Moving

The sun was gone; hidden behind the ever present clouds and just out of reach - in more ways than one. It was going to rain again; for the past month, the rain had barely stopped - it was like the town itself was mourning for its loss.

Even the mayor, who was usually chipper and bright, was moody on his daily walks throughout the village - everybody in Bluebell felt the loss in one way or another.

No wonder Cam, the resident shy boy, was more irritable than usual. Even Ash, his closest friend, had stopped coming around daily. Cam was taking it out on everybody in town, but mostly on himself. He was mad; mad at the world and mad at himself. If he'd just been the least bit kinder, he thought, she might've stayed.

Even Cam knew that was a lie. She just wasn't cut out for life in Bluebell; she didn't fit in there, unlike in Konohana. Cam figured she probably thrived there, as bright and happy as her crops would be. She was probably happy there; he guessed she had fallen for another man; a stronger man who wouldn't get mad when times were tough and who would treat her the way she deserved to be treated, like a delicate flower.

Of course, she was anything but delicate. On most days, she was as rude and sarcastic as Cam was, and she could probably lift just as much, if not more, than he could. But that wasn't the point; the point was that he was still waiting, waiting for the sun on the other side of the mountain that would never come back, just out of his reach.

It was like she was taunting him, challenging him to overcome all he'd ever known; to step into a new light and believe that the two towns were part of a whole. But he couldn't; he'd been raised to believe it wasn't so. It was against his nature to think that.

And yet, she wanted him to, so he did. If only he could've told her that sooner, told her that he would climb every mountain that stood between them - but instead, he'd grown bitter and shut himself away from the world, away from her light.

He might've already travelled to the other side of the mountain; if he hadn't been so afraid she had found someone else. No, Cam was certain she had moved on. Why would she wait for him when there were perfectly nice, normal, guys in Konohana?

Cam sighed as he stood at his shop, motionless, watching wistfully over the town plaza. Most of the villagers assumed he was looking for customers; but he was really waiting for her to come galloping up the main steps, ignoring Rutger when he complained about the noise.

If only he hadn't gotten himself into this mess, if only he was brave enough to man up and fix it…

If only.

The orange glow of twilight surrounded the two villagers as they lay under the falling sun, paying no attention to anything but their company - nothing else mattered. They were together and that's all they cared about. It had been a tough road getting there, and they were damned if they wouldn't spend every moment they could together.

"Cam?" Annie asked softly, meeting Cam's eyes as she rolled onto her side, resting her cheek on his arm.

Cam was silent for a moment, as always, watching her with concern. "Yes?"

"I…I've got something to tell you, and I… I don't really know how to say it." Annie mumbled as she sat up, leaving Cam's embrace.

Cam pulled himself up, grabbing her hands and turning her so that she was facing him. "What's wrong, Annie?" He asked softly, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

Annie leaned into his touch - it was rare for him to be this affectionate, and what she was about to say would wreck it all.

"Cam? Promise you won't get mad?" Annie said quietly, hoping he would - just this once.

Cam's brows lowered. "Annie, you know I can't do that."

"Fine, I just hoped…" She trailed off, looking at something over Cam's shoulder. "Anyway, I… I'm moving. To Konohana."

Cam dropped her hands like they were burning him. They fell into her lap where they sat, motionless. "What?"

"You heard me," Annie said softly, chewing on her bottom lip as she looked at him with wide eyes. "I'm moving…tomorrow."

Cam was silent as he took it all in. Annie was leaving him, leaving him behind as she swapped villages without a second thought. "Why?" He finally asked hoarsely, feeling hurt at her confession.

"I just… I'm not making any money here, and let's face it - crops are more profitable." Annie trailed off, thinking of her money issues. When she moved to Konohana, she would finally be able to buy upgrade and afford things she didn't necessarily need.

Cam narrowed his eyes, pulling his hat back onto his head before crossing his arms and leaning rigidly against a tree trunk a few feet away. Annie didn't move.

"I'll come visit every day, Cam. Nothing will change between us; it'll be the same way it is now. I promise."

"Yeah?" Cam said with an angry look on his face. "You can't promise that. Things have already changed; we can't be together if you're…there."

Cam had been raised to dislike Konohana and what it represented; it was stupid of Annie to want to go there. "Annie, please, just…stay here, it's just better in the long run."

Annie was silent before speaking in a soft, anger filled, tone. "Cam. I don't have a long run; I spent the last of my money on the moving fees. I can't back out now. Besides, I've already visited - they're nice people over there, and if you can't accept that because of where they're from...then I can't accept you. I'm one of them now…whether you like or not."

"Fine," Cam stated, standing up and towering over Annie, who had a bright look of relief on her face.

"Oh-Cam! I just knew-"

"This is goodbye." With that last statement, Cam travelled down the mountain alone; with only his anger-filled thoughts occupying his mind.

Behind him, he could hear sniffles as Annie tried desperately to hold back tears. But as he marched forward with purpose, his steps faltered more than once, and indecision wavered on his face as a few stray tears fell to the ground. He couldn't help but wonder; was he doing the right thing?

Cam closed his eyes and upturned his face to the sky. He was so stupid to lose everything just because of a prejudice that even Mayor Rutger didn't completely agree with. He clenched his hands into fists; his nails digging into his skin. He let out an exasperated sigh and reopened his eyes, only to see Cheryl in front of his stand, a fistful of change in her pockets.

"Hi Mr. Cam!" She chirped brightly. She was one of the few unaffected by Annie's move; then again, the girl was probably glad to have one of Ash's potential girlfriends gone.

"Good afternoon, Cheryl," Cam said calmly, leaning down on the counter to get closer to her height. "What can I do for you?"

"Umm…"Cheryl said, peering over the edge of Cam's stand for a moment before speaking. "I wanna get a flower for my Mommy's birthday."

"How much do you have?" He asked, reaching a hand out, which the girl dropped a pile of change into. He began counting it as Cheryl watched in silence.

It was barely enough for a single flower, but Cam would give her more than what she paid for; he owed Ash a favor or two. "Tell you what - if you help me make it, we'll get your Mommy a bouquet."

Cheryl nodded enthusiastically as Cam pocketed the change before beckoning her to the other side of the counter.

"Here, you pick out some flowers, while I get you some pretty paper to hold them in."

"Okay!" Cheryl grinned, before focusing her attention on the flowers on the counter and hand selecting the ones she thought were pretty enough for her mom. Cam turned, bent down onto one knee, and began going through bins under the counter, trying to find the pattern he was looking for; the one he knew from experience that Jessica liked.

"Didn't know you were into helping little girls," a familiar voice drawled from the other side of the counter, sending chills up Cam's spine. He stood up slowly as the voice continued. "Thought you were more of the type to destroy dreams, and crush people's hearts."

Cam winced as he saw Annie standing in front of his shop, hands on her hips - which were now donned in some kind of Konohana outfit. She wore an orange undershirt, a navy skirt and a matching cover, and her hair was held back with a red headband, which blew with the breeze behind her.

"Annie," He finally said, or rather whispered. His eyes widened as he looked into her hard eyes - she was mad. "Oh God, I'm-"

"Save it," Annie said harshly before her eyes softened. "Don't think that just because I'm not here doesn't mean I don't know what's happening."

Cam opened his mouth to question what she said when Cheryl tugged on his shirt.

"Mr. Cam, I found some pretty flowers." She said innocently, gesturing to the pile on the counter.

"Okay, Cheryl, we'll get those packaged up in no time - just one moment." Cam hurried to finish the job, hyper aware of Annie's watchful eyes as his hands shook while tying the ribbon around the bouquet. As he worked, he kept comparing her appearance now to a month ago. She looked a lot better; she had a healthy glow in her skin, and her hair was actually tidy for once, which was the complete opposite of Cam, who knew he looked like crap. He couldn't sleep at night, and the result showed under his eyes in dark bags. His hair had decided to hate him, and it never did what he wanted it to anymore. To top it off, he hadn't gotten it cut in a while, and it was a lot longer than he liked it now.

"Here you go," he said, setting the array into Cheryl's expecting arms. "Be careful on your way home now; get that right to your Mom so they don't get wrecked."

"Okay, Mr. Cam! Thank you!" Cheryl called as she bounded off, her pigtails bouncing behind her. She began calling for her Mom just as she stepped off the plaza.

Cam held back a smile before turning his gaze back to Annie, who was staring at him with something he couldn't identify in her eyes. Cam pulled out a small sign and set it on the counter before walking around it and standing beside Annie, who continued walking through the town without a word, leading him to the mountain.

As soon as they reached the base, Cam tried to apologize. "Annie, I-"

"Didn't I tell you to save it?" Annie questioned harshly, whipping around and turning to face him.

"Well, yeah, but… Annie," Cam said, still not believing she was there again.

Annie sighed, looking down to his feet with a sad look in her eyes. "I've been talking to Ash."

Suddenly, it dawned on Cam. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh!" Annie snapped before softening when she saw him wince. "Sorry, but you kind of deserve it. Why didn't you come visit me?"

Cam stumbled on an answer. "I couldn't, well I could, but, I was…afraid."

"Afraid of what?" She huffed, watching Cam's face closely as he turned away, closing his eyes as his face contorted.

"Afraid that...you'd move on. I didn't want to make it a reality," his voice was a bit louder than a whisper as he spoke to the mountain, hoping she couldn't hear him.

"Oh God, Cam, I would never do that." She stepped forward with tears springing to her eyes, wrapping her arms around his back and pressing her face into his shoulder. "You know that."

Cam turned slowly, wrapping his arms around her as he did so. He leaned down a bit and rested his cheek on the top of her head. The two fell silent, finding comfort in each other's embrace as the wind blew around them.

Eventually, they pulled away from each other, but Annie caught Cam's hand and grinned at him.

"Sorry," Cam muttered, clutching her hand as she slowly lead him back to the Bluebell gates, stopping just outside of them.

"So," Cam began with a blush. "How's uhm…life in Konohana?"

Annie laughed; her body shaking against his. She was so full of glee; she had been so worried about this moment for weeks, but it went perfectly. "Great, actually. They're really nice over there, you know," Annie said, waggling a finger in his face before pulling back and placing her hands on his chest.

Cam sighed, "I know, I just thought they would steal you away from me…"

Hey, don't worry about it; it's in the past now - it doesn't matter," Annie insisted, resting a hand on his cheek. Cam leaned into her touch and his eyes fluttered closed; he still felt bad about the whole thing.

"Besides, as good as it was in Konohana," Annie giggled, "it was a lot better in Bluebell." She looked up at him with a knowing look in her eyes. Cam smiled down at her, tightening his grip on her and leaning down.

"Really?" He inquired, whispering in her ear. "And why would that be?" She shuddered against him, his soft voice causing an explosion of feelings inside of her.

"You know why," She said simply, standing on her tiptoes and pressing her lips against his, tangling her fingers in his long hair. She frowned when she noticed something was off about it.

Annie pulled away, and Cam rested his forehead against hers as she examined his hair from the corner of her eye, trying her best not to notice the dark bags under his eyes. "You grew your hair out," she stated.

Cam chuckled, "More like I forgot to cut it. I haven't really been in a solid state of mind lately…" His voice trailed off and Annie decided to change the subject.

"Me too, but we'll do something about that later," She said, grinning up to him as he lowered his head. Their lips connected once more, pushing away all thoughts as they concentrated on the most important thing in the world, each other.

A/N: A big fat thanks to my new Beta swingdancer23 who edited this story for me and made it flow a lot more (you should really check her out, just saying :D).

This is just a little oneshot I made up after moving towns, and then visiting Bluebell when the animal fest was on and I don't remember exactly what he said, but I then came up with this idea and promptly reloaded so I could live back in Bluebell :3