Don't forget

[Shannon]

I love it. Write more soon!

[Herfefiny]

Thanks for the comments! ^^
I'll try to update soon! ;D

[violet]

this is really good

[Kikyou Saya Rin-Ren]

I love it!! I can't wait for more!

[Herfefiny]

A/N~ Thanks for the comments everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but heres the next chapter!
Edit: Sorry if it's messed up, but my mom was telling me to go to bed, and I couldn't proofread it!

Chapter Eight: Embarrassment with a kiss

Karen walked to Jack's farm, anger in her eyes. Rick could be such a jerk!
Karen hoped that Jack would make her feel better. He was so caring and kind... Karen found herself daydreaming about him when...

WHAM!

Karen looked up angrily. She had hit a lamp post by Jack's farm, and her head throbbed. Cursing as she got up, Karen knocked on the door of Jack's house. After she didn't get an answer, Karen looked around the farm, Karen could tell that Jack wasn't there. He was probably collecting some mountain things... Karen looked around the farm. It looked pretty good, with some grass planted in one corner, and some crops planted in another. There were a few weeds scattered around, but the farm still looked good. Karen turned around so she was facing Jack's house.

"If he's not home I'm sure the door would be locked..." she thought, slowly placing her hand on the door knob. She turned it, and it opened. Even though Karen knew it was wrong, she couldn't help but walk inside... "Just a peek couldn't hurt..." she thought. Karen walked inside the medium sized house and looked around. On the left side of the house was a kitchen, fridge, and shelf. Karen was happy that Jack could cook.

"Maybe one day I can show him some of my specials! Karen smiled at the thought... Karen looked to the right and saw an open door leading to Jack's bedroom. She walked inside and looked around the small room. There was a bed wedged in one corner and a dresser on the opposite side of it. At the foot of the bed was a trunk. Karen walked towards it, about to open it when-

"Karen?! What are you doing here?" Karen jumped at the sound of Jack's voice. She blushed like mad, and she could feel her face getting hot.

"Oh J-Jack... I um... I um... I well I..." Karen stuttered. Jack looked at her curiously and raised an eyebrow. Karen could feel her palms begin to sweat, and she looked down at her feet. "I should g-go..." Karen mumbled, quickly walking out the open door. Just as she was leaving Karen heard Jack call her name, but she ran off.

~#~#~

It was the day of the musical festival, and as Karen got prepared at the church with Ann, she saw guests begin to poor in. Karen looked at her audience and then let out a small gasp. She saw a purple bandanna among them.

"Ann!" she hissed. Ann looked up from her flute and walked over to Karen. "What?" she asked. Karen pointed to what she was pretty sure was Kai and Ann blinked, bewildered. "Is that Kai?" she asked, shocked. Karen shrugged and walked over to him. "Kai! What are you doing here? It's fall!" she said. Kai looked up. "Oh! Hey Karen! Well, I'm taking Popuri to my home town, and it's taking her a while to get packed so..." Kai trailed off as he saw Karen's shocked face. "Well, she really wanted to go..." he mumbled. "So you'll be taking Popuri for- for the rest of the year?" Karen asked sadly. She wasn't exactly friends with Popuri, but she wondered what Rick and Lilia would do without her. Especially with Lilia's sickness and all... When Kai nodded Karen walked away, lost in thought.

The music Festival was a success, and Jack, who was playing the Ocarina, asked Karen if she wanted to go to his house afterward. Karen said yes, and they ended up having a wonderful night, talking about farming, the villagers, and every day Mineral Town life. It was great and Karen was really warming up to Jack, even after the incident a few days ago.

"So, Karen, Did you enjoy tonight?" Jack asked when they arrived at Karen's house. Karen nodded, and Jack kissed her. It started out lightly, and then it got harder. At the end of the long kiss they were making out, and Karen loved every moment of it. Finally, she had a boyfriend, and she didn't need to worry about Rick. Karen said goodnight to Jack and headed inside, her head swarming with excitement.

[Limegreen Queen]

SCORE! Yesh Jack! Karen deserves Jack. Rick doesn't deserve her!

[melody]

This is very good!
Another chapter soon, please!

[Herfefiny]

Thanks! I'll post more tomorrow! ;D

[Herfefiny]

Chapter nine: Bye-Bye!

A week later, Karen woke up early. This was surprising because usually, she slept in until eight, especially on Sundays, when the supermarket was closed... Karen rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock on her bed side table. ‘5:00 A.M.’ It read. Karen sighed, knowing why she was up so early. It was the day that Kai and Popuri were leaving, and she had been worried about it all night. Popuri was like the part of the town that turned darkness into light. She was always so happy, and enthusiastic. She was like a cute little puppy, running around town and making people smile with her pink hair and big smile. And Popuri was going through so much. Her father was gone, her mother was sick, and her brother did nothing but tell her how awful her boyfriend was! Now that Karen really thought about it, she realized how upstting, and annoying for that matter, it must be for Popuri...

Karen couldn’t stay in bed. She got up, got dressed, and tiptoed outside. She breathed in the morning air and sighed. It was a foggy morning. The weather matched her mood. Karen walked towards the beach. She wanted to lie on the sand even on this cloudy fall day. She was just in that mood...

When Karen got to the beach, she gasped. There was the ferry, right by the dock, and there was Kai and Popuri, standing right next to it.

“Popuri!” Karen called, just as the couple was about to board the boat. Popuri turned around and waved at Karen. Karen ran over to them. “Popuri! Y- you’re actually leaving?” she panted. Popuri nodded. “It’ll be okay... Mama will still have Rick and I’ll be back next summer!” she smiled, but Karen gasped.

“Next summer!? Popuri! I-I...” Karen really didn’t know what to say. She never really realized how much she’d miss Popuri. Karen looked down sadly, trying to hide the tears that were falling from her eyes. Then she felt a gentle hand touch her shoulder. “Karen... Karen, it’ll be fine. I promise!” It was Popuri. How could she always be so positive? Karen looked up and gave a small smile. She hugged Popuri warmly, and then she hugged Kai. “I’ll miss you guys...” she whispered as they got on the ferry. Karen was watching them walk into their rooms when she felt a chilling splash of water. Karen screamed as she fell into the ocean. She looked up to see a hooded figure run onto the boat.

“What the hell was that about, buddy?!” she screamed after the person angrily. The man crossed the small bridge and was out of site when the ferry sailed away. Karen crawled out of the water, still steaming with anger. Karen watched the ferry sail away and then a sad thought entered her mind. Until next summer, Popuri and Kai were... no more.

[Limegreen Queen]

Who was the guy??? Good chapter!

[Herfefiny]

Thank you! You'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out who he is though.. #shifty#

[Herfefiny]

A/N~ Ok... So I'm going to Philadelphia to visit some relatives tomorrow. I'll be there for the next week, so thats why I won't be around... Unless I can find a computer somewhere.... Well anyways, this'll be the last chapter until next Monday or Tuesday. So please reply and tell me what you think in the meantime! ^^

Chapter ten: The dream, the moon, and the letter

Three young boys ran into the clear blue water, laughing and shouting playfully. A young Jack ran farther in until his feet couldn’t touch the sandy ground and he was treading water. He turned to face the beach, and saw two girls walk onto the steps. Jack smiled and waved at the two girls. One waved back but the other gasped in fright, pointing at Jack and yelling something. Now the other girl had a worried look on her face and was looking around nervously. The two boys Jack had been with were also pointing and shouting something Jack couldn’t hear over the roar of the ocean. Everyone was looking desperate as they pointed and shouted. Jack wasn’t sure what to do. What were they pointing at? One of the girls had swam into the water and was screaming something... Something like “Turn around!” Jack spun around and let out a silent scream as a huge wave toppled on top of him. He fell down hard, and he spun wildly in the water. He tried swimming back up, but was just pushed back down. He fell to the sandy floor with a thud and he was slowly losing consciousness. Jack was surrounded by white spots as his eyes closed and he put one desperate hand up, begging for help.

Above water, four children stared at the water, desperate expressions on their faces. One of the girls ran out of the water and up to the dock. She jumped into the water, searching for the boy. She swam down with impressive speed, gliding with the ocean. She saw what looked like a very large rock, half covered by sand. She swam down to investigate it, and she saw that it was in fact the boy. She grabbed him by the arm and swam up. Her oxygen was running out, and the weight of the boy was pulling her down. She quickly pushed him up to the surface, and was now able to glide upward.

The girl gasped for breath and grabbed the boy by the wrist, pulling him toward the shore. All four children surrounded him, waiting for him to move. There was a great tension between the children, when the boy finally gave a loud cough, and water spluttered out of his mouth onto them. The children laughed with relief and the girl who had saved tiny Jack slowly bent down-

“Bark! Bark!” Jack woke up with a start. He was sweating, and his sheets were damp with perspiration. He was breathing fast and he looked around taking in his surroundings. Jack blinked and looked at the front door where his dog, Milo, was scratching on the door and barking at the outside. Jack rubbed his eyes and got out of bed. He got dressed and ate some breakfast. Jack sat in the sofa with his toast and turned on the T.V.

“...so enjoy this beautiful fall day, with the sun and the moon.” the weather girl ended her talk and Jack switched the channel. A gray haired man appeared and he started talking about the Moon Viewing Festival. “So all you men out there make sure to invite a girl!” he said. Jack blinked. He remembered that girl he had met... If she was somewhere in this town, should Jack really be dating Karen? Jack sighed as he got up to start his farm work.

Karen rubbed her eyes and got up for the second time that morning. She looked over at her calendar and saw that it was the 13th of fall, the Moon Viewing Festival. Karen got up and yawned, thinking happy thoughts of Jack. She walked out of her bedroom where her parents were eating breakfast.

“Good morning, dear!” Karen’s mother said cheerfully. Karen nodded and picked up some toast, day dreaming as she ate it. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Karen got up. “I’ll get it!” she called as she walked out of the back part of the supermarket. Karen opened the door and smiled when she saw Jack.

“H-hi Karen...” Jack mumbled. He looked down sadly, as though he had something on his mind. Karen smiled even bigger. “So... Jack, what are you doing here?” she asked acting unknowing. Jack looked up again. “Umm... Karen... I was just... Well I... You know we...” he stuttered. He seemed to be afraid of something. Karen looked at him and sighed. “Jack, does this have anything to do with the festival today? Hmm?” Jack blushed. “Y-yeah! Karen will you-“

“Of course I’ll go with you Jack!” Karen said jumping up. Jack blushed. “I- I’ll meet ya there.” he said, as he left. Karen smiled and ran back into her house, wondering what to wear.

At 6 o’clock, Karen walked out of the house. She was wearing a red mini skirt with an orange fleece jacket. She wanted to show her fall side. She walked to Mother’s Hill looking confident, ready to meet Jack.

Karen and Jack sat on the edge of Mother’s Hill looking up at the beautiful full moon. They weren’t aware of the several other couples that were standing behind them. Karen leaned her head on Jack’s shoulder and he sighed. Karen looked up at him.

“Jack? What’s wrong?” she asked caringly. Jack sighed again. “Karen? Are you a good swimmer?” he asked. Karen looked a bit taken aback at this question.

“Well... yeah. Once I-“ she stopped and looked down sadly. “Never mind...” she sighed. Jack looked over at her and pulled her closer to him. “Let’s enjoy tonight, Ok?” he said. Karen smiled and nodded, replacing her head on Jack’s shoulder.

~#~#~

Karen yawned as she walked into the super market. “Mom! I’m home!” she called. Karen turned on a light and looked around the tiny room, images of the night still in her head. She walked over to the counter and saw a letter addressed to her. Karen opened it up and saw Rick’s messy hand writing. She walked into her room and sat down on her bed as she began to read.

[Limegreen Queen]

OH YEAH! I wondered how come you weren't on. I like it! I can't wait til you get back!

[Kikyou Saya Rin-Ren]

It's really, really good!

[Herfefiny]

Thankies! I'll post more soon, 'cause now I'm back! ;D