Your queen is back from the dead! *bricked* I kid. But yeah it's been a long time. *hugs the barely living fanfic board* Maybe I'll resurrect my old fanfics. Maybe. But for now new story just in time for Computerfan's fanfic comp. Yay! @ u @

I'm going to finish this one guys! /lies

So yeah... The first chapter is really short, but whatever. It's written in a weird style... Sorry. = n =

Dog Days - Chapter One

It was mid-July. At the beach. On a rainy day.

Searing heat pierced through the cold rain. But still it didn't bother me. The breeze swept through my hair. Sand blurred my vision. My heart beat fast. Faster. I breathed in through my nose. Just barely audible. It filled my senses with the smell of fish and seaweed. Gross. Then silence. I swallowed once. Then twice. Took in some rain water by accident. It tasted familiar. Scarcely of the ocean. Scarcely of this town. Blossom. Such a silly name. I closed my eyes. Thought for a moment. Never did I think far ahead enough. Just thoughts about right now. About this moment in time. Checked my wristwatch. 3:57 PM. A sigh. Blinked. Checked again. It changed. 3:58. I bit my lip. Lightly. I took out my fishing pole. A drop of sweat fell onto the already spotted sand. I told myself it was just the heat. 102 degrees. I could feel my skin burn.

Nervously I paced back and forth. Slow at first then I ran. Up and down the beach. The gooey sand made it hard to move as each step my weight sunk into the cool sand below. Sharp objects pierced my soles. I just ignored them. I must have scared all the little fishies away. But it was fine. I wasn’t really after them. So I didn't care. I looked again. Still 3:58. I didn’t know what else to do. Bored. Impatient. I looked up first. At the cloudy sky. I could make out where the sun was from a brighter spot among all the gray. Droplets hit my face like tears. It soothed my sunburns. Then I looked down. Seashells. Scattered all over the beach. So I picked them up. No reason why. I didn’t-- couldn't possibly have any use for them anymore. Anymore.

Nostalgia hit. Like a storm. Memories of days long forgotten. Forcibly forgotten. Because they were painful. Those days when I needed whatever handful of bells these shells could give me. Yes. Those days. Although now I couldn't tell you even the name of one of these shells, in those days I knew the name of each and exactly how many bells I could get from selling them to Nook’s Cranny. Hah. A laugh escapes my lips. Nook’s Cranny. I hadn’t heard that name in a long time. Water wells up in the corner of my eyes. I don't let it fall. Before my mind could be flooded with those memories I shook my head splashing the water about. Then I checked again.

3:59. And then. 4:00 PM. A Rainy Day. In Mid-July.

I walked slowly near the water. Fishing pole in hand. High tide. Small waves bathed my bare feet. I watched the sand disperse into the vast sea. Then I saw a shadow. No. I knew right away. It wasn't it. Too small. I ran near it. And it left. I thought that if I didn’t get rid of the small ones the big ones wouldn’t ever come. I did this again and again. Repetitively. A small or medium fish would appear and I'd chase it away hoping next time a bigger fish would appear. Somehow while doing this an hour passed by. Strange. Before when I couldn't wait for the clock to strike four, time went by deathly slow, but now it went by in the blink of an eye. And no luck.

Then I saw it. Just in time. I was running. Stopped dead in my tracks. Just in time. The salty water erased the footprints behind me. I could feel crushed shells beneath me. I flexed my toes into the mushy sand. One more dash and I might have scared it away. My heart beat violently in my chest as if it wanted to escape my rib-cage. By now I was completely soaked from head to toe with rain water. My long white hair weighed down on my shoulders in wet clumps. The wind blew sand onto my plain clothes. I didn’t bother dressing up anymore.

One step. Two. And Three. Turned to face it. Dramatically. As if I were facing my very own fears.  But no. This was a prize I wanted right now more than anything else. A huge shadow far out in the sea. I stood right at the water’s edge. A deep breath in. And out, that was carried out to sea with the ocean air. A few gulls squawked above me. I barely heard it. Tuned it out. Too focused. On this one moment. This was it. Today was the day. I would finally capture it.

I raised my fishing rod. Paused. Aimed. And cast. Just a little in front of the shadow. Perfect. I had years of practice after all. I prayed. Don’t let this be a Sea Bass. It’s can’t be. It won’t be. One bump. It hit the bait. Pulled back. Hit it again. A jolt of electricity ran through every vein in my body each time it hit the lure. I wanted to pull back. No. Had to be patient. Not yet. Third time. But no bite. It had to be the fourth. I knew it would be. I prepared myself. Dug my feet into the sand until I was steady. This wasn't going to be easy.

Fourth. And it took the bait. I pulled with all my might. Started to reel it in. There was, of course, a struggle. A fight. The showdown: Me vs. this giant fish. Furiously I fought. Equally as furiously it fought back. Push and pull. I pulled forward, it pushed back. Like a trance I thought of nothing else but winning this. And somehow before I even realized it, I had won. I retrieved it out of the water. Shut my eyes. It all seemed surreal. But it wasn't over yet. This could be any old fish. I shouldn't get my hopes up. What if it wasn’t? But then what if it was? 1... 2... 3! I opened my eyes.

Coelacanth. It was a Coelacanth. A living relic from the land before time. This ugly brown armor-clad giant fish. Here. Before my eyes. Right in front of me. Almost immediately I put it away in my bag. As if it were a valuable treasure I wanted to stow away and let no eyes ever set upon it, afraid they might try to steal it. I also put away my fishing pole. Took a deep breath. And just stood there for a moment. Until a smile lifted my face. And I screamed. Jumped for joy. Finally. At last I had caught a Coelacanth!

I ran. Ran as fast as my feet would carry me. Over hybrid flowers of every color imaginable. Not caring about the damage I did to them. I could always replace them. Easily. I strayed off the brick path I had once so carefully laid and promised I'd always follow. Right now I was only thinking about the fish I just caught. Not of the childish vows I once held dear. Right now all I had to do was get to the museum. With this last hideous fish I would finally complete my museum. This fish was the last one I'd ever need to catch. And I caught it.

I could just imagine the look on Blathers face when I hand him this fish. He'll be so happy. Everyone will. They'll through a big celebration I'm sure. Oh, how they loved parties. And then. And then...

I stopped running. Because suddenly a thought occurred... Now what?

I bet he (she?) let's it go! What's left after you complete the museum anyway? Gosh, I can't wait to see what the decision will be!

It's a she. ^^ No spoilers~ > . < I'll try to finish the next chapter today or tomorrow.

Thanks! I thought "she" might be correct, but I wasn't sure.

l am looking forward to your next chapter.

Dog Days - Chapter Two

I stopped running. Because suddenly a thought occurred... Now what?

You might not believe this, but it truly never crossed my mind what I would do after I'd finally caught a Coelacanth. I was too busy worrying about catching a Coelacanth to even ask such a question. And frankly the thought scared me a little. It was scary to think I might be of no use now that my town had everything it could ever need or want and more. Perhaps I was just too selfish. I had everything after all. A giant mansion. A full catalog. A perfect town. A huge Nookingtons. And now I would have a complete museum. What else could there possibly be to do in this small town?

Now that I think about it, although it certainly didn't seem like it, it had already been nearly five years since I moved here from a large human city. l must admit that I came here practically on a whim. I didn't have any plans to stay here so long. I had simply no where else to go. I was at the age where I was too old to keep staying at home and yet I hadn't the faintest idea what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. So I came here. Where I knew no one and no one knew me, With nothing but 300 bells on hand. And no plans for what I'd do when I got there. I came here. I arrived and somehow before I knew it I had a house and a mortgage to pay off. And a dozen other things to do. Sure it was difficult at first. But looking back I can't say I was ever bored. Be it catching insects or picking fruit, I always had something to do. What would I do now that those tasks had become obsolete?

I didn't know. Didn't have an answer. So I stopped asking that question. And I kept running. I'll think about that later. Later, I said.

It was but a breezy jog to the museum. I passed by small talk and gossip between villagers. Perhaps one of them tried to strike up a conversation with me. I don't know though. I wasn't really paying attention. You might think it rude of me to ignore them, but honestly they never said anything of particular interest to me. Then again it wasn't like there was really anything interesting to talk about in the first place. Perhaps that's why they talked only of trivial things. Because nothing ever happened in Blossom after all.

I stood there in front of the museum doors. Looked up at the stone building. It was almost intimidating to me. Scary. I extended my hand to the cold door knob. Then froze. I realized something. I didn't actually have to give this fish to the museum. I could easily turn around now. And I could let it go. And then I'll have something to do again. And then l won't have to think about what I'll do next. At least for a while I'd be able to forget my worries. And just think about catching a Coelacanth again. A temporary solution. That didn't really solve much of anything at all.

I shook the hair out of my face as if to also shake out such thoughts from my mind. Ridiculous. It was a ridiculous idea. After all the effort I put into catching this... I paused on that. Did I really put in any effort to catch this fish? Sure I had to wait for Mother Nature to send a rare rainy day in the dead heat of summer, but that didn't require any effort. Sure I had to struggle to beat the fish, but I had done that countless times before with countless other fish. So it wasn't anything spectacular. Maybe I was just caught up in the moment. What I thought was a huge milestone was actually pretty insignificant in the long run. Everyone will remember that I completed the museum. But will they remember that on this sweaty July day, I caught a Coelacanth?

Silly questions. Without answers. I couldn't get inside the heads of the animals that occupied this village. So then who was I to make such assumptions?

Stop it. Stop! I told myself. Why couldn't I stop my mind from running in all different directions? Why can't I just remain oblivious and not think about complicated things? Then life will be so much simpler. I'm just going to enter this museum, donate this fish and go about my daily life. And that's how it's going to be. Nothing more. Simple.

Creak. I opened the heavy door to a dimly lit lobby. Nothing much. No furniture. A plain layout of one main room that branched out into four exhibit rooms. Paintings. Complete. Bugs. Complete. Fossils. Complete. Fish. Incomplete. Until now.

There was silence. Except for my footsteps and the faint sound of Blathers snoring. It was only around 8:30 and there was still enough light out to brighten the stormy skies. So him dozing off was to be expected. Natural. I thought about coming back later when he was awake. No. I was just trying to stall. I never had any qualms about waking him up any of the numerous times before. So it shouldn't matter now. I was just making excuses. Poor excuses. And so I approached the sleeping owl with no thoughts of being polite. Took a deep breath in. And out. After this the museum will be complete. And I'll just have to find something else to do with my mundane life. But I can't think about that yet. First I just have to hand over this fish. And then I can think about such trifling matters as what to do from now on. It's so easy really. I shouldn't even have to think about it so much. Just hand over this fish. Now.

"I've come to make a donation," I said in the loudest speaking voice I could muster up. "Blathers."

He woke up in sudden jolt looking awfully confused.  Mumbled some indiscernible nonsense. After a second or two he realized what was going on. "Well if it isn't Ari. You must have a fossil for me to assess right?”

“No. I said I’ve come to make a donation,” I repeated. He must have thought it so unbelievable that I’d finally gotten the last fish, that he assumed I needed something else.

“Oh, but the museum is complete, except for- you wouldn’t by chance have brought it?”

It. That one all important thing that he dared not to even name. Probably for fear of being awfully disappointed if it turned out to be something else.

“If by it you mean a Coelacanth, then yes.”

He froze in astonishment. “Are you sure? I mean it could be some other fish.”

“Yes I’m sure! I’m not stupid! Is it so hard for you to believe that I’ve finally caught it?! Just take this smelly thing so I can be on my way!” I yelled shoving the fish in a swift movement from my backpack so that it dangled half-dead in front of his eyes.

Flustered, Blathers stumbled to answer, “Y-yes. This does appear to be a Coelacanth. Are you really giving this to us? I mean this is a rare fish worth quite a lot of money...” I thought for a second that he was stalling too just like me. Maybe he foresaw my dilemma. No, I was just grasping at straws.

“Just take it.” He did and I left. Because I didn’t have any reason to stay.

It was dark out. By now it was nearly 9:00 PM. There wasn’t really anything left to do. Maybe I’ll go shopping, I thought. But for what? What else did I need? I had every clothes and every furniture I could ever want and anything I didn’t have I could order from the catalog. So I went home to my tidy mansion. Everything just the way I left it. Four large rooms downstairs. An upstairs room. And a basement.

With a sigh I plopped down on my exotic bed and looked up at the ceiling. Didn't bother going upstairs. The bed here was comfortable enough. A dream-catcher subtly twirled above my eyes. I reached out as if to grab it only to drop my arm back down like a weight. I tossed and turned. A thousand worries eating at my thoughts. Tomorrow I will no longer have a purpose. My purpose must have been to make this town perfect in every aspect. And now it was. So I must now be useless. Just like I was before I moved here.

I almost recalled distant childhood memories. But I stopped myself. There really wasn’t much of anything to remember. Just a frighteningly normal childhood that wasn't worth reminiscing about. I could recall so little of the ordinary life I'd long since abandoned. Because I didn't want to remember. I was an average student with average parents who had average jobs. I had average friends, but looking back I'm not sure if they were even really friends. I could only vaguely remember any of their faces. I didn't miss them. I didn't miss anything about my old life. And no one from my old life missed me. I left cleanly without any emotional baggage and never returned.

Despite all my worries somehow or another I managed to fall asleep. I still had no idea what I'd do tomorrow. But I still slept fine. As if it didn't matter.

*awkwardly posts next chapter* This one's really short, but I just couldn't drag it on anymore, so yeah... Umm... I made it into Compy's comp (of course), but it's not time for voting yet, but when it is expect me to spam this thread groveling for votes. > u <

Dog Days - Chapter Three

Bright morning light peaked through the thin slits of my useless window blinds. My eyelids twitched and wrinkled into a tight shut. Blinded I rubbed my forearm over my naked eyes. Grumbled. I just wanted it to go away. Wanted to sleep forever. But I had to get up. No I didn’t. I was just making more excuses. Clinging onto the fleeting hope that I was wanted. Needed. I had nothing to do today. So I didn’t have to get up. No one was waiting for me. No one would even notice I’m gone if I slept all day. No one would care.

My stomach churned at such awful thoughts. Awful because I wanted to believe they weren’t true. Even though I knew they were. On second thought I was probably just very hungry. At least now I had a reason to get up. And perhaps also a reason to live. Maybe I’ll just continue stuffing food down my throat for the rest of my life. I’ll live with the purpose of fulfilling my rather large appetite. A chuckle lifted my face. I thought it was all very funny. Impulsively I covered my laugh with my palm as if I didn't want anyone to see. As if I wasn't allowed to be happy. I rolled my lips between my teeth. I didn't understand why I laughed. But I also didn't understand why I had to stop myself. Maybe I don't want to be happy. After all if I truly wanted happiness I would have left this miserable village ages ago. But for some odd reason or perhaps no reason at all I stayed.

I lifted my heavy torso up by my sunburned arms. I blinked a few times as my eyes adjusted to the dim light. A ray of sunlight hit my red forearm. It stung horribly, but I didn't bother putting any sort of ointment on it. My mind still cloudy, I reached out and roughly yanked on the loose string that opened the old white blinds. Immediately light entered the room and spread in all directions quicker than my eyes could adapt to the illuminated house. I rubbed the sleep and a loose eyelash out of my eyes. A yawn widened my mouth. I didn't bother to cover it. I looked around. My house was the same as always. I was somewhat disappointed. At this point I would have welcomed any change, perhaps even a few cockroaches into my home. I got up and stretched loudly. Slid into comfy slippers placed neatly by my bed. Everything felt so ordinary.

I popped a sliced bagel into the toaster and prepared the coffee maker. I went into the left room, a bathroom, to wash my face while I waited. I splashed the cool water onto my tired face and it seeped into my pores. Refreshing. It cleansed my face and mind. But only for a brief second as my usual troubling thoughts soon returned to me. I worried so much about what I'd do today and yet I've done something every second since I got up. And I did these things without even thinking about it.

I dried my face with a soft towel and looked into the mirror. I carefully examined every angle of my face. It was the same face as always with the same imperfections. Again I was disappointed. Little wrinkles had taken their place on my somewhat childish face. Vague signs of aging. They didn't bother me though. I didn't have any complexes. It's only natural. I'll be 30 in a few years. 30. Hah. It was a weird thought. When I was 10 I thought everything would change when I was 20. But when I turned 20 and nothing much changed I thought I’d suddenly change at 30. But now at 28 I find that unlikely and I haven’t even thought about turning 40.  

Now that I think about it, it seems like none of the promises I made at 20 have come true. I thought I’d be married with kids by now. But I haven’t dated in years and in this town there are literally no other humans, so it’s not even a possibility at this point. I thought I’d have a stable office job. But I haven’t worked in years and live off the millions I made from investing in the stalk market. None of those “where do I see myself in 10 years” dreams came true. Really they weren’t even dreams, at the time I just thought I was being realistic and following the same path that everybody else does. Instead I’m stuck in this tiny town populated solely by walking, talking animals with absolutely nothing to do. I guess life just has a way of getting away from you and going in a direction you couldn't even imagine before. Maybe some would have said I've been blessed with such an unusual life. But I didn't feel blessed. I just wanted to be like everyone else.

I heard the toaster ding. I looked at the time before going to the kitchen. It was 10:13 AM. I slept in a lot. I grabbed my bagel and evenly spread butter on it and watched into melt into a yellow liquid. I added cream to my coffee and blew the steam away. It all felt meticulous. Rehearsed. Like I’ve done this exact routine hundreds of times before. And I had, so I suppose that feeling was only to be expected.

I sat down at my exotic table in my exotic chair. Everything matched perfectly. It was almost sickening. I can’t explain it, but as I looked around my house and the whole town I can’t help but feel like everything looks fake. As if all the trees, the fruit, the furniture were made of plastic. As if my entire world was but a mere illusion. Maybe I should've just changed the furniture. But that wouldn't make the feeling go away; it'd only make it less apparent.

I’d only taken a small sip of my coffee before there was a knock at the door. I figured it must be one of my neighbors come to bother me about something of little importance to the both of us. Probably wanted me to deliver something for them or look at my house. Or some other pointless matter. Of course once I opened the door I knew that wasn’t the case. Because once I opened the door everything changed. Looking back I often think that maybe, just maybe, if I hadn't so carelessly opened the door, maybe things wouldn't have ended up the way they did.

Great chapter. And THAT'S the way to use a cliffhanger!

*dun dun duuuunnnn*

Good suspense. I like how you phrase the character's thoughts with the moment. If I could make a suggestion, perhaps you should layer your sentences and take advantage of using commas. It eliminates a lot of the over usage of 'I' and choppy formatting. Also, try experimenting with cumulative sentences. If you don't know what they are, look them up.

You're doing great! Keep it up, pal.

Okay, all readers, as I already mentioned this fanfic was entered in Computerfan's 2013 Fanfic Competition and made it through the audition with 4/4. I was then placed in the Chocolate Group lead by Mamanator. Voting has now opened officially, so please vote for me! Read the rules first though. Here they are :

1. Absolutely no telling anyone who you voted for.  Especially not the person themselves. The only people who should know your vote is yourself and me. And any randomers you decide you want to tell that are unrelated to ACC.  You're welcome to say you're going to support/vote for them, that can't be stopped, but as long as you don't actually say you voted for them then it's okay.  

2. You can't vote for yourself. Ever.  If you even try to, you'll have a vote deducted from you.

3. Please note the amount of times you can vote will vary throughout the competition.  For now, you can only vote once a day.

4. Every vote (for now) is consisted of 3 possibilities.

Type 1:  You give 1 vote to 1 story.

"eg. I vote for Shella"
Type 2: You give 2 votes to 1 story, and 1 vote to another

"eg. 2 votes for TTACWW, 1 vote for bunkbeds"
Type 3: You give 1 vote to 3 different people

"eg. 1 vote for DarkMuffin, 1 vote for accflover101, 1 vote for Cutiepiepie"
This means that if you want to only vote for your favourite, you can only award one vote.  But if you want to give them more, then you have to vote for another. It also allows you to spread votes out between three.  This stops people spamming me with 3 votes for one person, and also reduces the chance of getting bottom ties of more than 2/3 at the start of the competition. Let's not have another bottom 7 like in 2009.

5. You must send your votes in a PT to JUST me.  No judges, only you and I.  Just calling it 'Competition Vote' or even just 'Vote' is fine.  But please do not put something like 'Vote for ElizabethPrower' or 'Competition'.  No contestant names, and make it obvious it's a voting PT, please.

6. Please note that I do have a busy life. If I don't reply to your PT, even after a few days, make sure you've actually added me.  If you have, then hover over my name at the top where it shows everyone in the PT.  If it says I have read it, then you're welcome to post again and remind me. As soon as I read a PT and count a vote, I post to say thanks, or I forget whether I've counted or not. If I've not replied but read it, it means I forgot to count it.  The only other time you're allowed to post to remind me is that if I've started announcing results, but not viewed your PT.  Your vote could make a difference to a result, so if it gets to that stage, I'm actually asking you to please post again.  When I'm not posting results and I see an unread vote PT, I may not check until before I start results. I'm lazy. But I will get there.

7. Contestants and judges are allowed to AND encouraged to vote. Although it may surprise you, the bulk of votes in past years have been from people involved in the competition.  Yes, voting for others could well affect your own position... But I rely on nice and supportive contestants to keep the thing running.  Especially in the early stages, where I need all the votes I can get to avoid a massive bottom tie.   Judges are also allowed to vote for their own groups of course.

8. Please feel free to advertise in your own threads, and ask for votes.  Please do not post in anyone else's threads (this includes NOT saying stuff like 'Great story! Please check out mine and vote!' or whatever) or other people's PTs without permission.  Also, when advertising, ensure you either tell them the voting rules yourselves or refer them to this thread first.

9. The only person on all of ACC not allowed to vote is me.  Poor me.

10. Voting is ALWAYS open.  What happens, is that at the end of the week... There's a seal-off point for that week.  Any votes after that will then carry on to the week after.  If the person you voted for past that cut-off is then eliminated the next day, then I'm afraid your vote is forefeit.  

eg. Deadline for week 3 is Friday at 11.59pm ACC time.  You vote for... Hammer_Kirby at 12.01am Saturday.  Your vote is carried on to week 4.

Hammer_Kirby is then eliminated week 3. You lose your vote.

I should specify every week when the cut-off point is, and it should stay the same time and day of the week each time. It's your responsibility to get your votes in before that time, but I do still encourage you to keep voting after the cut-off and get votes in for the week later.

11. Finally, everyone's vote count will keep going up and up throughout the competition.  So, if xMuffinx has 4 votes week 1 and gets through, she starts week 2 with those 4 votes. Then if she gets 3 votes week 2, she'll have 7 votes.  This'll continue throughout the competition, so contestants that are in the bottom tie have to really fight to get out there.  Everyone else will keep rising, and it's down to the contestants to improve their writing and fight for their place.  

TL;DR: Don't say who you voted for, vote once a day, 3 ways to vote (3 votes to 3 different people, 1 vote to one person, or 2 votes to one person and 1 vote to another), Send a PT titled "Vote" to only Computerfan. Also be sure to keep all your votes in one PT, because Compy is lazy and doesn't like to have a ton of PTs.  That's really all you need to know, Compy just puts a lot of obvious/unnecessary other stuff.

Also if you don't know who else to vote for vote for my group members! They are:
1. AScientist
2. DarkMuffin
3. Everlet
4. tanabata
5. Threshecutioner

I won't tell you who to vote for from those, because I don't want to pick favorites, so either read their stories or pick a random name. Just make sure you vote for me~

Chapter Four

There was a knock at the door. I wanted to ignore it, but it continued incessantly to the point where it was rather irritating. How important could it be that they had to disturb my breakfast? I turned the knob, but hesitated for a moment before opening the door. Call it what you will, a premonition or something of the sort, but for just a brief second I had the feeling that this would be something I would come to deeply regret. Whatever it was I ignored it. And I opened the do—

A deep breath in and a ear to ear flashing grin greeted me. And then it spoke, no that was downplaying it too much, it shouted at the speed of light, “Hello there, Mister or Miss! My name is Natsu and I just moved to Blossom today! I’m 23 years and 341 days old! I moved away because my mother told me to ‘get lost’ and that I was ‘ruining her social life’ and ‘mooching off her’, so I moved to this cute little town! My hobbies are exploring, fishing, gardening, bug catching, swimming, collecting seashells, interior design, and fashion! My favorite sports are soccer, football, tennis, table tennis, golf, baseball and basketball! I like watching movies, reading books, playing video games and playing instruments, such as the piano, violin, harp, guitar, and cello! Oh and according to that nice Mr. Raccoon I’ll be living in your house from now on! Please watch over me!”

I blinked. Mouth hung open like a fool. Unable to fathom what in Serena's name just happened.

“Go away,” I grasped the cool metal knob in an effort to shut her out. But alas my efforts were fruitless.

This thing had already firmly planted a body part resembling a human foot between the door and tilted her head inside the small gap smiling with teeth so white and shiny I could see my reflection in them. I struggled to shut it, but her determination got the better of me. Before I even knew it she had squirmed her way inside my house like a mouse. I was still rather flabbergasted at this woman-like being who managed to cram her entire existence into a single breath. She acted much faster than my mind could even process everything she’d done the minute before. I examined this strange lifeform up and down. She was most certainly human, though I felt rather uncomfortable sharing the same species as her.

Already she was looking around my house opening every cupboard, while I barely managed to trail behind her and shut them. She looked through every nook and cranny acting like she owned the place. She even dared to look into my wardrobe without even asking. I continued to follow her sure she'd break something if I didn’t,  though she probably would anyway.  She whirled and looked at me as if the odd one was not her, but me.

"Oh, don't mind me. I'm just having a looksy around," She smiled with pursed lips oblivious to how wrong her actions were.

"Well, here's the thing I do mind because this is kind of, sort of... my house! And you, an absolute stranger, just barged in here uninvited and look through all of my stuff without a care in the world!"

She looked up at me from busily unpacking her belongings, which entailed essentially just messily tossing them about all over my floor. “Hm, did you say something? Oh, yes, I didn’t get your name, did I?”

I just sighed. Couldn’t think of anything else to do. It was all just wasted effort. This girl wasn’t going anywhere on her own.

“Ari... my name’s Ari.”

A nod and a smile, which I quickly deemed fake. And then she continued settling into the place. Whatever, I thought. I was already too exhausted to deal with this girl any further. Hah. Funny, only a day ago I was worrying about having nothing to do and yet here I am letting a freeloader I’ve never even met before stay at my house simply because I’m too tired to find another solution. I guess that’s life. You never really know how things will turn out. Suppose this means my inevitable eternal boredom has been pushed back just a little longer. I can’t say I’m relieved.

I sat down on a chair that leaned against the window and looked out with my palm supporting my head. Sighed. It felt like it had been such a long day, but it was only around noon. The only background noise was Natsu fumbling around, unpacking and making herself comfortable, but I pretended not to hear it, pretended like she wasn’t there. Otherwise I’d have to face that she was here to stay.

Somehow, like this the whole day flew by. The moon battled the sun and won the sky. Darkness had begun to swallow the world. And I watched it all out my little window. It took Natsu this long to get settled. She really was the opposite of me. While I moved here with only the clothes on my back, she came with piles and piles of luggage.

Bang! And loud coughing from Natsu broke my daze. Before I could ask what’s wrong she marched her way into the main room. She was armed with a bright pink duster and a floral apron. With her hands on her hips and a wide stride she stood over me, glaring at me with a cartoonish angry face.

She grumbled a complaint, “Aiish... Don’t you ever clean this place?!”

I answered honestly, “Yeah, once in awhile. Usually when the cockroaches start to show up.”

Although I’d lived on my own for so long I’d never grown too fond of cleaning. It was just a burden to me. I didn’t particularly mind it if my house was a little dirty, so I’d only clean when it started to bother me. And that wasn’t very often. Perhaps I could find some use for this human girl after all.

I got up and turned to face her. “Fine, if it’s bothering you so much, go right ahead,” I said as a smirk shifted my face only to slightly expose some of my wrinkles.

When I looked at this girl I saw a vibrant youth full of passion. Not unlike myself five years ago, though I hated to admit it. Perhaps the reason why I was so apprehensive to Natsu was because she was so like me years ago and I didn’t want to face my former self, because then I’d have to accept how much I’ve changed. I was but a disillusioned shell without a purpose to keep on living. And that was the very thing I despised about myself.

She looked a bit puzzled. “Huh, with what?”

“Clean the place. Might as well make yourself useful, if you’re going to freeload off me,” I didn’t even look at her as I said this and just shrugged my shoulders. I felt like a little school girl passively ordering her around out of spite.

This made her quite angry. “Hey, I’m not freeloading! I wanted my own house, but Nook told me to live here.”

“Yeah, freeloading,” I snarked as I softly poured a glass of cold orange juice.  

“Whatever. Gosh, you are so grumpy.”

I approached her with the glass and held it out to her, “Yeah, yeah. Here. For your hard work.”

It made her a bit teary eyed and she pouted her lip exaggeratingly. “Aww... Ari. For me? You shouldn’t have.”

“Yeah I really shouldn’t have," I mumbled under my breath.

“What?”

I guess I should be thankful she didn't hear me. “Nothing.”

“Let’s be best friends forever!” She exclaimed as she rather suddenly grabbed me tight and hugged me.

And crash! I covered my ears belatedly. The glass fell to the ground and broke into a million sharp pieces. Thankfully it was on the hard kitchen floor and not the rug. I just stared at the sparkling pieces, unsure of what to do. Well, actually I knew exactly what to do.

“You’re cleaning that up,” I demanded.

Natsu knelt down and started picking up the glass shards with her bare hands. There was something oddly graceful about the way she did it. She looked up at me and smiled, "Fine, it's no big deal, see. Anyway it's too late now, but tomorrow you should give me a tour of Blossom."

I must have fallen under the spell of this strange girl’s charms because for some reason I just said, “Sure.”

This is a great story!  I love it!

I made it through this week as did the rest of my group, so yay! Please remember to keep voting. Although week 1 voting is closed, it'll count for week 2 now, so vote everyday! I really appreciate each and every vote that you guys give me. ^^ Anyway here's the next chapter. I'm sorry it's not very exciting. This isn't going to be a particularly action filled story, so yeah. Enjoy! > u <

Edit: Oh right, if you want to follow the competition, the results are in a different thread. Here!

Chapter Five

I moaned, squeezing my eyes tightly shut, having been awoken far too early then I would've liked. Some matter of fumbling around noisily in the kitchen must have rustled me from my deep slumber. But even as the noise got louder I refused to get up and find out what it was. What could it possibly be? Someone must be in my house making all the sounds. A villager? Nook? Suddenly I remembered. Right, in my half-asleep state I’d conveniently forgotten about that little nuisance that had knocked at my door yesterday. It must be her. Probably making a wreck of my house. Still not enough to bother me through my stubbornness. I didn’t want to get up because I simply didn’t want to see her. What was her name again? I had wanted to forget it entirely, but now it looked like I wouldn't even be able to. Ah, Natsu, like summer. I thought it fit her perfectly. One thing I'd always despised being the name of something I was quickly beginning to hate just as much.

Although I knew it was Natsu causing trouble, I still didn't get up. At least I wouldn’t have gotten up if not for the rather alarming smell of smoke. As soon as I caught a good whiff of it my eyes flung open catching the painful morning rays, but I didn't let it bother me back into bed. I bit my lip, knowing whatever it was it certainly wouldn’t be good. Furiously I swung the lone bed sheet off my sweaty body and stomped my way into a disaster. Too shocked to say anything I stared dumbfound at a scene that used to be my calm and clean modern-styled kitchen. Now it barely even resembled it's former self. Pots and pan spilled over with mysterious substances oozing out. Various stains of who-knows-what on my once sparkling counter-tops and a dirtied sink filled to the brim with probably half of the fine china I owed, some now chipped or broken. The window was open allowing some of the visible smoke to escape.

The culprit twisted her waist to face me, the victim, and blinked at me innocently. Looking down I saw her wearing a burnt apron that was clearly mine and holding a pan that was spilling out some sort of black material all over the floor. “Oh, Ari, you’re finally up! My gosh you sleep like a rock.” Mind you that as she said this it was barely 7:30 in the middle of summer.

“Why is there smoke? What on earth are you doing?” I asked, but she blatantly ignored me as she placed two plates on the small table.

“I’m just making breakfast. I made some for you too,” she finally answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Come sit down." Although she smiled as she said this, I felt it was a strict order.

I reluctantly sat down and examined the specimen. It resembled a pile of molten rock more than any food I’d ever seen. The odor it exuded alone was nearly toxic to me. But Natsu didn’t complain and instead daintily picked up her fork and took a piece of the charcoal-like substance. It made an awfully loud crunching sound between her teeth, but she didn’t seem to care at all and in fact smiled as she ate something that surely no living thing should be forced to consume even for torture. After she had a few mouthfuls of it, she looked up at me and smiled optimistically. I freaked out as she stared at me. Did she really expect me to eat this thing?

“This looks terrible.” I said matter-of-factly.

She pouted and looked at me with her best puppy dog eyes, “I know, but try it. It’s better than it looks. I swear!”

“Just because it’s better than it looks, doesn’t make it edible. I’m not eating this. I’m going to the cafe to get some real food,” I said as I got up and headed to my exotic wardrobe without so much as looking at her.

Wait... why was I telling that to her? As if I'd already accepted her as someone living in my house. I let out a heavy sigh and rested my forehead on my palm. Swiftly I looked up and opened the dusty old closet. I just grabbed something that wouldn’t make me look absolutely hideous; I don’t even remember what. Because of course I didn’t know then just how important this visit to the cafe would end up being. So I didn’t even think anything of it as I got changed into my terribly simple clothes.

I nearly bolted out the door, but right when my hand was on the door, for some reason I couldn’t explain I stopped and muttered, “See you later.”

Before Natsu could say anything back I immediately slammed the door shut in a huff. For a brief moment I just stood there blank faced. I put my hands on my cheeks and felt my face flush bright red. Ahh! Why was I blushing?! What was wrong with me lately? I was letting this stupid girl get to me again. I let out a muffled growl and ruffled my white hair in frustration. This reminded me that I needed to go to Shampoodles and redye my hair. Maybe I should get a different color this time.

“Argh! Seriously what’s wrong with me?!” I probably didn’t mean to shout that to the entire world, but that’s how it ended up. In fact a neighbor looked at me concerned, but I just lightly bowed my head in apology.

I had my hair dyed white from it’s natural perfectly ordinary brown the very first time I got it cut after Harriet moved to town. It was a pretty random choice; I just wanted something different and interesting. Somehow it actually fit my dark features, so I kept it like that until this day. I’d never even considered going for something different before. It was like my signature look, or at least that’s what the villagers said about it. So why would I even consider the idea of change? That’s not what I want. I convinced myself it was just a random thought and not anything wrong with me.

The cafe was quite far from my mansion, so I had plenty of time to drown myself in my usual troublesome thoughts. What was I going to do if this Natsu girl never leaves? What could I do? There's no reasonable excuse that I can come up with as to why she can't stay here. But why couldn't she just get her own home? I could actually answer that question, vaguely remembering a conversation I'd had with Nook many years back when I expressed an interest in purchasing another home by the beach. He had some long-winded explanation that used a lot of terminology I didn't understand, but I must have thought it good enough at the time. So I guess until I can drive her out, I'm stuck living with her. Well, at least things will be somewhat interesting from now on. Though I'm not sure if I even want that anymore.

Okay guys much to my surprise I ended up in the bottom two of Computerfan's Fanfic Competition this week. I'll probably make it through, but I really don't want to end up there again so please vote for me! I posted the rules already, but you must now PT your votes to Liv909 instead. I'd really appreciate it!

I'm working on the next chapter, so I should have it up today or tomorrow.

Let me save this before it gets archived. I am really busy lately so I don’t know when I'll be able to get the next chapter done.

IT'S DONE FINALLY AND PROBABLY FULL OF MISTAKES BECAUSE I'M TOO LAZY TO PROOFREAD.

Edit: Oh yeah vote for me. That's all.

Chapter Six

The dimly lit cafe had the type of lazy atmosphere I greatly enjoyed. The instant I walked in my ears were filled with comfortable jazzy music played at a reasonable volume from the small boombox. Looking around I noticed only three other souls in here. Rover and Blanca sat on the sleek modern-looking bar stools that accompanied the counter. Another, a sheep villager I only vaguely recognized, sat by the small empty stage. You see, I rarely went outside of my house, so I barely knew most of the villagers, especially those who haven’t been here very long. I’m really a terrible person. I quietly took a seat on one of the lean stools next to Rover. I must have worn an awfully gloomy face as I relaxed into the chair.

Brewster looked down on me from behind the metal counter, “Well, if it isn’t Ari. It’s been so long. What brings you here?”

I was not so stupidly oblivious to the sly criticisms that lie behind his seemingly ordinary words as he might have thought I was. Ah, I thought, that must be how all the villagers view me. Selfish and uncaring towards the affairs of the whole town. An unfriendly person, who just couldn’t bother with the rest of us. Someone who felt superior to the likes of mere animals. And a lot of other negative things that I won’t waste my time to list. I can’t exactly say they were wrong. I didn’t really care, though, how they felt about me; it didn’t bother me. And that’s probably just another reason why I was so disliked. But I was too stubborn, so that even when I clearly say my own flaws right in front of me, I did not want to fix them. I didn’t want to change.

“I’m stressed out. Brew me up something good.” Remembering why I came here I added, “And a bagel with cream cheese.” Of course, I didn’t make any attempt to be polite.

He just made a little mumble to affirm that he heard me and turned around to make the coffee. “So I heard there’s a new girl in town? You should bring her here. Business has been good lately; I’m in need of some extra wings.”

I scowled at the mention of Natsu. I came here to get away from her. Was there anywhere in this stupid town where I could completely forget about her? Probably not. You must understand; it was a pretty big deal. A new human. It was so rare that humans would move to animal villages after all. I had been the first in Blossom’s short history. And now five years later there was another. Of course I was conveniently forgetting about him. But I couldn’t bring myself to remember him. So I just forced the memory back into the deepest crevice I could find inside my jumbled mind. Anyway it only made sense that everyone would be curious and even excited to meet Natsu. But I still didn’t like it one bit.

Thinking of Natsu I remembered that I had actually promised her that I would show her around Blossom today. Honestly I didn’t know what on earth compelled me to agree, but nevertheless I did, and I wasn’t the type to so easily go back on my word. Although I really wasn’t all that adequate to do some sort of village tour, considering I didn’t even know the names of all the current villagers. I mean they move so often, how can you expect me to remember them all? I frowned and let my eyes be buried behind my hair, which was something more of a grey than white now.

“Yeah, I’ll bring her here later today,” I finally said though I didn’t bother to look up.

He didn't say anything and gave me my order. I didn’t touch the burning hot coffee until I noticed him glaring down on me. I sighed. Of course, although it had been some time since I was last here, I had done this all before so I knew why he was doing this and exactly how to get him to stop. I quite simply needed to take a sip of the coffee and he would leave me alone; however, that wasn't as easy as it sounded, because mind you the coffee was still piping hot to the point where I could probably sue him if I happened to spill it on myself. Oh, but I wouldn't do that, so I just took the smallest sip possible and held in the pain as it burned my tongue. After I did that he looked away and went over to Blanca to chat with her. I had the rest of my breakfast with a blatantly troubled look on my face. In fact so obvious was my mood that the always nosy Rover just couldn't help but notice.

“My, it’s been years. Why I don’t think I’ve seen you since you first moved here? Ari.” He slyly smiled at me in a way that was both amicable, but also somehow distant and mysterious.

My heart skipped a beat as he said my name so clearly. Perhaps I just didn’t expect him to recognize me after so long and to even be able remember my name with so little hesitation. I thought he was so unlike me, who coldly couldn’t so much as bother to recall the names of villagers I’d known for years. Although I must admit I probably do that on purpose. I don’t want to feel like I belong here. But if not here, then where do I belong?

Before I could reply he spoke again, “I met the new girl on the train, she seems like an…” He searched for the right word, “interesting person. Natsu, right? She must be your roommate now,” He paused to take a sip of his coffee and with a smirk he continued, “knowing you I’m sure you just absolutely hate her.”

Feeling as if Rover could see right through me, I was unable to look him in the eyes; I could only mutter, “Tch… I’ve never met anyone more annoying.” As I said this my throat clamped up for whatever reason. I chugged the hot coffee and the feeling went away. I hate her. I really hate her.  

Rover wasn’t even taken aback at all by my words. It was hard to believe he knew me better than anyone of the villagers whom I’ve known for years, but then again I liked to keep my distance from them, so it was no surprise they didn’t know or understand me well.

He let out a soft laugh, “Heh… I can’t exactly argue that. But doesn’t she at least make things a little less boring? You must be at the point, right Ari? Constantly asking yourself now what and such. I’m right aren’t I?”

Flustered, I didn’t answer. Right then, I wished my hair could conceal my entire face. But it couldn’t, so it must have been obvious to him.

Through the splits in my bangs, I could see Rover gently smile. “I’ll that as a yes. It’s okay though, most humans living in animal towns reach that point eventually. It’s tough, I know. I’ll give you some advice. Instead of asking yourself what you can do now, ask what do you want. You’re not stuck here, like you’ve probably convinced yourself you are. You can leave anytime; you don’t even have to say goodbye. But is that really what you want?”

I gathered the strength to lift my head up and run my fingers through my hair to get it out of my face. I finally answered in my husky voice that cleverly hid all of my emotions,"If you’d have asked me that a few days ago I'd have surely said no, but now…” I swallowed hard. “I'm not so sure anymore. It’s not like I have any special feelings about Blossom, but I don't have anywhere else to go. My parents don't even care about me, so I can’t go back home. I don’t want to.”

I honestly felt as if some matter of unidentifiable force kept me here. Surely that must be true, because otherwise I should’ve left years ago? should have, but didn’t. Suddenly that pesky thing that I promised myself I wouldn’t think about dug its way back to the surface of my mind. I should’ve left with him.

“Well, moving isn’t your only option. You know, you could always just start over. This town I mean. You can delete it.”

Perhaps it was what he said or what had just come to mind, but whatever it was I couldn’t take it anymore. Before tears manifested themselves in my eyes I slammed my hands down onto the table and left without another word. I couldn’t take it anymore. So I ran away from it. Like I’ve always done. Just my luck, it was pouring outside. But somehow I barely even noticed the rain as I trudged my way back home.

“Ari?” Natsu looked surprised seeing me home so quickly. No, that wasn’t it. She was surprised because I was soaked from head to toe dripping muddy water onto the carpet she had just cleaned.

I think this is about to get archived, so let me save it before it does. I'm working on the next chapter now, but I'm hoping to get a few chapters done in advance over winter break.

Seven posts in a row by me... Right.

Saving this again without a new chapter. Sorry, but I'm working on a challenge for the comp, so I'll work on the next chapter after I finish that. If anyone cares I'm in the final 5... yeah. Whoopee.

Umm so I plan to try to finish the next chapter today, because I want another chapter up before Computerfan's Fan fiction competition finale. At this point I'm pretty much the underdog to win, but I really want this so I'm still holding out hope that by some miracle I'll win. And that miracle will be people voting for me, yes you dear silent readers that surely hopefully exist. Vote for me, seriously please. I'll love you forever and actually finish this story if I win.

Edit: Just want to make sure everyone knows to pt Liv909 to vote incase you haven't paid attention to the competition or any of my previous posts.

Just wanted to update that I ended up placing third in the competition which I'm pretty happy with. Now that I don't have challenges and stuff expect new chapters to be more frequent.