---

Three days passed, and—a miracle—they were all sunny days. I had decided to continue my turning-over-a-new-leaf phase, so I spent those days trying to befriend other villagers. This meant discovering a new building somewhere near my barn. A blacksmith owned the shop, and I met his grandson who turned out to be Bob's younger brother.

I also decided to talk to my first few friends that I had met, like Nina Ellen, and Maria. I talked to my newer friends, as well, obviously, as I didn't want to ignore anybody. Also, I decided to plant a few trees in town, trying to make a good impression for the mayor. The new girl, Lyla from the Flower Shop, seemed to take a liking to me, too. I visited her shop almost every day, remembering to buy jams for Jamie, as I wanted to try and befriend him, as well.

I decided to try and befriend the men of Flowerbud Village, so I made sure to frequently talk to Basil, Joe, Kurt, Blue, Bob, Ray and Carl—whenever I could find them. The weather was hot and sunny, so this meant everyone was out and about where I couldn't find them.

Also, I somehow managed to fit in mining and fishing through befriending just about everybody.

During those three days, I made sure to ignore Alex completely. I visited the Sanatorium, though, as only Gina, Dia and Martha were there. Alex made no attempts in contacting me in any way—no letters, no showing up at my front door, nothing.

I made sure to talk to Ann, as well, as I felt she was being ignored by me. It turned out she liked corn, so I bought a few stalks from Liz and Nina's shop.

Eve was turning out to be my new best friend, as I visited the bar every night, and we always had something to talk about. If there were a few people at the bar that night, she'd tell me what she could 'see' others doing, as business would be slow, and drinks wouldn't need to be made. One night, Eve could see Jamie in the mines, digging up gems, and the next night, Eve could see Bob and Ann talking to each other at Sunny Lake under the stars—A date.

“Are they really dating?” I had asked.

“Mhm,” Eve had nodded. “Bob originally had a crush on Gwen, but since she's interested in Blue, Bob's going after Ann now. They're cute together, though. He's a big guy, and she's really petite...”

And lastly throughout the duration of my 'good deed,' I managed to collect a few more musical notes, and was on my way to thirty: The fire note—for putting out a bonfire that I made for cooking fish; The sun note—for staying in the sun for twelve straight hours (I had gotten a great tan that way!); The ponytail note—when Gwen came to my door and gave me an omelet; And the island note—for reaching the island in the middle of the ocean, the dolphin being my transportation.

I had still remembered, through all of this, that Eve had given Alex exactly three days to apologize. This meant, on the third day, at approximately six-thirteen PM, if Alex had not apologized to me sincerely before that time, Eve would murder him.

Personally, I had no idea why Eve was going to murder him. There was so reason to, was there? Just because Alex was being an ass to me and didn't apologize sincerely, didn't mean Eve had to kill him. I knew, from hearing Eve's story, that she had gone through many failed relationships throughout her human life, and that she had murdered the man who had tried to kill her and rape her the night of her transformation.

But that was her boyfriend—or ex-boyfriend, I should say. Alex was my boyfriend, didn't I have a say in what to do about him? Breaking up with him would be easier than Eve killing him.

On the third day, I awoke with a groan. The sun was pouring in through my window, the warmth shining on my face. Knox and Pinky were on the floor together, both chasing after a ball. Knowing that I had to do farmwork, I got out of bed and dressed into my usual summer apparel, a tank top, jean shorts, and a red flannel shirt on top.

I made myself sunny-side-up eggs with toast and a glass of orange juice, and put some leftover fried fish on the floor for my pets. My small house was growing crowded, fast. I was working as hard as I could to earn myself more money, but I always ended up needing things—Furniture and food. I tried to spend my money as wisely as possible, though, and go fishing more often.

After breakfast, I headed outside into the heat, and saw that the little flag was up on my mailbox, meaning I had mail. I opened up the pink mailbox, and found two letters—One from Eve, and one from Joe.

I managed to open up the envelope from Eve without ripping it up too much, and the letter was on plain white paper, the font straight from a typing machine right out of the 1950s.

Harlow,

Remember. Six-thirteen this evening, and that's IT. If he doesn't apologize to you before then, I'll rip his freaking head off. I'm serious.

Six-thirteen, Harlow. Pray that he'll be civil, unless you really do want him dead.

Eve

I folded the envelope carefully, and stuffed it in my pocket. The letter from Joe was polite, asking how I was, and if my farm was doing well. He also advised me to keep out of the heat as a heat wave was predicted for a few more days.

I put the letter back in its envelope, which I stuffed into my backpack. I jogged to my crops, and harvested the corn and tomatoes. I watered everything before heading off for my barn. I realized it was a Tuesday, which meant the bar, Junk Shop, and Woodshop were closed.

Moo was growing bigger every day, and I was hoping that one day, she would be ready to give milk. I had read in a notebook that Ellen had given me on my first day that calves would grow in about twenty days, then they could produce milk. I brushed Moo, and left the barn after shipping my harvested crops.

Not knowing what to do next, I decided to head home and collect some food and my tools for going into the caves. I wasn't in a very social mood, but mining always seemed to make me feel better.

I collected some fish dishes and a couple of boiled eggs, and headed off with my hammer. I passed the clinic on the way, and I had to fight hard to not look in the window and see what was going on inside. I had a feeling it would be the same old scenario, Alex looking in the desk, Gina helping him find something, Martha scolding Alex, and if Dia was there, she would just be pacing the tiled floor up and down until lunch.

But the curtains in the clinic were drawn that day. They were yellow, but thick, so I couldn't even see the lights from the ceiling. Sighing, I continued towards the caves. On my right, there were several trees and cliffs that you could jump from to land in that area. I could make out two figures standing side by side, holding hands in the distance. I squinted, and saw a petite girl in a green sundress with jet-black hair, and a man with pants that could easily blend in with the background.

“Dia and Kurt,” I murmured out loud. They were walking together, admiring the nature, taking it all in, in the morning when it wasn't going to be too hot. I had a feeling they were going to spend the rest of the day together, too.

Inside the caves, it was cooler than the outside by at least ten degrees. Bob, Ann and Jamie were in there. I gave Jamie a wave, and said hello to Ann and Bob. Ann was chatting with Bob about ores, and just as I was heading down the stairs, he had given her a copper one.

When I reached the second level of the cave, I smashed the rocks and collected gold ores. I made my way through many levels, and finished with a backpack full of gold, as I had eaten all of the food I had packed. When I was done, it was around three in the afternoon, so I figured I could go fishing by the river.

I ran home, shipped my golden treasures, and traded my hammer for my fishing rod. I walked to the nearest part of the river, which was down by the Junk Shop, and cast my line. As I fished, I was growing more worried as each minute ticked by on my watch. It was a quiet day in Flowerbud, so hardly anybody was outside.

After catching many rainbow trouts and amagos, my watch read five, so I decided to head to the beach and sit for a while. If Alex was not going to find me and apologize sincerely, I must sit somewhere and try not to think about it. Maybe I just needed someone to talk to. Nina, maybe.

Nah. What did little Nina understand about relationships? She was what, nineteen years old? I was twenty-three, therefore having more experience in life than her. Nina was also quite immature, as she usually hung out in her garden, prancing around, singing about the growing cocoa plants.

Sighing, I sat down on the warm sand when I reached my destination. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, waiting for something to happen. I was growing more nervous after every few minutes, as six-thirteen was going to happen soon. I leaned forward and put my hands together, as if I was going to pray.

Please, God, I thought. Please make Alex get his ass over here—fast! As much as I kind of hate him right now, I don't want him to die. Please don't let Eve run after him and kill him. I don't want him to die. I still love him, because he's still my boyfriend. I know he hasn't given me any sign of sorry in the past few days, but please, please, please make him get over here before Eve kills him!

My watch read six by the time I was done my little prayer. My heart was racing as I realized I only had thirteen minutes left. I heard footsteps nearing me, and I prayed it was Alex.

“Hi,” I heard. The voice was familiar, but it sounded sad.

“Hi,” I replied, not turning around. My eyes were stinging with hot tears as paranoia washed over me.

“How have you been?” He asked. I felt him sitting beside he, and saw his hand stroking the sand grains.

“Good,” I said. “I've been turning over a new leaf the past few days.”

“Ignoring me,” he said. “You've also been ignoring me.”

“You're the one ignoring me!” I snapped. I turned around to face Alex. “You haven't sent any letters, never waved hello, nothing!”

He said nothing.

“Don't tell me you're just going to sit here all night with me and say nothing while I rant,” I said angrily. “Because in about ten minutes...”

“Harlow, I didn't come here just to hear you yell at me,” Alex said. “I know that I deserve it, I know I've been a complete idiot to you. I know that I need to grow up and move on about the whole double-date thing. I've been stupid about it, and I need to put it all behind me now.”

I nodded, pulled my knees up to my chest. I closed my eyes and bit my lower lip. Six-oh-seven. Six minutes to say sorry.



Six o'clock now. I should get up and get outside and look for either Alex or Harlow. I bet he's probably sitting in his room at the clinic now, pacing up and down, debating what to do.

I stand up, tell Duke I'm going out for a walk, which I kind of am doing. I head outside and walk towards the clinic, which is around the corner and next door. I look in the window, and see Gina and Martha, but no Alex.

Concentrating, I walk towards the mountains quickly, trying to see where either Harlow or Alex are. I need to find Harlow and tell her time is almost up, and hope she's said her last goodbyes to her beloved jack-ass boyfriend.

I know Harlow probably has no idea why I have to kill Alex for her. She thinks there's no reason for me to do so, just let it pass, Eve. But no. I'm not going to let Alex be an ass for the rest of their relationship. Harlow is my best friend. I can't let her have that. I can't let her go through what I've gone through. If Alex tries to kill her before I kill him, he is asking for it!

I reach the mountains and look around. No one is out here except for Basil, who is studying leaves. Sighing, I turn around and head back where I came from. I see Jamie standing in his pasture, patting one of his cows.

“Jamie!” I yell. He turns around.

“Yeah?”

“Have you seen Harlow anywhere?” I ask. “I need to find her.”

“The last time I saw her, she was down in the caves,” he tells me. “I haven't seen her since.”

I sigh again, and thank him for the help that doesn't really help me. I start walking, then turn around again. “Wait. Have you seen Alex?”

“Yeah, I saw him heading towards the beach earlier,” Jamie replies. “Like, a few minutes ago.”

“Thank you!” I breathe, running for the beach. I pass a few people who look at me strangely because I'm running in high heels. I pass the library, and reach the east part of the beach. “God damn it, where are they?”



Alex sighed, and didn't say anything else for a few seconds. “I know you're not going to forgive me for ignoring you, and being a complete bastard. I know you never will. I have to stop looking out for you. I have to be your boyfriend, not your father.”

“You're right,” I said quietly. I tried thinking of something else, but my voice was shaking with tears that were probably going to overflow any second now. “It looks like you've learned your l-lesson now, haven't you?”

“I have,” he said, almost whispering. “I have learned my lesson.” I glanced at my watch. Six-ten.



Goddess, damn it, I mean. Where the hell are those two?

I shut my eyes and concentrate on Harlow. I clench my jaw and grunt. I almost laugh, because I sound like someone trying to take a crap at the toilet, but I decide against it because this is important.

But I can't see! I can't see where she is. “Oh no,” I murmur. The only time when I can't see people is when they're dead, or I have no energy in me. I consider the second option, as I haven't eaten all day.

“Oh, screw this,” I say angrily. I start jogging again in my heels that will get destroyed by the sand, but who cares? Harlow is more important than my shoes—besides, I can always get more.

“Harlow!” I yell. “Three minutes! Where are you?”

But I know that she won't hear me. Muttering swear words to myself, I run around at full speed, not wanting to waste any time. I run past the Inn, almost knocking Nami over. She hisses at me, and I hiss back.

“I'm in a hurry,” I snap. “Can I help it if I run people over?”

Nami rolls her eyes. “Looking for someone?” she guesses. “Harlow's down by the beach. The west side.”

“Thanks!” I call over my shoulder as I sprint again. Six-twelve. One more minute...



“I've learned my lesson,” Alex continued. He sounded a little bit shaky, and I suddenly felt bad. “I'm going to try and be a better boyfriend towards you. I'm a doctor—In training, so I'm always going to be protective over you, but I'll act more like a boyfriend than your father. I promise.”

“Okay,” I said. Six-twelve. My heart was racing. “Is there anything else you'd like to add? Or was that it?”

“One more thing,” Alex assured me.

Make it fast!

“I know I said it insincerely before, and I didn't mean it. I just wanted to say it, and mean it.” He closed his eyes, then looked at me. “I'm sorry.”

Six-thirteen.

I breathed a sigh of relief, and heard running footsteps coming closer. “Harlow!” It was Eve. “I've been looking everywhere for you!” She glanced at Alex, then at me. I nodded.

“Did you need anything?” I asked.

“Oh, yes. I've been wondering, do you want to have a sleep-over?” Her eyes brightened and she grinned. Alex looked confused, as was I.

“Tonight?” I asked. “But it's a week-night.”

“So what?” Eve said. “We don't have to go to bed too late, since you have work to do. We can have the bar to ourselves since my uncle and Carl are both out somewhere. I can cook.” She sounded desperate.

“Sure,” I said. “Can I just have a few more minutes with Alex? We weren't done...”

“No,” Eve growled. “Come with me now.”

“Fine.” I sighed, and stood up. I looked down at Alex. “Sorry. Um, we'll finish talking tomorrow, okay?”

“Tomorrow,” he agreed. He looked down at the sand and started stroking it again with his fingers. Eve grabbed my arm and dragged me away.

“Eve, what the hell?!” I hissed. “I wasn't done with him!”

“I really wanted to kill him!” She exploded into my ear. “Did you forgive him?”

“I was about to,” I groaned.

“If you forgave him before I got there... Harlow, do you have any idea what he'll put you through?”

“No,” I said. Eve started running, and I had to run, too. Eve was as fast as lightning, and I had trouble keeping up.

“If you forgive him, he's just going to do it all over again to you!” Eve explained. “He'll continue being an ass. All men do that. You have to dump him, Harlow. Unless you want to get yourself in another deadly situation and have him kill you.”

“Eve, stop it!” I yelled. “He wouldn't do that. He's learned his lesson. He told me so. I know—”

“Just because he says something doesn't make it true!” Eve snapped. “He's going to continue being an ass towards you. Maybe not as much as before, but he'll still be an ass. I've been through these kinds of things hundreds of times. I should know.”

I sighed, and we had reached the bar by then, since Eve was in a hurry. Eve unlocked the door, and I went inside. It seemed so empty on a Tuesday night, because no one was there, no noise at all. I followed Eve around the counter and down a hall into her room.

Against the wall by the bookcase was a large bed, queen-sized. A dresser with a mirror sat by the window, a chair in front of it. There was a sofa with a matching armchair and a wooden coffee table, as well as a TV.

“Nice room,” I said.

“Thank you. You can have the bed, I'll just watch the TV while you sleep. Or I'll hunt. I don't know.” Eve walked to her dresser and opened a drawer. She fished out a small, red box and a blue lighter. She pulled a chair over to the window and opened it.

I decided to sit on the bed, so I took my shoes and socks off. Eve pulled out a cigarette and lit it up. She put the orange end between her lips and closed her eyes. “You don't mind, do you?” She asked after exhaling the smoke, which flew gracefully out the window.

“No,” I replied.

“It calms me down if I'm thirsty,” Eve said. “I was all prepared to kill Alex, when—Wham! My spirits went down. I couldn't see where you guys were, you know. When I can't see anything, it's either because they—the people I want to see—are dead, or my energy is low. I haven't eaten all day.”

“Why not?” I asked. “If vampires—your kind—eat, they won't gain anything... right?”

“Right,” Eve said. “You could eat all the food in the world, but it would count as nothing, in a way. The calories are still there. Our bodies aren't like the human body, so the calories don't actually burn. So it's all just... there. Floating around in your system. It gives you energy though, like sweets do for humans. If I were a human, I'd be a fatty by now.” She laughed.

“So you can burn it off, then,” I said. “You'd still have to eat other meals.”

“It's hard to explain,” Eve said. She blew another puff of smoke out the window. “It burns off, but you can't lose or gain any weight when you're a vampire. Nothing really happens.”

I was still confused.

“Just forget about it,” Eve sighed. She flicked her cigarette and a few ashes flew out the window. “Did you have dinner yet?”

“No,” I said. “But I can help you cook. You don't have to do it all by yourself.”

“Fine,” Eve murmured. She exhaled through her nose more smoke, then turned to the window so the smoke wouldn't reach my face. So I wouldn't be exposed. “Want to try one?” She reached for another cigarette and held it out to me.

“No thanks,” I said, shaking my head.

“Suit yourself,” Eve said. “You can smoke, do drugs, drink alcohol—anything you want, when you're like me. It doesn't affect you in any way. You can still taste it though. Even though I don't have finger or hand prints, I still have taste buds.” She grinned. Eve finished her cigarette and crushed the remains in an ashtray that rested on the window sill.

“Shall we make dinner?” I asked.

“Sure. Whatever we want, 'cause it's a sleepover.” Eve skipped out of the room, and I followed. She opened up a giant refrigerator, and invited me to look inside of it. I saw bowls with plastic wrapped over the top, dozens of bottles, and lots of food.

“Popcorn,” I said, “'cause it's a sleepover, right? Movies and popcorn.”

Eve grinned and looked in a drawer, fished out a cornstalk. She set it on the counter and started pulling out bottles. “We need alcohol,” she said. “I can make a mean tequila, you know!”

“And salad,” I said, pulling out a bowl of leftover salad. “And cookies.”

Eve looked like she was going to drool. “Carl made those. He makes the best sweets in the world, Harlow. Oh, jeez, you have to try these.” She pulled out a container with cupcakes. “Oh-em-gee, is that cake?”

We pondered around for a bit more, and decided to heat up some spicy stew, since we needed an actual meal. I made the popcorn, and Eve set everything on a large tray. We went back into her room and placed the tray on the coffee table. I sat on the comfy sofa and Eve flopped next to me and turned on the TV, which was quite big. I put the bowl of popcorn in the space between Eve and myself.

“I have a lot of channels,” Eve said. “What shall we watch?”

“Horror movies,” I replied. “What's a sleepover without horror movies?”

Eve took the remote from me, and pressed the Guide button. We looked at each movie as we scrolled through the available channels and settled on The Grudge. Eve hurried to turn the lights off as the move had just started. She sat down just as the man in the movie had tossed himself from the balcony, falling to his death.

“You humans have it so easy,” Eve sighed. “You can kill yourselves just by falling from a balcony. Or you can just put a gun to your head and pull the trigger. So simple. I envy you, Harlow.”

“You want to die?” I asked.

“No!” Eve exclaimed. “I'm just saying it's so simple for humans to murder each other, to commit suicide. Vampires of our kind have the same mental health issues as humans, like depression and such. We still have feelings, we still feel suicidal at times.”

“Oh,” I said. “Is it fun being a vampire?”

“I suppose so,” Eve said, looking up at the ceiling in thought. “If you're fat as a human and you become a vampire, you'll be thinner. Your hair and eye color will probably change. You'll be taller, and your voice will be more beautiful. But you know, before your transformation, you can ask the Goddess to make you as human as possible. Or you can ask her to keep your current eye color, or whatever.”

“Really?” I asked. “Hmm. Dia from the Sanatorium. She wants to be one of you really badly.”

“I know,” Eve sighed. “Poor girl. She's really sick, huh?”

“Mhm. I hope she asks the Goddess to keep her eye color,” I said. “Her eyes are too beautiful to turn to crimson or something.”

Eve nodded. “I hated my blue eyes, the eyes I had as a human. I was too weak to speak when the Goddess was starting my transformation, so I didn't have the chance to ask her for anything. She'll listen to you, though. I think I have a picture or myself as a human, I don't think I look too different.”

She stood up and walked over to her dresser and looked around in a drawer. She pulled out a picture and walked back over to me. She handed me a photo of a tall, blonde girl standing beside a man who looked like he needed a shave. The girl's eyes were a bright blue, her skin peaches and cream.

“I'm the girl, obviously,” Eve said. “That's the last photo I took as a human, with the boyfriend that I later murdered.”

“Wow,” I said. I looked closely and could see Eve's hair looked the same as it was now, in the wavy ponytail, though it was a slightly darker shade as a human. Eve looked the same, but paler. “You don't look all that different,” I said. “Just your skin, hair and eyes.”

“Yeah,” Eve agreed. “God, that's a terrible picture. I can't believe I dated that guy.” She flipped the picture over and there was a caption scribbled across the back. “Oh!” She gasped. “His name was Tom!”

I nodded as Eve tossed the picture to her dresser, like a frisbee. It landed gracefully in her accessory basket. We focused on the screen again and watched until a commercial for diapers came on.

“We should eat before the food gets cold,” Eve suggested.

“We should,” I agreed. “I'm starving.”

I made myself a plate of cookies, cake and a cupcake, and Eve mixed two drinks and drank it down in two gulps. “Ah!” She said loudly. “My famous, awesome tequila!”

“Woo!” I cheered. Eve helped herself to some sweets and we ate as the movie started again. When I was done with the sweets, Eve made me one of her famous, awesome tequilas which I happily drank. It was sweet and cold.

We ate all of our food and finished the drinks used to make tequilas, as well as the movie. I turned the TV off and lounged on the couch, feeling a little bit drunk. “Oh, man,” I said. “I am so hammered.”

Eve laughed. “I'm not.”

“Ugh.” I groaned and flopped to my stomach. “Distract me about something, please, before I throw up all over your wooden floors.”

“I want a baby!” Eve suddenly said angrily. “I hate this! Sometimes I want to be human. Because only humans and animals can have babies, but can vampires? Nooo. This is so dumb. I want a husband and children and a white picket fence and a dog!”

“Do you think you'd make a good mother?” I asked. I flopped onto my back so I could talk to her, and not the floor.

“Yeah... I think,” Eve said. She sighed. “I've always wanted children and a husband. I've been through so many relationships already, and I want someone who will love me no matter what. I know I can't have a baby, but maybe I can adopt.”

“Adopting sounds like a good idea,” I said. “But what will the kid think of having a vampire for a mother?”

“They'd better accept that fact,” said Eve, stubbornly. “I know I'll make a good mother. I've always loved playing house with my brother and sister. I always played the mother, and my sister would be the baby. I did that with my dolls, too.” She smiled at the memory. “Do you think you will make a good mother?”

“Excuse me?” I asked. I sat up.

“You heard me. Suppose Alex asks you to marry him. And you get pregnant with his child. Ooh, the child will be mixed-race, though,” Eve said. “He's Japanese, and you're white.”

“I don't want to have kids yet,” I groaned. “I want to never get drunk again. Oh, man.” I flopped against the pillow. “But if I do have kids with him, I hope we'll be able to provide for it, you know? I'm a farmer and he's a doctor—well, he will be one—so I hope it goes okay.”

“Are you even ready for marriage?” Eve asked.

“I have no idea,” I said. “I'll probably say yes, because I love him. I've always fantasized about marriage, especially as a kid. My friend and I used to play house, and sometimes I'd marry my Barbies with Ken.”

Eve smiled. “If you and Alex get married, what will you do? A big wedding, or a private one? You'll invite me, right?”

“Of course,” I said.

“Flowerbud marriages are different from in the city,” Eve said. “You go to Starry Hill and your closest friends are invited. The mayor will wed you.”

“Sounds exciting,” I said. I yawned. “Look, I really don't feel like talking about this right now. Besides, at this rate, who knows if Alex and I will get married? I just really, really need to go to bed.”

“You're no fun,” Eve grumbled. “Need help getting to the bed?”

“Nah.” I stood up and staggered drunkenly to Eve's bed. I flopped onto it and sighed happily. “This... is so... ahhhh.”

Eve laughed. “Here, have my nightgown.” She tossed me a pink dress, which I dressed into while Eve looked at the wall. It was getting darker outside, and I could see stars in the sky. I told Eve good night, and she told me she'd be out hunting.

I fell asleep quickly, as I was dizzy and reaching the point of becoming full-on drunk.