In the Shadow

[Firefly]

A/N~ I've decided to write a new fanfiction that, hopefully, I will like better than my previous one... The main character will be Ann, because I am so much like her. So, here is the first chapter of In the Shadow! Enjoy!

Chapter One~ Jack

"Did you see him?"
"Who?"
"I wonder what he's like...?"
"He must be very fit. Taking up that old farm will prove to be a difficult task! What if he really doesn't want to farm it? Maybe he'll sell it and make an amusement park! Oh dear! Or maybe he won't like it and leave! What will become of the farm, then?"
Ann sighed. This was all of the "conversation" she had heard today at the Inn. Who were the townsfolk talking about so excitedly? The new boy, Jack. Apparently the Old Man who lived on Swizzle Farm left the farm to him, and he had already arrived.
"Here's your food, Manna," Ann set the tray that had a salad and some pineapple juice down in front of the middle-aged woman.
"Thank you, Ann! Say, have you heard about the new boy in town, taking over Swizzle Farm? I hear he is very shy! Well, I didn't exactly hear that, but I assumed it myself. Why else wouldn't he have already introduced himself?"
Well, maybe he is too busy with the farm. It has been two seasons since the Old Man died, Ann thought. Instead of voicing her thoughts, she just shrugged.
"Well, thank you for the food, Ann. In case you might ask, I already paid up front to your father."
Ann wasn't going to ask, but she smiled and said, "Thanks, Manna. I was just about to ask."
Manna beamed at her and opened her mouth to answer, but Ann was already at another table.

After the lunch rush was over, Ann decided to take a break. The upstairs was spotless, and she knew Doug had nothing to stop her from going. So, she just waved to her father and called, "I'm going to visit Karen! See you in an hour, Dad!" As she expected, Doug smiled and nodded.

"Hi, Ann!" Karen called to her best friend. "So Doug let you have a break? Cool. Hey, how about we go meet the new guy? Since he hasn't introduced himself to us, we'll introduce ourselves to him." Without waiting for a response, Karen marched Ann out of the Supermarket and closer to the Swizzle Farm.
"Karen, what if he's busy? We're going to look stupid, anyway. And I know there is another reason why you want to see him. You didn't visit Cliff when he first came!" Ann urged her friend.
Karen sighed melodramatically. "Dear, dear Ann. We've known each other for years. And still, you do not completely understand me!" She paused, glanced at Ann to make sure she was paying attention, and continued. "We hardly ever get new townies. Maybe this guy is, well, you know..." She smiled flirtatiously.
"Okay, okay, I get it," Ann answered with a roll of her eyes. "Lets just get this over with. He probably isn't interested in us anyway."
Karen stopped and glared at Ann. "He will be interested in me," she sniffed. "Just you wait." With that sure remark, she grabbed Ann's arm in a death grip and marched her off to Swizzle Farm.

"Hee-lllllooo!" Karen called in a sticky-sweet voice as she knocked on the door. The farm house was very small; Ann wondered if "Jack" would like living in such a small place. She ignored her friend's annoying voice and looked around. The fields were fertile-looking, but almost the whole field was covered with weeds, stumps, logs, rocks, and even boulders. How could anyone farm on this? Her gaze slowly drifted towards the barn. She wondered if there were any animals there yet? Or did they die along with the Old Man? Mayor Thomas had said that he had "taken care" of the farm, but by the way the field look, Ann wouldn't have been surprised to see starved cows inside the barn.
Meanwhile, Karen was getting annoyed that Jack did not answer to her knocking or the sickingly-sweet voice she used. So, she began pounding on the door. Her voice lost all the honey in it, and you could tell she was angry. "Jack! Can't you see there are a few people out here trying to introduce themselves?!? Can you PLEASE come out here?" Pause. "NOW?!?"
Ann cringed at the loudness of the command. She was certain that Jack would dislike Karen now.
After a moment, the door opened slowly and hesitantly. Ann knew that this Jack person was terrified of Karen, or at least her voice.
Then she saw him. He had on a blue baseball cap, turned backwards, and only a little bit of dark brown hair poked through the top. He wore overalls like she did, and had the most compelling eyes she had ever seen. They were the same color as his hair.
As Ann stood awestruck, Karen quickly smiled at Jack and began to scold Ann. "Ann! How could you be so rude to Jack?" She turned back to him. "I'm sorry. My friend here has a bit of a fiery temper."
Ann's jaw dropped. It was Karen who had yelled at Jack, not her! She was about to correct her friend when she saw the look on Jack's face. He was blushing a light shade of pink, and he kept glancing down. Ann blushed slightly too, and felt like a balloon was swelling inside of her. Then she realized something that made the balloon pop. Jack was not looking at her and blushing. It was Karen who he was infatuated with.
***

[moko]

that was so mean of karen! and poor ann!

but a good fan fic anyway! ;D

[Firefly]

-bows- Thanks ^^ I think this one is going on Fanfiction.net

[Firefly]

Chapter 2~ The Music Box

Ann felt her anger building. Of course, she was used to this. Every time a new boy came, he always had a crush on Karen. Cliff had, too, but Karen had taken no intrest in him. Ann usually didn't mind. But now, she really did like this Jack, and it was clear he had hardly noticed her.
"Karen, I think we should leave," Ann told her friend. "I think Jack has work to do, and I have to--"
Karen shot an angry glare at Ann before she could finish. Jack hurriedly answered, "You could stay."
This made Ann feel a bit better. "Really? Are you sure? Thanks!"
"He was talking to me," Karen said coldly. "Anyway, didn't you say you had something to do?"
Ann felt her throat dry out. She knew she couldn't do anything about it. Besides, Jack had only meant for Karen to stay. "I guess you're right," Ann finally said. Without looking at Karen, she said, "Goodbye, Karen." She turned to Jack. "See you later, Jack. Come by the Inn sometime."
Karen completely ignored Ann, and, since Karen had, Jack ignored Ann as well.
Without another word, Ann walked quickly away from the Swizzle Farm. Soon, she power-walked, and then she was running. She didn't even feel her legs as she sprinted toward the Inn. Her father knew better than to ask questions when Ann acted like this, so he only looked at her with a worried expression as she rushed by without a word, smalling the back door behind her.

Cliff had also seen Ann sprint by. He, being a new villager, did not know Ann as well as her father. But, he had a crush on this red-haired girl, and wanted to see what was wrong.
"Let me talk to her, please?" He begged Doug. The older man nodded and sighed wearily.
"Ann?" Cliff softly called when he entered the back room. There was no answer, but he heard the sound of something against wood. Then, there was a loud crash, and a gasp. Scared, Cliff swung the door open to find Ann standing by her dresser, looking shocked. He looked at the ground, and saw something yellow and blue. Ann, still taking no notice of Cliff bent over and sat on the floor next to the thing. She picked up the two peices of it and set them on her lap. Her eyes became shiny with tears. Cliff rushed over to her and kneeled next to her.
"Ann? Are you okay?" he asked, worried.
Ann's head shot up and a look of surprise covered the look of sorrow. Then, she swallowed hard and tried not to cry. Instead of stopping, she burst into tears. "I... broke it!" she sobbed. "My mother's... music box!"
Cliff akwardly hugged her. Ann rested her head on his shoulder and continued crying. After another five minutes, the crying subdued to a few sniffles. Soon, Ann had stopped altogether. She raised her head up and backed away slowly.
"Sorry," she mumbled, and scooped up the peices of the music box. "You didn't have to help me. It wasn't your fault, anyway." She set the broken box on her dresser shelf and stared at it a long time. Still staring at it, she spoke again, "I was just so mad that I kicked my dresser... the rest seemed like it was in slow motion. The music box fell off, and crashed to the ground." Then, more quietly, Ann added, "I'm lucky it didn't break into more than two peices." She turned back around and mumbled, "Better get back to work. I don't want Dad to worry." She walked away, and when she was in her doorway, turned back around to face Cliff. "Thanks," she told him, and smiled a little. Then, she turned around again and walked briskly out of her door, to the front of the Inn so she could forget her anger and sadness untill later.
***

[moko]

wow.................

karen's really mean...................

[Butterscotch]

Aw, this is a cute story so far. Except for Karen. >_>

[Entegy]

You must hate Karen.

[BorderWolf]

Indeed, Karen is mean as well as rude. Good thing that Cliff is a nice guy to help Ann.

[Nami]

>:(I've always hated Karen!Now i've hated her more than ever !I mean how could do that to her BEST friend ? :'(NOW I HATE HER !!!!!!!!!!! !

[Firefly]

Yes, I have always hated Karen. Sorry if anyone here thinks Karen is the best, because in my fanfiction... well, she's not the nicest character >.>;;

[moko]

i used to like karen, but then i saw how popular she was and i don't really like her anymore.

[Firefly]

Same here, Moko. I thought she was okay, untill I saw that EVERYONE wrote fanfictions about her and EVERYONE made FAQ's and Guides to her and EVERYONE drew fanfart of her and Jack! What about Ann, Elli, Mary and Popuri? Especially Elli and Mary. In many fanfictions, they are the "villans" or whatever. Also, most people like her because she is pretty. o_0 Well, if you looked at the poll about if you'd rather have a nice-looking and mean boy/girlfriend or a nice and not-so-hot one, the second choice was way ahead! Its what's inside that counts. And I think that if you like someone because he/she is nice-looking in a game, you're more likely to do that in real life.
-cough- And that is the end of my "I-dislike-Karen" speech.

[BorderWolf]

Alexis, take a look at the Miss Bachelorette poll I made in the Harvest Moon: General board, you'll see that Elli and Mary are tied for first place, Ann is in third place, Karen and Popuri are tied for fourth place, and the Harvest Goddess is in last place.

[Firefly]

Yup, I saw it, and I'm very happy. ^^

[Firefly]

Chapter 3~ Popuri

Ann sighed and flopped down on her bed, eyes half closed. It had been a busy day, so she hadn't had a chance to think about anything other than food. So now, she dedicated her thoughts to her day. It had not been the best day, even after she had broken the music box. She had spilled a drink on Duke, dropped five plates, and forgotten someone's food completely. Doug, who would usually have scolded her, said nothing of the matter other than, "I know you're going through some hard times, Annie."
But she wanted him to scold her. She wanted him to give her another reason. All her life she had been "going through hard times" and nobody had ever said anything about it. Why now? What was so special about today that everyone--

"Ann?" a soft voice called, breaking her train of thought. She huffed grumpily and sat up, glaring at the door. The voice didn't sound like Doug's, so it must be--
"Come in," she mumbled after a minute.
The door creaked as it opened, and Cliff poked his head inside. He walked in and looked down. Ann knew right away he had something to say.
"What is it?" she asked, forgetting her own troubles.
Cliff scuffed a shoe on the wood before looking up. "Um... well, I heard about what happened..." he finally said.
"That's all? I know, I broke a few plates and spilled wine, everybody knows by now." Ann answered, but had a feeling he meant what had happened at Jack's. "Oh, and, everyone knows that Karen flirted with Jack today, because she probably bragged to everyone about how he chose her over me and how rude I was," she scoffed. But Cliff said nothing, so Ann suspected it wasn't that, either.
"...Cliff? What's wrong?" she asked more softly.
"I... I heard about... your mother," he finished after a few moments of silence.
Ann was slightly taken aback. She had thought everyone knew about her mother... but Cliff was new, so...
"...And I'm sorry. That is something no younger child should have happen to them..." Cliff continued. "I would know," he mumbled so quietly Ann didn't hear.
Ann nodded, not looking at him. She hadn't talked about her mother like this for a long time... A sudden thought came to Ann. "Cliff, you never told me--"
Before Ann could finish, a scream was heard from outside. Ann and Cliff both rushed to the door and looked out. Doug and Officer Harris were outside of the Inn, looking around frantically. Doug looked down on the ground and said something to Harris, who nodded and ran past the Inn and down towards the Poultry Farm. Ann pushed past Cliff and ran outside. What she saw made her bite her lip from shock. Cliff came outside a second later, and his face took on a scared look.

Popuri lay face-down on the ground, motionless. Her long, curly hair was a dark, sticky red, which, Ann realized with rising horror, was blood. Her clothes were ragged and torn, and her arms had cuts on them. She breathed very slightly, taking rasping breaths, as she struggled to breathe.
"She needs medical attention," Doug lifted Popuri up, and noticed Ann standing by him, horror-struck. "Ann," he told her, "come with me to the Clinic. I don't know how this happened, but I have a feeling it wasn't an accident."

Half an hour later, the Doctor came out from the back room, his face looking utterly confused.
"She isn't suffering too much pain, and I couldn't find a scratch on her head. Also, it seems that she lost no blood at all!" he told Doug.
Ann was quiet, pondering what the Doctor had said. Finally, she spoke up. "Then, why was she almost unconscious?" she asked curiously.
"She has a bump on the top of her head," explained the Doctor.
"But no cuts? How could she be covered with blood?" argued Ann.
The Doctor was looking exasparated. "I don't know," he told her with a frown.
"And you said that--"
"Ann," Doug warned his daughter, cutting her off. Turning to Doctor Tim he said, "Thank you for helping Popuri, Doctor. I'm sure Ann is just so shocked by the incident..." His voice trailed off and he looked pointedly at Ann, who had her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed.
"Well, can I see her?" Ann asked after a moment of akward silence.
The Doctor opened his mouth to respond when Elli cut it. "I don't think she should have visitors at this stage," Elli said. "Besides, she isn't awake, and I don't think it'd be a good idea to wake her--"
"I'm awake," came a familiar voice from the back room. "But I need help. Who put all this red paint in my hair? Its going to be hard to wash out."
***