Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon or its characters. This story was only written for entertainment purposes.

Save Me From Myself

Chapter One

Well now, this was awkward.

He was just sitting there, an obvious shadow of his former self, and staring at nothing. Visibly destroyed by something, of what the brunette farmer had yet to figure out. His body language, however, screamed that he was very upset.

She had found him sulking near her home, which that in itself was unbelievably odd. What was even stranger was the nagging little voice in the back of her head, compelling her to comfort him, even if he had been a complete jerk to her for the first two years she'd arrived to the pleasant village. So here she was, sitting across the sulking purple haired farmer with a fresh cup of Herb Tea before them and she felt more than just a little foolish as the uncomfortable silence continued.

Staring at the orange cup in her hands, she wondered, long and hard, about what could have possibly made the usually stoic and uptight Jamie so troubled. It wasn't something she was used to seeing. He didn't have that 'I'm-better-that-you-at-everything' feeling, instead he looked like a confused and lost child. It didn't sit right with her.

Not one bit.

Brown eyes lift from the tea and she looked over his appearance. He looked very clean cut and spruced up, like he had recently taken a bath and had prepared himself for something very important. He wasn't wearing his usual multicolored poncho thing, instead the strange clothing was replaced with a clean light purple dress shirt, underneath a white undershirt peaked from where the over shirt remained unbuttoned. And she was floored she didn't instantly notice that he wasn't wearing his large hat, giving her a perfect view of the lilac locks that were constantly hidden underneath the hat.

With a fidgeting in her seat, she had to admit, much to her displeasure, that he looked rather... handsome.

Shaking her head, embarrassed that thought had even crossed her mind, she cleared her throat and stared down pointedly at her cup of tea.

"Jamie, drink the tea. It'll make you feel better," she mumbled, pushing the untouched tea towards her sulking companion.

While he glared at the cup, she restrained herself from sighing loudly, instantly knowing by his look that this wasn't going to be an easy evening. His glare lifted towards her as he pushed the drink away, almost as if he were insulted to have been offered some commoners drink.

"I don't like this." he spat, emphasizing his statement by pointing at the innocent cup with his index finger.

She felt her eye beginning to twitch in annoyance, but once again held back on the urge to let her frustration show by telling him off. Instead, she breathed deeply and exhaled slowly before she nodding and pushing the cup off to the side.

Jamie frowned.

He shouldn't have spoken to her like that, but it was a bad habit that would never die. He should have been grateful she even allowed him a moment of her time. She was always busy, even after brining back the Harvest Goddess, there always seemed to be something left to do. There wasn't a day she didn't have something going on. Knowing that, he was actually surprised he had wandered to her home during his walk of shame.

He wasn't expecting her to turn the corner just as he was preparing to leave. And he sure as hell wasn't expecting her to look concerned, ask what was wrong, or invite him inside.

Jamie's eyes dropped to the table. She was too kind, maybe a bit too much for her own good. He envied that about her, but there wasn't a chance in hell those words would ever leave his mouth. And although they had their share of rough moments, she was the only person he truly considered as a – a friend.

As she sipped on her own cup, he cringed.

How could she drink that horrible drink, it was so bitter, was beyond him. Glaring at the cup once more, hoping his dislike for the liquid was obvious in the look, he vowed he would never again drink Herb Tea. Just looking at it made his chest ache, his fist ball in rage, and his mind sink deeper into defeat.

"Jamie?"

Her voice startled him, causing him to quickly look at the brunette. She had that same look of concern on her face again, and it made him upset.

"Do you want something else to drink? I can make you a strawberry shake or something."

She instantly regretted saying anything as Jamie threw her another nasty look. Swallowing the lump forming in the throat, she looked away. If she would have known that every little thing would piss him off, she would have never stopped to check on him. She should have just told him to leave. Here she was trying to be nice and he was giving her attitude.

Ungrateful little punk.

He leaned back, causing the chair to groan in protest, and crossed his arms in front of his chest, "I'm fine."

"Fine," she shot back, standing from her seat and taking her empty cup in one hand and the full cup in another. Dumping the empty one in the sink, she placed the untouched cup into the fridge and glanced over at Jamie.

He was staring at her, and it kinda crept her out. The way his eyes always seemed to see right through someone had always made her feel more than a little uncomfortable. Looking away, she pretended to search for something in the fridge.

"Why do you look so nice today, Jamie?" he heard her said, muffled behind the large refrigerator. "Where you going somewhere?"

Looked nice today?

He always looked nice.

A sneer was threatening to show on his face, but instead Jamie frowned and crossed his arms in front of his chest. He understood her meaning, he wasn't in his usual attire. But even if he understood, he hesitated for a second. Silently wondering if he really wanted to open up to someone he had once held a grudge against.

Wouldn't she ridicule him afterwards?

Probably behind his back, just like everyone else.

His gaze returned to her. She seemed trustworthy, honest, and looked like she wouldn't blab about anything, whether she wanted to or not.

"I – " he flinched as the image of that morning's event replayed in his mind.

He could see himself walking into the flower shop, see that Nina was the one handling today's clients, and see her smiling face. He still wasn't exactly sure how, or why, he had become attracted to the pink haired gardener. It may have been the fact that she would sometime be around when he went fishing. Or maybe it was because he was impressed by her knowledge when it came to plants. But whatever it was, he had fallen for her, and hard. Hard enough to consider her as marriage material and present her with the blue-feather.

"I went to propose to someone," Jamie muttered quickly.

The brunette froze and wondering if she had heard him right. Slowly closing the fridge, a jar in her hand, she looked at him. He looked dead serious, but then again when didn't he look serious.

She blinked once, twice, three times before giving him a strange look, "I-I'm sorry, what?"

Propose and Jamie just didn't seem to fit so well together in her mind. But a more important question swarmed her mind: Who could he have proposed to?

A mental list of all the available girls was instantly created in her head. Gwen and Maria had just gotten married during the summer. Not Ann or Lyla, they were both already engaged. Dia was gone, apparently to some Faraway Sky, wherever that was. Ellen, Gina, and Katie were in obvious relationship, even if they did try denying it.

Which left just two girls, Eve and Nina.

Eve didn't strike her as Jamie's type, not by a long shot. Which left Nina as the only possible answer. And by the look at just how upset he seemed when she found him, she didn't have to guess to hard about what the pink haired gardeners answer had to have been.

"Oh, Jamie," she automatically felt herself say. "I'm so sorry."

But even as the words left her mouth, she couldn't know how Jamie left. The closet thing she could relate to was when Ellen had told her that Blue had proposed to Ann. What a heartache that had been for her. It had felt like a piece of her heart had been ripped out and stomped on. But, however painful it may have felt, she was still happy for them.

Sighing, she took her seat again and stared down at the jar in her hands. He remained quiet and his eyes stayed glued to the table.

Jamie abruptly laughed, it was cold and lacked any sort of emotion, as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Do you know what she said," he mumbled darkly. He expected her to shake her head no or ask him what, but her response surprised him.

"It doesn't matter, Jamie. It's her loss, you'll find someone better." she answered, her tone soft, as she turned to look at him with an equally soft smile. "Besides, it's not like she's the only one out there. I know this'll sound cheesy, but it's true, there are plenty of fish in the sea. You just gotta be patient."

Jamie stared back, dumbfounded and at a loss for words, and slowly nodded. She took once more from her seat and handed him the jar securely in her grasp. It was a pink colored jam.

"For you." she said. "I remembered I had some left over from Spring. And it's your favorite."

Hesitating only momentarily, he took the gift and hid the look of shock from his face. It had been almost a year since he had ran her off his farm, annoyed by her daily presence with the same gift for him, and she still remembered.

As she retreated to the kitchen, the sound of her dog whimpering for its meal softly filling the once silent room, he took the distraction as a opportunity to stuff the gift away and stand from his own seat. Only once he reached the door did she look back at him. With one last pat of the small animal by her side, she made her way towards him.

"Leaving?" She could tell he looked happier, or at least as happy as Jamie could be compared to how he had come in. He nodded and she smiled, "Okay. I guess I'll see you around."

"Yeah," she heard him mumble, obviously uncomfortable.

An amused smile pulled on her lips as she half expected him to make his usual 'humph' sound and return to his haughty attitude the second he stepped out the door. She prepped herself for the onslaught of verbal abuse, but he stopped before fully exiting her home.

"Thank you... for the gift. I... I'll see you tomorrow."

And with those last words, he was gone, leaving her slightly baffled and exited about the day to come.