"You're so lucky, Scarlett," Akari muttered, gliding the brush through the horse's glossy brown coat. "All you need is sleep, food, and exercise. I wish humans were that simple." Scarlett huffed, hooves stomping the ground as the brush passed through her coat for the hundredth time. Akari had been brushing her for what felt like hours, lost in her thoughts, while the poor horse endured her unusual way of 'd already spent the entire afternoon cutting weeds, watering plants, and fishing by the pond, even though her chores had been done by morning. Anything to avoid sitting in her small, gloomy house. It was too nice a day to waste.

The outdoor air was refreshing and keeping busy was therapeutic. The rain clouds had dissipated, and the sunshine bathed the farm with light. The cicadas sung as the evening began to approach. The wind brought a sweet chill and carried a distinct smell of the ocean as it blew from the east. Akari decided it was time to return the animals to the barn. Just as she was rounding the animals together, she heard footsteps approaching on the dirt road. She froze. She hoped that it wasn't him. She hoped that he wasn't there to apologize, because she knew that she would fall right back into his arms. And she hated that about herself.

But instead, she was surprised to see an employee from the Brass Bar walking toward her. His peach-colored hair seemed to glow in the sunlight, and the light accentuated his purple eyes and fair skin. He was definitely attractive, but his personality was not. Still, Akari found Chase's aloofness intriguing. She wanted to befriend him, but he never made it easy. He often wore a bored, contemptuous expression, as if the world and everyone in it were so uninteresting. So, she was taken aback to see him visiting her farm at this hour. She felt her cheeks flush as she ran a hand through her frizzy hair, which had curled from the rain. She wished she had time to look a bit more put together. At least she had the sense to cover her bruise with makeup.

"Hey," Chase greeted, pushing her bangs from her face. "Are you Akari? I can't tell. There's something on your head."

Akari scowled and pushed his hand away. Stupid, sarcastic bastard, she thought to herself, wondering why she ever wanted to be friends with someone like him. She turned her back on him and gave her cow a firm nudge on the butt. The cow, Bella, responded with an angry snort.

"Need any help?" Chase offered with that cocky smirk that made Akari's skin crawl.

"Don't bother," she snapped

Chase ignored her, carefully lifting a yellow duckling from the ground and carrying it toward the coop. Akari's gaze burned into his back as he disappeared inside the worn structure. She decided not to argue, thinking that silence would eventually drive him away. Instead, she watched as Scarlett and Bella made their way into the dimly lit barn. When she turned back, she found Chase leaning against one of her cherry trees, fiddling with a fallen stem and popping cherries into his mouth. What was he doing here? What did he want? The flood of questions pushed her to break her vow of silence.

"What do you want?" She demanded.

Chase feigned a look of hurt. "Why do I have to want something?"

"Why else would you be here?"

He shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Akari scowled at him.

"Apparently neither do you."

She clenched her fists at her sides. She wanted to smash them into that pretty little face of his. "Look, Chase," she seethed. "I'm having a really bad day, and I'd appreciate it if you were to stop being so rude."

His eyes lit up. "Bad day, huh? What happened?"

She crossed her arms in defiance. "Like you care."

He shrugged. "Try me." When Akari met his gaze, she noticed his flippant expression had vanished, replaced by inquisitive, sincere eyes that silently urged her to confide in him.

She sighed and gestured toward the door. "Do you want to come in?"

He glanced at her shabby home and winced. "Are you sure the roof won't collapse? Because if it does, I'm definitely suing you."

"…Ha," the farmer deadpanned, leading the way to the door. She had been meaning to upgrade the house for months, but making money was hard. Plus, she was too lazy to scavenge lumber and stone from Fugue Forest. She thought that her friendship with Luke would open her to a discount or two, but Dale would never allow it. Besides, she kind of enjoyed the coziness of her little home. The rickety wooden structure held its own during its first hurricane some months ago, although she could do without the constant roof leaks.

"You can sit down if you want," Akari offered. They moved into the living room and sat down on the sofa. The inside of her home was no better than the outside. She had taken an extreme minimalist approach, but her furniture had not been arranged very well. She had the kitchen, which was really just a row of counters and a refrigerator, lined up on one wall. One long sofa, a bookshelf and a cheap TV sat in the middle of the room. And finally, her bed was tucked away in the far corner near the bathroom, the only area separated by a wall.

Meanwhile, the only sound in the room came from the white static of the television. Akari twirled a frizzy strand of hair around her the corner of her eye, she noticed Chase watching her, an amused smirk playing at his lips. Why did he have to be such a jerk?

"Hm, so. Am I going to hear it now or what?" he asked.

Akari shrugged. It couldn't hurt. He didn't really care about her problems, so it would be like talking to a wall. "I feel trapped. I'm stuck in a place I don't want to be. Every time it seems like things might improve, they just go downhill again. It's a cycle. I guess I should know better, but I don't know how to get out of this. I'm not happy anymore. Things aren't going to change, no matter how much I wish they would."

Another awkward silence settled in. What else could be said? She was being purposefully vague, and he didn't know her well enough to figure out what she was really saying. Part of her wasn't sure if she wanted him to. She blinked back tears. This was the first time she voiced her feelings aloud and the pain from earlier began to resurface. But she refused to cry in front of him. It would probably give him the willies if he had to console her, and he already looked uncomfortable.

"If things aren't going to change," Chase began quietly, "then why do you waste your time trying to change what's beyond your control?"

A really good question—one she didn't have an answer for.