much intensity. Worry began to rapidly invade me and my anxiety felt off the charts.

A flurry of emotions rushed through me all at once as I stared at disbelief, them now finally standing in front of our group. It felt like the air had been sucked from my lungs.

IT'S MY EX!

There they were, the person who had once held my heart for so many years as I suffered in silence, my first love, suddenly appearing like some sort of ghost from the past.

Jamie. ...The farmer from Flowerbud Village.

She stood there retaining her usual stoic expression yet at the same time had this menacing aura to her, her eyes an icy-blue color like Nami's. Her straight purple hair was about the same length as Nami's as well, with bangs covering her forehead, and she was wearing her usual tanned-color cowboy-looking hat that I don't really know how to describe well, but it has a scarlet-red band wrapped around it along with a unique white and blue feather ornament located on the right side of the hat. The only thing that was different was that she wasn't wearing her usual colorful poncho that I always used to tease her about and that same violet scarf around her neck. Instead, she was wearing swimming attire, a black oversized t-shirt - like Nami's - and then light-blue swimming trunks, opposite to Nami's current red ones that she was wearing.

What the heck, she could be Nami's freaking twin! Or maybe I just have a type. ... I hate the thought of comparing them though, but it's just what I'm naturally observing.

They kind of do have the same personality though too, well...except Nami is way nicer.

"I'm here from Flowerbud Village to strictly enter the swimming contest held here. I saw the invitation from the bulletin board," Jamie announced sternly, her low voice sounding as intimidating and as cold as ever.

Retaining a stoic expression, Nami slightly raised an eyebrow as she stared at Jamie with suspicion and the red-head then quietly muttered so only I could hear, "Flowerbud Village... I've traveled there before a few years back, and I think I've seen her around during my stay too... I know her."

I remained quiet and didn't say anything back to Nami. Feeling a wave of uneasiness begin to penetrate me, I averted my gaze downwards at the sand and I could tell that Jamie hadn't noticed me yet. I gulped, feeling fear wash over me along with painful memories that began to resurface in my mind. I hugged myself for comfort and did my best to not look in either Jamie's or Nami's direction. I don't want Nami to worry about me either, but...

Molly excitedly clasped her hands together. "Ooh, it looks like Popuri isn't the only one that's here from out of town anymore! How exciting! Well, the swimming contest will start in one hour! Now, what's your name Sweetheart?"

"It's not important, but it's Jamie... I'm Jamie from the famous Jamie Ranch, if you really need to know," Jamie coldly responded and she then rolled her eyes while crossing her arms. "And humph... One hour? That's-"

Jamie paused mid-sentence once she finally saw me and her sapphire eyes grew slightly wide, the energy between us obviously becoming tense now. I couldn't tell what she was thinking as her gaze continued to be locked onto me and my green eyes remained wide in shock, feeling beyond awkward and unsure on how to react. Her face looked so serious, and so angry, and so calm all at the same time when looking at me; it confuses the heck out of me and it's so scary. I also noticed that her cheeks were reddening a bit, but maybe that was just my imagination...

Jamie looked away from me for a moment and sighed. "...I'll be looking forward to entering the swimming contest, and winning all that gold." Jamie then glanced over at me once again, then looked away quickly. Everyone seemed to notice, especially Nami.

Nami seemed to notice that something was off with me, that something was wrong.

Molly blinked in confusion and proceeded to innocently ask, "Excuse me Jamie, but... I notice that you keep on staring at Kayla. Do you two know each other or something?"

Jamie averted her eyes to the left and quietly muttered, "Yeah...something like that."

"...I think I'm going to go for a little swim," I faintly announced in a hurried-tone while avoiding eye-contact with everyone and I briskly walked into the ocean before anyone could say anything more to me; I went a little farther out in the water. I'm not the best swimmer, so it's a little scary for me to go by the deep end, but I don't want to risk anyone seeing me crying if I do... My body shivered from the coldness of the water and I hugged myself for a few seconds, trying to warm up.

Earlier when I had started to walk away from everyone, I swear that I heard Nami mumble to herself, "She's acting weird..."

If Nami later asks me what's wrong, I'm not sure what to say. It's so much to explain, and I... It's so emotionally hard for me.

I mean...Jamie is the reason why I realized that I am a lesbian anyway. No one in the valley knows this yet, but in my early twenties, I used to be a farmer in Flowerbud Village too, I wasn't a very good one though, but... Jamie and I used to be rivals for about two years. Then... We were together in secret for another two years; however, it was never an official relationship. She didn't believe our relationship was valid and she thought our relationship was a disgusting disgrace to the Harvest Goddess...yet she would keep coming back to me over and over, being romantic with me, saying she was in love with me, but then the next day she would take it all back, she'd give me the excuse that she wasn't in the right mind, or that it was 'my fault' for seducing her, when she was the one to always pursue me FIRST. It was a vicious and traumatic cycle. I quit farming for awhile and then decided to get back into it recently this year, on my dad's old farm in Forgotten Valley. She'd say horrible things to me too, such as: that I was foolish, disgusting, and even evil for having feelings for her, and... A-And...

Jamie would say that she never has had romantic feelings for me, that none of it has been real. So that's why - when Nami said the exact same thing to me recently, that Nami's never had any romantic feelings for me, it all hurt so much more. It was like I was going through the exact thing again, the same thing that Jamie had put me through so many years ago. That's why it's so hard for me to trust that Nami is already mine now, like Chris had instructed me to do so. I'm so scared history will repeat itself again...

The minutes passed and I was holding back tears the whole time as I got lost in my thoughts while in the water. I would notice that Nami kept on glancing over at me as she's playing volleyball with the others (I'm surprised she would even play with them), and I kept looking away from her every time I caught her looking. I didn't even bother to look Jamie's way either, but I'm sure she was looking at me too here and there as she played volleyball with them. I frowned more and more with each second, feeling my heart sinking, as if it was going to sink all the way down into this water and hold me down like it's an anchor, relentlessly drowning me in all this pain. I don't know why, but I just felt this feeling of shame pierce my heart every time Nami tried looking at me just now. It's so confusing. Why... I guess a part of me wishes that my first love was Nami instead. I was doing so good for so many years working on myself, but all these memories are coming back and making me feel all broken again. I'm mad at myself for feeling so affected by this, why am I so sensitive? What's wrong with me? Thankfully I'm over Jamie now, but... I just don't know how to act around Jamie when she's here in my town, especially around Nami!

Jamie always made me feel like I was in the wrong about me liking women no matter, because it was a 'sin' in the Harvest Goddess' eyes according to Jamie, so therefore anything I would try to say to explain how there's nothing wrong with it, would get thrown back at me as 'false' since the Harvest Goddess doesn't approve; according to Jamie. She'd make me feel so powerless, but I've worked really hard for years to dispose of those unhealthy beliefs. I believe now that the Harvest Goddess is of course accepting. Love is love.

A flashback of Nami then re-entered my mind:

"...How can you be so open like that?"

Before Nami questioned me on how I can be so open about my sexuality all the time, when what she doesn't know is that for years I would keep it a secret and felt so much shame around it. It took me so many years to escape that awful mindset...and now years later, I'm strong - I'm so confident in my sexuality...so much so, that I will forget sometimes that some people are against it or think it's unnatural, like Jamie does. Over the years I have surrounded myself with people that were only accepting towards me.

A flashback of what Jamie had coldly said to me years ago then flashed in my mind, and I held my heart in pain.

"Being with another female will just lead to heartbreak each time, it'll never be true love. You'll never be truly happy being in a romantic relationship with a woman. It's not true happiness. You're confused. Those kinds of relationships will only bring you heartbreak because it's against what the Harvest Goddess wants."

Sometimes deep down I really wonder if her words are really true... It scares me.

I don't want what I have with Nami to only turn into heartbreak. I'm so scared, sometimes I feel like I'm cursed, like I'm being punished for liking women with all the heartbreak I have felt with when it comes to liking someone romantically...

But I know that can't be true. I know I'll find happiness and be healthily in love someday, I just hope it's with Nami, and-

"Eek!" I then suddenly shrieked out loud by accident once realizing something and I frantically splashed around in the water for a second.

The top of my bikini is...MISSING!

Blushing furiously, I immediately covered my chest while hugging myself and I sunk more down in the water so no one could see me shirtless, my head now being the only thing that could be seen above the water. Panic rapidly invaded me and my eyes grew watery.

W-What do I do now? How am I going to get out of the water without anyone seeing me? ...Ooh, this is so embarrassing!

The others seemed to have heard me shriek because Molly shouted out to me, "Kayla! You okay? You've been in that water for awhile! Why don't you come play with us and join our game before the swimming contest starts?"

"N-No! I'm okay! I want to stay here for a b-bit!" I weakly shouted, trying to disguise the panic in my voice and doing my best to hold back any tears.

Molly frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Y-Yes..." I responded quietly and Molly shrugged, giving up as she sighed.

"I'm going over there..." I then heard Nami say fiercely with determination as she began to walk in my direction and began swimming towards me.

NO! I instantly thought inwardly shrieking at hearing Nami say that and now seeing her start to come towards me.

I continued to outrageously blush as Nami finally approached me, us now both in the deeper part of the ocean, and I moved back slightly, my eyes widening. "W-Wait..."

"What's wrong?" she asked firmly, her voice had slight concern lingering in it. "You've been acting weird."

I was speechless and I hid my head more in the water in embarrassment, it now being up to my nose now as I crouched down while doing my best to cover my chest underwater. I held my breath.

Nami raised an eyebrow. "Why are you hiding...?"

I finally decided to spill the beans and shot up my head slightly a bit, my voice frantic. "B-Because! The top of my bikini is missing! A-And..." My voice cracked as my eye grew watery and my mouth trembled, feeling overwhelmed with emotions as I couldn't get any more words out.

Nami was taken aback and blushed, then she let out a sigh as she began to take off her black t-shirt.

"W-Wha-What a-are y-you d-doing?!" I demanded in a stuttering mess, blushing crazily at the thought of her having nothing else under her shirt but I was wrong.

She sighed once more. "You're lucky I'm wearing a tank-top underneath..."

Indeed, Nami was wearing a black tank-top, her muscular arms being revealed, and I felt myself inwardly going wild.

"Now come on, move up a little more so I can help put this on you," Nami seriously instructed.

I gulped, slightly moving up out of the water a little bit more, but not upwards enough where she could see my chest area, and Nami put the black t-shirt over my head and helped me put my arms through the sleeves as well; I closed my eyes while blushing the whole time. This is all too embarrassing. Where the heck did my bikini top even go?!

When I opened my eyes to look at Nami, a traumatic flashback of Jamie immediately entered my mind. Jamie and I were in the ocean during the Swimming Festival held in Flowerbud Village, and as we were competing with each other and everyone else during it, Jamie had swam up to me. She was smiling so sweetly at me and put her arms out, as if she was going to hug me. I was so in shock; especially since Jamie never showed any physical affection to me in public before; since us being together was a secret in the village. In that moment, I felt so happy, that she finally was going to hug me, even if it was random. But then... She splashed water right into my eyes, and the emotional pain stung more than the physical. Jamie laughed and said to me, "What? You actually thought I was going to hug you? Don't be disgusting, I told you since yesterday I'm over you. I just was testing you to see if you'd be dumb enough to get distracted during this contest, of course I'm going to come in first. Why don't you go home before you drown?"

My whole body shivered at recalling it all and tears cascaded down face without me even knowing it at first; I then gasped once realizing.

Nami looked shocked at seeing that I was crying and she immediately hugged me. "Hey...there's obviously something else wrong. Let's talk over there."

Even though I was cold in this freezing water, I felt such warmth being in Nami's arms. "B-But... What about the contest? Shouldn't we be getting ready for it soon? Or else we'll be missing it-"

"I couldn't care less. That's not my priority right now," Nami instantly interrupted me, her voice fierce.

I blushed at hearing her words, realizing that I was her priority right now. She then took me by surprise by holding my hand under the water and guided me towards the end very end of the beach near these cliff of rocks that were more farther away from everyone else on the beach; basically it was a very private location. Nami and I both arose out of the water and sat beside each other on the rocks. I hugged my knees as sadness swirled in my heart, yet at the same time I was blushing at the very fact I was wearing Nami's shirt now.

"...So are you going to tell me what's going on?" Nami finally spoke up, as she looked out towards the ocean as she had her left leg out, with her hand aloofly placed on her right knee as she was leaning back slightly. "I noticed something was off with you since that other farmer showed up. She implied that she knows you, so..."

I sighed, averting Nami's gaze. "Yeah. ...I know her. It's been a couple years since I've seen her. Well..."

Biting my lip, I paused for a moment and then decided to keep on speaking; Nami was listening very intently the entire time. "I used to be a farmer in Flowerbud Village during my early twenties and for awhile, Jamie was my rival...she then basically came onto me one day to put it bluntly, and then we were together in secret, but we were never an official couple. She thought us being together was against what the Harvest Goddess wanted and she'd constantly reject me in the most cruelest of ways, but then she would pursue again and always be the one to initiate things with me. She'd be all romantic with me, she would say she loved me...then always the next day she said she didn't mean any of it, and that she wasn't in her right state of mind. She blamed me for it every time, and I don't know... In general she's very self-centered and I think she was in denial about how she felt about me. There was so many times she'd tell me that I was disgusting for having feelings for her and sometimes that I was even stupid for liking her in that way, and she said a lot of more awful things to me... She believed that the Harvest Goddess didn't view my feelings towards girls as valid and that basically it's a sin, and for awhile it really messed with my head and I felt that I was, that who I was...was wrong. That situation was how I realized I was a lesbian in the first place and, well... I haven't really been with anyone since. It was a vicious cycle that went on for a couple years, I'm glad it's over now. It took me years to recover and heal from."

Nami was quiet for a moment before she finally responded, her choosing her words carefully. "...I see. Thanks for telling me. Yeah, that's dumb. Pisses me off. I can't stand religious nuts like that. She sounded unbearable to deal with. I'm sorry you had to deal with all that... You didn't deserve that."

I smiled a little while letting out a soft laugh and held my knees tighter, Nami not knowing just how much her words truly meant to me. "Thanks. Yeah, I agree. I wish I got over it faster and that it didn't take so many years to do so. I mean... I... I've never had a girlfriend before."

"...I haven't either," Nami confessed somewhat hesitantly and she grew quiet as she solemnly stared out at the ocean, not really saying much else.

In that moment, I wondered about Nami's past and I wanted to ask her what her past love-life was like. There's a part of me that's scared to know about any of her ex-lovers, if she's had any or not, and also I'm just scared of the fear of feeling jealous too, but maybe that's immature of me. Just the thought of Nami being with someone else in the past, just makes me feel... ... Maybe I just don't want to hear about it right now since I'm emotional as it is. I don't know.

All I know is that I'm grateful Nami is here with me right now.

"Kayla! Namiiiii!" Molly's voice suddenly called from the distance.

Nami and I both turned to see that Molly, Cecelia, Popuri, and Jamie...were all now walking towards us.

"There you guys are! We were looking for you everywhere! The contest is about to start!" Popuri bubbly proclaimed and she then asked curiously, "And Kayla, why are you wearing Nami's shirt?!"

"Eek!" I meekly squeaked in embarrassment while blushing. "U-Um!-"

"She was scared to get sunburnt, so I let her borrow my shirt," Nami quickly interrupted me in a casual tone.

I relaxed a bit and felt thankful for Nami's quick-thinking. "Phew... That was close..." I faintly said under my breath.

"Well, come on! Everyone is waiting for you guys! Hee hee!~" Molly exclaimed as she gestured for us to follow her.

Cecelia, Popuri, and Molly began to walk off as both Nami and I started to stand up, while Jamie...stayed put, with her hands in her pockets.

Nami and Jamie were glaring at each other intensely.

Nervous, I felt my heart begin to beat insanely. You could cut the tension with a knife...

Soon enough, Jamie seemed to have composed herself and she ran her fingers through her purple hair; then locked eyes with me; her sapphire eyes beyond fierce.

"So...this is where you were. I wasn't sure if you chickened out of the contest or not like you did years back in Flowerbud," she said with a slight smirk and then added, "They were all telling me about how you took on your dad's farm here. How's that going? ...Is it too much for you like the last farm was?"

Jamie's question was directed toward me in a beyond mocking tone, so much so that Nami protectively clenched her fist and began to walk forward, as if she was about to brutally swing it at her; however, I quickly clung onto Nami's arm and whispered, "N-Nami, stop! Don't!"

Nami scowled and angrily said while looking back at me, "Tch! ...Well, I'm not going to stand around and allow this piece of garbage to talk to you like this!"

Jamie rolled her eyes and chuckled, completely ignoring Nami as she continued on with talking to me, "That Takakura guy down at the beach told me you don't have many animals either yet. How pathetic."

At this point, I was struggling to use all my strength to hold Nami back from beating the shit out of her. "S-Stop! Please don't!" I weakly pleaded to Nami as I held her, holding onto her from behind.

"And for your information 'Ms. Perfect' - I AM going to be buying a pink sheep real soon and even more animals!" I declared fiercely to the purple-haired menace.

Jamie scoffed. "Humph. Even if you do, you'll never be successful. You should just give up and quit while you're ahead. No one is better than me."

With that, the cold-hearted farmer began to walk away from us. I suddenly felt my heart sinking uncontrollably and was overwhelmed with emotions.

Nami's eyes were viciously glaring at Jamie as she walked away. "If that bitch says anything like that to you again, I'll pummel her and-"

"A-Actually Nami... I don't feel good. I think I'm going to skip out on the contest... See you later!"

"Wait!-" I heard Nami say as I began to run to away, but I didn't look back. I ran all the way back to my farm, Nami didn't follow me.

- One hour later -

Still wearing Nami's shirt, I stayed inside my house for awhile, trying to relax and I also ate a bowl of soup. I did my best not to think about Jamie, but the bad memories kept popping up in my mind, and I had a few mini panic attacks inside my home at remembering all the emotional abuse she had put me through all those years ago.

I want to go find Nami... I wonder if she entered the swimming contest after all, or if she went home... GASP! I hope she didn't get in a fight with Jamie! Oh my gosh, why didn't I think about that before?! I shouldn't have left Nami alone! I... I wasn't thinking! I don't want Nami to get hurt, or to get in trouble - especially with the police, like Daryl did...

Instantly, I rushed out of my house and began to sprint towards the beach. As I had just rushed a little past the inn, a hand abruptly pinned my wrist to a tree and my back slammed into the bark slightly.

"Eek!" I shrieked while wincing in pain, closing my eyes for a second. I soon opened them to see that...

It was... JAMIE?!

Her expression was unreadable and next she began to lean her head in towards mine, as if she was about to kiss me!

"No!" I screamed while turning my head and closing my eyes, and I did my best to slap her hand away but she wouldn't let me; her grip was too strong.

Jamie then chuckled with a smirk and she released her grip on me. "What, did you think I was going to kiss you just now? Humph. Get over yourself. Even if I did kiss you, I'd feel nothing, like always. Because after all, it's a choice - and it's disgusting that you're still identifying as a lesbian and choosing to be one. Your friends down at the beach told me that you do."

"You freaking psycho! It's NOT a choice - and YOU ARE the disgusting one!" I fiercely retorted, my eyes growing watery. "You're obviously still in denial about what happened with us! I wish you'd see the light already about how it's NOT wrong!"

Jamie scowled at me, her voice growing emotional as she then venomously hissed, "People like YOU are the reason why the Harvest Goddess has turned to stone! It's all YOUR FAULT!"

"NO IT'S NOT!" I screamed, tears now streaming down my face. "Quit projecting onto me... Besides, I believe the other night that the Harvest Goddess heard my prayer!"

"Liar! You disgust me!" Jamie huffed and she continued on with speaking; her voice cruel and lacking no empathy what-so-ever, "What are you seriously doing, by being a lesbian? Quit wasting your time and just marry a man already. You're already a bad farmer as it is, heh. You've always been a bad farmer, and you moving to a different town didn't change that, I see. You don't even have one single sheep or even a horse. Being a lesbian will make you even more as a failure. It's such a disgrace to the Harvest Goddess. It sickens me. Quit living in delusion. Romantic love between two women isn't real, it's impossible by nature. You'll never find a woman who actually loves you-AH!"

Suddenly, Jamie's hat was knocked off of her head by a strong gust of wind and what happened next - it was all in a flash.

Nami appeared from behind the tree that I was in front of and she grabbed onto Jamie's hat fiercely; her placing the hat upwards in the air to hover above our faces, covering both of our faces in fact. Without warning, Nami leaned into me; her lips were rushing straight for mine.

However, Nami hesitated and then pressed her forehead lightly against mine instead, giving the illusion to Jamie that Nami and I were kissing behind the hat. I felt my heart flutter wildly and skip a beat; for a second I really thought that Nami was actually going to kiss me.

"AH! DISGUSTING!" Jamie shouted infuriated, pure disgust and slight jealousy detected in her voice.

Nami then fiercely threw the hat back at Jamie and glared viscously at her. "Get out of here. Scum like you is not welcome in this valley anymore."

Jamie caught her hat and scowled. "Humph! I don't want to be around homosexuals anyway... I hope the Harvest Goddess saves your souls."

With that, Jamie walked away.

"I'll raise hell if she tries to stay at Lou's inn overnight," Nami muttered pissed as she was watching Jamie walk off into the distance and she then looked towards me, her expression softening a bit. "Sorry she sputtered all that bullshit at you... I overheard everything behind that tree. I did the hat thing to piss her off, sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

I stared at Nami breathlessly, trying to find the perfect words to say back to her, to fully show her all the immense gratitude I feel for her right now.

All I want to do is to kiss Nami right now.

Nami then took me by surprise by casually tossing a bag of gold in my hands and with her hands in her pockets, she began to walk away.

Wait, did she win the swimming contest?! I-

"Go buy your pink sheep."

Author Note: Hi y'all! If you read this whole chapter in it's entirety, I commend you! It's about 10,000 words! LOL! I didn't realize it was going to be so long! It took me forever to type! Haha. But this is officially the longest chapter of this story! XD The beach portion of this chapter was inspired by the game Fields of Mistria, and me seeing everyone in their swimsuits in the summertime season! LOL! It still incorporated well into this story, I got lucky we just started Fall time in this story! XD Haha! But either way, the same events that happened in this chapter were going to happen regardless of the beach or not, haha. Anyway, hopefully all of you know who Jamie is from Harvest Moon Magical Melody. I thought it was perfect adding Jamie in, especially since in the story of seasons a wonderful life remake, flowerbud village is mentioned! LOL. This ALSO works well especially since Nami HAS canonically been to Flowerbud Village in the Magical Melody game. XD And this ALSO works well - haha - considering my OC here kind of looks similar to the female farmer main character Tina from magical melody considering the pigtails and her liking pink! XD Btw, I have ALWAYS viewed Jamie as a guy in the game, never as a girl lollll. But for this story, he's a tomboyish masc girl! XD He can be either a guy or girl in the game anyway, but yeah haha. Just wanted to mention that. My own character's past here was foreshadowed sneakily here and there throughout this story but it's always been vague, haha. I wanted to be super vague about it. But yes, this chapter is sadly based on real life events toward me personally, and if you know me in real life, you know how wild this chapter is for me to type, lmao. I want to say more, but it's super personal, haha. Anyway, please tell me what you all think if you review! And your reactions toward Jamie's reveal and whatever else you liked, favorite parts, ect. Thank you all for reading and reviewing! It always makes my day. I'll upload the next chapter soon when I can!