#lousylark

Something Lovely

Gill’s home was alive with activity.  The usually-pristine room had been transformed into a party area for the young adults of Harmonica Town.  Red and green balloons littered the floor.  A long dining table, filled to its edges with platters of succulent food, stretched across the middle of the room.  Smaller card tables surrounded the buffet, each with a sweet candle surrounded by holly that served as a centerpiece.  

Though the food was terribly tempting, Anissa had taken for herself a mere glass of water before retreating from the activity to one of Gill’s couches, which had been pushed to the very edge of the room for the Secret Sprite party.  Her dear friend, Renee, sat next to her.  Being so separated from the bustle of Harmonica Town meant that they both had limited tolerance for too much noise.

“So,” Renee began, “have you gotten anything nice for Starry Night so far, Anissa?”  

Anissa nodded.  “Yes.  My parents got me a basket with assorted tea flavors.  Oh, and Taylor got me some interesting hybrid seeds that I’ll plant in the spring.”  

Renee smiled.  “How wonderful!”

“Yes, it was very sweet of them.”  

Anissa took a sip of water from her glass.  She found it amusing how quickly she tired of the party energy.  She had only been there for half an hour and already she wanted to return home and check on some of her winter plants.  

She resisted the urge to sigh, and instead returned to her conversation with Renee. “What about you?” she asked.  “Anything special from your family?”

Renee nodded.  “Pa got me a new saddle, which was unexpected but very appreciated.”

“That’s nice.”  She took another sip of water, and then asked, “And Toby?  This Starry Night marks one year of dating him, doesn’t it?”

“Ah, yes.”  Renee’s cheeks flushed a delicate shade of pink.  “He got me this necklace, from Mira’s store.”  

Her hand moved to brush the necklace where it rested near her collarbone.  The chain was silver, and a ruby glittered at the base of her neck.  Even in the room’s dim lighting, the gem looked beautiful against Renee’s paler skin.

“Oh, Renee,” Anissa breathed.  “It’s beautiful.”

“Thank you.”  Renee folded her hands in her lap.  “To be honest, I wasn’t even sure I wanted jewelry or anything frivolous like that until I unwrapped it.  I’ve only had it for a day, and it’s already become one of the most treasured things I own.”  She shook her head, but she was smiling.  “It’s funny how love works like that.”

Anissa cracked what she hoped was a convincing smile, but she couldn’t help the wistful feeling in her heart.  “It is funny, yes.”  

Truth be told, Anissa was jealous of her friend.  Every year, her parents and her brother would get her practical gifts, like tea and seeds.  Of course, she wasn’t opposed to either of those things — she put them on her list every year anyway — but a small part of her wished, desperately, that she might be the receiver of a gift that didn’t serve a practical purpose, just once.  Even if she was a simple farm girl, she still yearned to own something that held more aesthetic value than a bag of seeds.  

Anissa couldn’t help but let her gaze wander to where Jin stood near the refreshment table.  He had yet to put his present under the tree; it was small, square box surprisingly well-wrapped with purple paper and silver strings.

But the present wasn’t what caught her eye so much as the doctor himself.  White snowflakes peppered his dark hair.  His nose was tinted cherry red, and his glasses had fogged up.  Anissa had missed his arrival, but, judging by his appearance, it was obvious he had only gotten to the party recently.

Renee started to speak again, saving Anissa from her own fluttering heartbeat.  

“So,” her friend began, “who’s your Secret Sprite, Anissa?”

Anissa smiled, grateful for the change in topic.  She shrugged in an innocent manner, and said in her best nonchalant voice, “Oh, no one important.”

“Goodness gracious, then it better not be me!” Renee stood from her chair, dusting off her sweet yellow dress.  “Well, I should get back to Toby.  And I still need to get my present under the tree before we start the Secret Sprite exchange.”  She held up her brown paper bag, which was tied at the handles with curly red ribbon.  “I hope my person likes it.”  

“What is it?”

Renee cradled the bag like a baby.  “Orange cake.  I made it myself!  I’m told it’s his favorite.”

“Oh, your Secret Sprite is Chase?  You poor dear.”  

Renee’s eyes widened to the size of teacup saucers.  “Oh, Anissa!  I should leave before I give away anything else, shouldn’t I?”  

Anissa giggled.  “Yes, perhaps you should.  I’ll see you later, Renee.”  

“Yes!  After presents!”

As Renee walked across the room to join Toby near the Starry Night tree, Anissa let her eyes wander around the room.  As far as she could tell, the only two people missing from the party still were Molly, the town farmer, and Julius, who had a propensity for arriving fashionably late.  She wondered how long Gill would hold off before deciding to start the present exchange.  

Everyone was well-dressed.  Selena, of course, stood out among the other girls, as she always did.  The dancer donned a hip-hugging, sparkling red dress with a deep v-neckline.  The outfit certainly wasn’t Anissa’s style — or anyone on the island’s style, for that matter — but neither did she have the physical appeal that Selena had.  Perhaps, if life were different, she too would be a dancer who wore sparkling red dresses and had golden hoop earrings —

“Er, hello, Anissa.”

Anissa blinked.  She had been so lost in daydreams that she had failed to notice Jin looming above her.  He was still holding the purple present.  

She realized he was waiting for a response.  “Ah, hi, Jin.  How are you?”

“I’m well, thank you.” He cleared his throat.  “And yourself?”  

Her heart fluttered, but she managed to crack what she think was an easygoing smile.  “Wonderful.  Would you like to sit?”

Jin reached a hand behind his head to scratch his neck.  “Well, actually, I was wondering if you might be able to accompany me over to the Starry Night tree?”  Again, he cleared his throat.  “I noticed that you still have your gift, and I still have mine, so we could drop them off together and…get some punch, perhaps?”

Warmth flooded her face.  She beamed, and said, “I would love to.”  She stood, and he offered her an arm.  The Starry Night tree was only a few steps across the room, but Jin was terribly chivalric in that way.  “Lead the way, doctor.”

He bowed in a playful manner.  “As you wish, Miss Anissa.”  

——————

“Gill, when are we gonna open presents?”  

Gill turned to his girlfriend, Luna, and sighed.  “I thought it might be nice to wait for the others to arrive, Luna.”  

She pouted, bending on one knee so that her hip swung out in an impatient manner.  “What others?  Everyone’s here.”

“Not everyone,” Maya piped in.  “I haven’t seen Julius.”  

Chase nodded.  “And Molly isn’t here, either.”  

“But it’s basically everyone, isn’t it?”  Luna asked.  “I mean, do we really have to wait for two people out of, like, twenty?”  

Gill frowned.  “It would be a breach in propriety if we started the exchange exactly at seven.  We’ll give them ten more minutes to get here.”  

“Why are you so excited for them to get here, anyway, Luna?”  Maya asked.  

“I wanna open presents!”  Luna cried.  “And I wanna see my Secret Sprite’s reaction, you know?  I got her something really good.”

“Ooh, who’s your secret santa?”  Maya asked.  

Luna crossed her arms and turned away from Maya.  “I’m not telling.”  She looked at Gill with her best fluttering eyelashes.  “Please, Gilly, can we start now?”

Gill sighed.  “No, Luna.  We’ll wait five more minutes, alright?  Will that appease you?”

“You’re the worst,” she huffed.  “I’m going to go hang out with Candace.”  

As Luna started to stomp toward the long dining table, Gill reached out toward her and called, “Wait, Luna!”

His girlfriend, however, didn’t respond.  He looked at Chase and Maya for help, but Maya was giggling and Chase just looked smug.  

He glared at both of them.  “You could have backed me up a bit more, there.”

“But why?” Chase shoved his hands into the pockets of his dress pants.  “It’s more fun to watch you two scuffle.”

“Come on, Chase —“

“So when are you going to pop the question?”

Gill’s jaw dropped.  “Excuse me?”

Chase shrugged nonchalantly.  “Oh, come on.  You two argue like a married couple.  You’ve been dating, what, two years?  She balances out your curmudgeon side, and you help her act less childish.  Well, usually.”  He looked Gill dead in the eye.  “Don’t you think it’s time?”

Gill huffed.  “I haven’t the faintest clue what you’re talking about.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a party to host.”  

The mayor’s son stalked away in a surprisingly similar fashion to the way his girlfriend had left only moments before.  

Maya looked up at Chase with curious eyes.  “Why’d you say all that, Chase?”

He hummed thoughtfully.  “He needed the reassurance, I think.  I’ll bet you a whole chocolate cake that there’s a blue feather in his jacket pocket.”

She blinked.  “What?  For Luna?”  

He nodded.  “Yeah.  I’ve heard him muttering to himself about it for weeks now when he comes to the Inn for lunch.  He probably thought tonight would be a good night to propose, but their little spat might’ve given him cold feet.”

“Oh.  Oops.”  She looked at the floor.  “Maybe we should have backed him up a little more.”  

Chase shook his head.  “Nah.  When they’re married, he won’t always have someone to back him up.  He ought to know what he’s getting into by now.”

His girlfriend was quiet for a moment — a rare occurrence, really.  Then, all of a sudden, she hugged his arm and looked up at him with wide, sparkling eyes.  

“When are we getting married, Chase?”

His throat dried up like a desert.  “I—uh, what?”

“You wouldn’t put up with me for this long if you didn’t wanna get married.  So when are ya gonna ask me?”  

Her smile was brighter than all of the lights on the Starry Night tree combined.  As much as he hated to admit it, his heart skipped a beat.  He couldn’t help himself when she grinned at him like that.  

But he couldn’t let her win that easily.  

“Oh, I don’t know.”  He sighed.  “Ask me again in a few years.”

Maya snatched her arms away from him.  “A few years?!”  

He nodded.  “Yeah.  Then maybe I’ll think about proposing.”  

“You better be joking,” she grumbled.  

“Me? Joke? Never.”  He put a gentle hand against the small of her back.  “Come on, let’s go try some of the cake I whipped up for the party.”

Her face immediately brightened.  He felt the tug on his heartstrings again.  

“Okay!”  

— — — — — —

Tonight, Candace felt a little lost without her sister by her side.

Luna and Gill had been dating for two years.  She ought to have been used to the slight feeling of abandonment by now, but she wasn’t.  

“Candace?”

Her head snapped up.  Kathy stood in front of her.  She was wearing the lovely black dress that Candace herself had only finished sewing up a week ago.  

Candace swallowed, and said nervously, “Hello, Kathy.”

Kathy’s smile was genuine, at least.  There were other people in town who couldn’t look at Candace without some pity in their eyes.  But she didn’t mind her own quiet nature.  It left her lots of time to think, and read, and sew.  Besides, if she and Luna were both loud, their grandmother would never sleep.  

Kathy gestured toward one of the card tables Gill had set up before the party.  “Would you like to come play spin the bottle with us?”

Candace blinked.  “Spin…the bottle?”

“Oh, well, you don’t have to play,” Kathy said.  She dug the toe of one of her shoes into the floor.  “I just thought maybe you’d want to sit with us.  You could watch, if you’d like.”

The polite refusal was on her lips — until a flash of pink caught her eye over Kathy’s shoulder.  Luna was sitting at the supposed spin-the-bottle-table, right between Owen and Calvin.  

“Is that Luna?” she asked, still peering at her sister.

Kathy grinned.  “Yeah!  She said she wanted to play.  Platonically, I think.”  

Candace nodded slowly.  “Um, okay.  I’ll go sit by her.”

“Great!”

Together they walked back toward the table.  Kathy took up her seat next to Owen.  Candace slid between Luna and Calvin.  

Immediately, she was met with another unusual sight:  Luna held a tall glass of wine in her left hand.  Her sister was well past drinking age — even though she didn’t look, or act, like it — but she was found with a glass in her hand as often as Candace didn’t want to stay inside.  

“Luna,” she murmured, so as not to attract attention, “is that alcohol?”

Luna’s head rolled toward her sister.  “Candace!  Of course it is, honey, are you blind?”

Candace shook her head.  “Luna, you know what that stuff does to you.”  She paused, trying to think of the best way to get the glass out of her sister’s hands without making a mess.  “And you shouldn’t be playing spin the bottle when you’re in a relationship.”

“It’s platonic, sis,” Luna clarified.  She took another sip from the glass.  “Besides, I’m not in a relationship anymore.”

“You’re — what?”

“Gilly made me mad.  I don’t want to be with him anymore.”

Candace wanted to tell her sister that Gill made her mad everyday and she was only thinking this way because of the drink in her hands.  Suddenly, however, when she realized all eyes at the table were on her.  

Candace blinked once.  Twice  “I, um.  Is everything okay?”

Owen pointed at the bottle.  “It landed on you.  Ya gotta kiss Calvin!”

Calvin, meanwhile, shrugged at her apologetically.  He didn’t look particularly eager to kiss her, for which she was actually grateful.  

“Oh, no, no,” she said, waving her hands dismissively.  “I’m not playing.  I’m just here for Luna.”

Luna, of course, perked up at just that moment.  “No, Candy!  Just because I don’t have a boyfriend anymore doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.  Give him a smooch!”

Candace’s cheeks burned.  

“You’re playing spin the bottle and you didn’t invite me?!”

Everyone turned to see Julius approaching the table.  He was dressed in a silk three-piece lavender suit — another of Candace’s own creations.  

“Now you get here!” Luna cried.  “Is Molly here yet?  Can we open presents?”

Julius wagged a finger.  “Uh-uh!  Not until I get inducted into the spinning circle!  Now the real party can start!”  He poked his head in between Candace and Luna.  If Candace’s cheeks weren’t red before, they were now.  

“Why, Candace!”  he said — and she could tell from the stink of his breath that he’d already taken advantage of Gill’s in-house bar — “Looks like the bottle’s landed on you and me!”

And without another word, he planted a kiss — right on her lips.  

— — — — —

Forty-five minutes into the party and Selena had self-designated herself as the belle of the ball.  After all, the only other girl to show up and assess would be Molly, and, though the two were friends, Selena considered herself a bit further up on the fashion food chain than a farm-girl.

She had high hopes for that evening.  Her Secret Sprite was none other than Luke.  He had spoiled the surprise just ten minutes after drawing names the week before, so she had given him an extensive list of her wants so that he wouldn’t mess the gift up.  If she knew her boyfriend — and he was terribly easy to predict — the sparkly little red bag under the tree would contain new earrings or a silk scarf from the city.  

She let her gaze wander the room.  The only other girl there that could compete for the title of most beautiful would be Kathy, but that was expected.  Anissa caught her eye as well, surprisingly enough.  Her dress was modest and navy blue, but the sheer layer near her collarbone suited the gardener.  

“Here ya go, Selena!”

She turned to her boyfriend.  He was carrying two glasses of punch.  

“Thanks, babe.” She smiled and took the glass of punch from him.  “Did you find out when we’re starting the gift exchange?”

Luke nodded.  “Yeah!  Gill said Molly still isn’t here, but it’s her fault for being late, so he’ll call everyone around the tree in a minute or two.”  

She hummed, taking a sip of the punch.  It was a bit on the sweet side, but there was a hint of lemon that she liked.  

Luke suddenly put a broad hand to the small of her back.  “Hey Selena?”

She looked up at him with wide, expectant eyes.  “Yes?”

He looked straight into her eyes, and said, “You’re really pretty.”

Normally, she would have brushed off this sort of compliment.  She knew she was pretty; she didn’t need to be told.  It wasn’t a matter of arrogance, just a matter of truth.  She had heard far more creative compliments from different men throughout her career.  

But there was a look in Luke’s eyes — something warm, and gentle.  Her heart skipped a beat.  She wasn’t used to being on the receiving end of mushy feelings like this.

“Thank you, Luke.”  She paused, then stood on her tip toes to kiss him on the cheek.  “Really.  Thanks.”

He grinned.  “No problem, babe.”  

— — — — —

About half an hour after her conversation with Renee, Anissa was sitting by herself in one of Gill’s lush couches observing the party scene.  It actually felt a little bit like the couch was swallowing her.  She was a little sleepy, though, so she didn’t mind much.

All of the presents had been opened.  Some of the highlights had been a neat pair of light-up socks from Owen to Luke, and Candace’s hand-sewn quilt that went to Maya.  Renee’s orange cake for Chase had also been a success.  

She looked at the couch directly across from her and saw Gill and Luna semi-snuggling, with Luna cradling what looked like a blue feather.  Gill’s proposal, of course, had been the biggest and best surprise of the evening.

Anissa looked at her empty hands and couldn’t help a sigh.  She hadn’t received a gift.  She was too anxious to try and figure out who had failed to bring one, and no one had brought it up.  It wasn’t her friends’ fault that they hadn’t noticed; after Candace, she was probably the next quietest girl in town.

“Hey, Anissa?”

Molly took a seat next to her on the couch.  She was holding a small package that Anissa recognized as Jin’s present.  

“I noticed you didn’t get a present,” she explained, “so I took a look under the tree and found this present addressed to you!”  She paused, and handed over the box.  “Maybe they were too shy to give it to you in front of all those people?”

With shaking hands, Anissa took the gift from Molly.  “Maybe.”  

They both stared at the present for a moment.  Anissa’s thoughts, and her heart, raced.  Why hadn’t Jin just given her the present in person?  What could be in the box?

“You should open it,” Molly said.

Anissa nodded, nearly breathless.  She was being so silly; she almost laughed aloud at herself.  

She started untying the silver strings holding the package closed.  Of course she wasn’t expecting a blue feather like Luna had gotten.  That would be absurd.  But she couldn’t help but wonder what might be in the small box.  

With the strings taken away, she was free to open the present.  Her heart was still racing.  With gentle hands, she removed the wrapping paper, and opened the lid of the box.  

Inside was a beautiful silver hairpiece.  Different sized pearls adorned the flat surface, and a large white flower fashioned out of stiff lace was set in the center.  It was both delicate and practical: the piece had prongs on either side to hold hair away from the face.  She hadn’t realized such a perfect and beautiful gift could exist.  

Her eyes almost started watering — almost.  

“Oh, Anissa,” Molly breathed.  “How lovely.  And it’s so you.”  She didn’t look away from the hairpiece.  “Do you know who it’s from?”

Anissa glanced toward Jin.  He stood across the room, discussing something with Gill and Calvin.  He wasn’t looking in her direction, but she knew by his soft smile that he had watched her open the gift.

Title: What You Learn on Television

Note: Merry Christmas! Hope you enjoy this little Klaus and Annie development!

Annie stood rigid by the kitchen counter, practically gawking at the television.

“There’s no way I can say no to you, Boss.”

She had put on the television while she was making dinner, mainly putting it on to fill the silence more than anything. Not much thought was given to the program or the host, just something where there would be something other than a snoring dog to listen to. But immediately after the television buzzed through a commercial, it had come back to an interview…about Klaus. It had ticked her that her boyfriend was being mentioned on television…until the person who was interviewed began to tell a much different story about him that she had imagined.

“I apologize, but this interview is cancelled,” spoke a younger looking Klaus to the host, having shut down the interview before it got into specifics. It must have been filmed several years ago, before they even moved to Oak Tree Town. But, they must have decided to replay it. Annie tuned out of the half-hearted wrap up of the interview and into her own thoughts.

Klaus…had been in a gang?

It didn’t sound like a bad gang, necessarily. The way that man acted when he talked, it was as if Klaus had singlehandedly saved lives. It sounded more like an underground watch than the gangs that Annie had heard about from the city. The gangs that stole, hurt people, and caused mischief. Klaus’ gang…it didn’t seem bad.

But why hadn’t he told her?

It must not be something that he wanted out there. But why not, if it was a good thing? Why not tell her, since they’d been dating for quite a while at that point. Annie set down a pot that had been in her hand, and took a deep breath. There was no way she was making dinner with this on her mind. She was curious to a fault, ignorantly so at times, and she wanted to know more. Why didn’t he want to tell anyone if this had been such a positive impact on where he grew up? What had driven him to start a gang?

Before she could even decide to leave, she had already put on a coat and walked out the door. The walk to Klaus’ home was quick, simple, having walked there so many times that it had become ingrained in her muscles. The wind was cold on her breath, the night sky doing no favors to warm her up. Beneath her, the snow crunched along with her heartbeat, beginning to pick up the more she thought about it. Klaus, her proper gentleman, taking on a bunch of punks on the street?

The very thought made her heart beat faster, thought she didn’t know why.

Annie stopped in front of his door, taking a few deep breaths before gently knocking on his door. It didn’t take long before she heard footsteps. She hoped she wasn’t interrupting his dinner.

Ah, she probably was. As her stomach growled, she was beginning to regret coming before dinnertime. Maybe after would have been a better idea.

Thought letting her unfinished questions fester in the back of her mind? Unthinkable. She needed to find out. No question about it.

The door opened, and warm air laced with floral perfume caressed her cold skin. Klaus stood in the doorway, looking down at her with surprise, then a smile, then pressed eyebrows of concern.

“Annie?” Klaus quickly stood aside so she could walk inside, “I wasn’t expecting you here this late. Is everything alright?” She walked in, shivering a little as he closed the door behind.

“Yea, everything’s fine! I wasn’t interrupting anything, was I?” Annie saw something cooking on the stove, but thankfully nothing was served yet. Made it just in time.

“I was just making dinner. There’s enough for two, if you would care to join me.”

“Oh! That’s fine, I was about to make some myself. Thank you for the offer, though!”

“You wound me, coming all this way and not accepting my hospitality,” Klaus chuckled gently, helping Annie out of her coat, “What did you come for, though?”

Once Klaus had her coat draped over his arm, she turned around and smiled sheepishly, “Well…I saw you on television! At least I’m sure it was you.”

“Really?” he smiled as he hung the coat up on the rack beside the door, “I hope you’re not disappointed if I looked younger and a much more handsome then. Which interview was it?”

Annie perked up, “Klaus, stop that…wait…you’ve been on television more than once?”

“It’s primarily to promote my fragrances, yes,” Klaus turned back towards her, “Most of them were done years ago, however. Perhaps I should do another, if I am given the opportunity.”

“Wow…” Annie stood there in slight wonder before shaking off the star-struck feeling in her gut, “Well, this one wasn’t about your perfumes at all.”

“Oh?” Klaus’ smile fell slightly, only by a centimeter that only Annie could catch onto.

“Yes…” Annie took a few moments to think about how she should phrase it before resorting to the blunt one, “You were in a gang?”

Silence hung in the air. Annie was hesitant to meet Klaus’ eyes at first. They flickered to a darker tone, one she had seen before, sometime before they started dating. When she had arrived to talk to Klaus just to see him, when he began talking about men being wolves. It was rare, especially now that their relationship had long since commenced.

However, the silence was interrupted by the pot on the stove boiling over. At the sound of a small splash of soup pouring out the top, Klaus cursed under his breath and rushed over to fix it.

“Am I wrong…?” Annie spoke, following him at a distance to watch him.

Klaus sighed, “No, not necessarily. I thought I told them to remove that interview from circulation.”

“So you were a part of a gang.”

“Yes, thought it was a long time ago. I was very young back then. There’s no point in revisiting a time that’s long since passed.”

“But…” Annie paused for a moment as Klaus wiped up the spilled soup, “But I think it’s good to learn about each other. The good and the bad, right?”

“It’s a time I would rather forget.”

“Why?” Annie took a step forward, “That man in the interview seemed really happy to see you. I don’t think that’s worth forgetting.”

Klaus set down the rag, turning towards Annie with those same dark eyes. The eyes she loved and feared at the same time. It wasn’t a bad fear, but an anticipating fear. Like the two of them were on the precipice of a cliff, and what that cliff was, Annie wasn’t sure. But somehow, she wanted to know.

Before she could breathe, Klaus stalked up to her. Her body began to back up instinctually, though she didn’t know why. It wasn’t before her back had hit a wall that Klaus reached up to the stop button of his shirt, always buttoned up right to the top to create a nice collar. Annie swallowed hard as he unbuttoned his top button with one hand. Only one button was all it took for the collar to loosen and part in the center.

Revealing the top edge of a thick, white scar.

“It wasn’t all good, Annie,” Klaus stared down at her with deep eyes, “Some of this was not fine. Not happy. Not good.”

Annie swallowed.

“There are more like this. All over.”

Annie could barely visualize it. The two had not gotten to a physical aspect of their relationship yet. Though her imagination was working its charms at that moment.

“Do you still want to know?”

Without thinking, Annie nodded.

She definitely wanted to know.

Klaus chuckled, re-buttoning the top, “Then…join me for dinner?”

His eyes were still dark, betraying his usual polite smile.