one.

I rested on the boat, my legs shaking and my fingers trembling against the wooden chair. I angrily took off my red bandana and placed it in my lap, as I strung my clammy fingers through my chestnut brown hair. This boat was going to take forever. I laid back in my chair. I knew this day was going to come eventually, and I'm sure as hell glad I chose this day. I finally broke apart from my mother, finally broke apart from my father, and left to go live on my own, exactly as they wanted me to. Of course, they didn't expect it like this, but, did I care? Of course not. I could care less.

Even though this was earlier than expected, I needed this now. It was one of those things where I just couldn't let my parent's opinions get in the way of me again. I needed my freedom at this moment. I mean, my parents didn't understand what it meant to feel this way. When Mark, who is my older brother, left the family to care for our grandfather's farm, my parents were a point shy of devastated. Since Mark was a few years older than me, they hoped that he would take over the family business, me being part of it, but, not the head, of course. But the minute grandfather passed away and Mark spread the news of his departure to Sunshine Islands, my parents looked immediately toward me to being next in line. In the beginning, I was going to do it. Of course, the last thing I wanted to do in the world was be the head of a potato chip company, but if it made my too-rich-to-care parents happy, then, it would make me happier too, right?

I finally realized that that was not the case. The more I did what my parents wanted, the less I wanted to do it. I would look inside the potato chip factories, notice all the people that worked for my parents and their business, and I would just wonder, Is this what I wanted to make my life of? Conveyor belts and packaging stations?

The minute I discovered that that was surely not the life I wanted to experience, the life I wanted to witness, I got out as soon as possible. I told my parents that my life didn't revolve around their needs and always trying to satisfy them. That horrified, disappointed look they gave me that day, I could tell, I shattered their heart into a million pieces, pieces that were so tiny, so small, it was impossible to recollect them all and puzzle them back together. But that was okay, because in the past, their hearts weren't broken once. Everything that was given to them was on a silver platter. And now their two children were leaving on one.

About three hours and twelve minutes ago, I departed from the large city to a remote island. I told my parents that I wasn't going anywhere too remote, because I called up Mark and I was going to live with him on his farm. My parents basically cried when I left, the last part of blood to their business, getting on a boat and leaving.

But that was hours ago. We were now, at now. The present. And the present consisted of me, sitting in an observation room, on a small, but cozy, boat, only about a half hour left until I reach Sunshine Islands. I was much more than excited.

I needed to get away from my life back in the city. It wasn't anything exciting, or fun, or comforting. It was loud and noisy, and my parents were never home. We always had our maid having to care for us, and that wasn't even enough. And nothing compared to what happened when I was eleven. Nothing could compare to that.

However, I'm twenty one now.

"Attention passengers," the captain's soothing voice rung throughout the boat, "our first destination, Sunshine Islands, will be arriving in ten minutes. Thank you."

Ten minutes until I stepped off this boat and into my new home. I kept myself still on the couch, staring out the windows and looking into the distance of the deep blue. It was then when I heard noises come from the staircase to the left. I was alone all of this time, and now someone wanted to come into the observation room?

I stayed seated, my leg still shaking and my fingers still trembling, but the person to come down looked no more comfortable than I did. She had strawberry red hair that was short, and was tied up by a dirty red ribbon. She's obviously been wearing it basically all of her life. She looked tired and worn out. She collapsed on the couch directly across from the love seat I sat in.

It took several awkward moments until the moody girl finally mumbled, "Hello."

I looked up to the girl, who had dark rings around her eyes. If the rings were gone and the bags were faded, and maybe her hair was less ragged, she was very beautiful. Today was just an off day, I'm guessing. "Hi there."

"Where are you heading?" she was leaning on her hand, that rested on the arm of the couch. She began to kick her feet up on the coffee table that came in between us. This girl was clearly exhausted.

I tried to make the conversation somewhat enjoyable, so with every might I had, I stretched for a smile. "Sunshine Islands."

Her eyes lightened up as she said, "You're Mark's younger sister? Chelsea?"

Alright. So, this girl, who looked about my age, obviously lived on Sunshine Islands and knew Mark. How else would she already know my name without me telling her? It was clear enough. So I decided to keep the conversation going with that.

"Yeah, that's me."

"You look nothing like him," she spit out a laugh, "it's funny how you guys can call yourselves related."

Trying to ignore the rude remark, I said, "Are you from Sunshine Islands?"

"Of course I am," she threw in a small smirk. "My name's Natalie. You'll see me around most of the time. You'll see a goofy kid with the same colored hair as me, but with glasses? That's my older brother Elliot."

I wasn't too sure what to say, honestly. It's not like I could say her brother wasn't goofy, because I have never met him. It's not like I could ask where I could find her on the islands, because I have no idea where anything is. I just nodded in agreement, just so that she couldn't get upset with me, which was obviously the aura she was giving off at the moment. She shrugged her shoulders when she noticed after several minutes that I wasn't giving any worded responses. She sighed, and leaned back on the green cushion of the couch she was on.

"Yeah, I know," she grumbled, "You can't say anything because you have no idea who or what anything is like. It's all a big blur to you, and I got it. Believe me, the islands are full of people, different people. You'll have people like me, and then you'll have people like Julia. You'll have people like Pierre, and people like Sabrina. Of course, all of these names don't exactly ring a bell, but, they will. Don't worry."

I just nodded to her. I smiled wide, releasing a large breath, and said, "Thanks, Natalie."

"Attention passengers," the captain's voice broke the silence that Natalie filled when she didn't answer me, "we have just docked in Sunshine Islands. It is now time to disembark."

I looked at Natalie, who struggled to stand, and said, "Well, that's us. Come on, we should probably take you to your brother's ranch, right?"

I smiled, and stood up to join her. We both made our way towards the front of the boat. She was only several steps in front of me, as I watched her golden brown apron sway in front of her. As we were making our way down the narrow corridor, I saw a beam of light hit us at the end. Assuming it was our way out, Natalie and I began to walk just a tad faster. When we finally made our way out of the corridor, Natalie turned to me.

"You go first," she said, extending an arm out to me. "I bet you want to see it before I do."

I just nodded at her, because I really did want to see it. So I slowly made my way past her, and traveled down the ramp. I smelt salt and seafood pass around my nose, as I was finally embraced with wind and sunlight. The minute my eyes were revealed to this beauty, to this wondrous place, I immediately fell in love. I looked around to notice the beaches that extended far, the small buildings that seemed to help call this island a civilization. I noticed people of all the sorts walking around the island, all waving hello to each other. Because everyone here already knew each other.

I heard Natalie hop off the ramp and come stand by my side. She inhaled the air of the islands and said, "Yup, this little place is what we like to call home."

I looked around once more, before I heard her say, "Let's reunite you and your brother. He's been dying to see you."

To that, we made our way up the dock and up the island. I looked as people threw me looks but didn't bother to come up to me and ask me who I was. I sort of liked that. It gave me more space and it didn't make me have to stop in my tracks just to say hello. So Natalie and I just made a straight forward path from the dock, up to another bridge. This bridge seemed to connect the large island with a smaller one. But when I looked at what the island consisted of, I knew that this was where I was going to live. I looked at the snug little house and the large fields. I saw the horse and the sheep and the chickens and the cows all roaming in a little fenced area in the back. I saw tomatoes growing, as the sun helped care for their growth. I was home.

"This is your brother's ranch," Natalie smiled. "He's inside cooking I think."

"Alright, thanks," I started up to the entrance.

However, she quickly called, "When you're done, meet me on the other side of this bridge with your brother. We'll happily give you a tour of the islands." She gave me a small wave as she started for the bridge without a goodbye.

That caused me to turn around and head for the small little house that stood there, happy of its existence. I slowly made its way to the door. My brother, who was brave enough to escape my parent's clutches first, was behind this door. He made a life of this place, and if he can, sure as hell I can. I felt my legs grow heavier, as if gravity were pulling me to the center of the earth, to stop me in my place, to make sure I could never see my brother again. But no amount of force could stop me, so I continued to the door which still seemed so far away.

I slowly extended my arm for the wooden door. I was scared to see what would happen. What if Mark became a completely new person? What if this whole new life in a whole new surrounding caused him to change? For the worst?

None of that mattered now. I was here, and I was going to make of it. I felt my knuckles touch the wood, three times, each time a sound echoing from the door. I heard footsteps from the inside make their way toward me, growing louder each thump it took. Within seconds from my knocks, the door swung open, and the spunky blonde kid on the other side looked at me with open arms. His eyes sparkled and his smile grew as I stood before him, outside his doorstep.

"Chelsea!" he screamed, embracing me. "I can't believe it, you're finally here!"

"Hi Mark." It was difficult to breathe; he was giving me a spine-breaking hug. "How've you been?"

He released me and looked down at my empty hands-except the one hand that held my red bandana. "Where's all your stuff?"

I raised an eyebrow at him. My stuff? I looked around, as if it were to be following me from the boat. But it was gone. I was supposed to grab it before I left from the workers, which, of course, I never did. I left all of my belongings on the boat, and it was getting ready to go to the next location. Fabulous.

"Crap," I muttered, "Um, I think..."

"Chels," Mark let out a sigh, followed by a small smile. "Did you leave it on the boat?"

"Mark?" a voice called from behind.

Mark looked over my shoulder as I spun around to see the man walking up to us. He was dressed in full cowboy attire, topped with the Stetson hat and all. He had sparkling silver hair, but his hair was so long and his hat was so low that the color of his eyes were nameless at the moment. He walked up to Mark and I in his cowboy boots, carrying my two red suitcases in his hands. His gloved fingers wrapped around the handle loosely as he approached us.

"I was told to bring this to you." He spoke in a low, gruff voice. I could tell by his aura that he didn't want to be here. However, his hair was beautiful.

"Chelsea, is that your stuff?" Mark wondered to me.

I quickly looked at the two suitcases and nodded. Honestly, this man's presence kept me speechless. The man came closer with the suitcases, and I tried my best to see under his hat, see under hair to see what color his eyes could possible be. But I couldn't tell, the shade of his hat only left it more of a mystery.

"Here." He placed them in front of me. "You should remember to actually take your stuff off the boat." He then looked up at Mark, his expression unchanged. "Who is she, anyways?"

Excuse me? I stared up at the attractive man before me.

"This is Chelsea," Mark introduced, almost looking nervous having this man stand before him. As if this man were a threat to him.

"Chelsea," he stared at me. The man made my name sound bitter, tasteless, useless. I didn't like it. He looked at me once more, grimacing. My eyes narrowed on him as he just shrugged his shoulders and began to walk away.

I watched as he made his way to the bridge, taking his sweet time. He didn't even bother to turn around, to look back, or to acknowledge himself in any way. I folded my arms in frustration.

"What a jerk." I muttered rudely, picking up my bags.

"Don't let him get to you," Mark tried to comfort me.

But I didn't listen. I charged past him and threw my bags on the floor. I stood in the middle of the house, as Mark walked in and closed the door behind us. He had sparkling green eyes and I was jealous, even though he told me I had the prettiest blue eyes in the world.

"Chelsea," he sighed, "he's a jerk, and we all know it."

"Who does he think he is?" I tried my best not to scream. "He looked at me as if I were...nothing."

"He does that to everyone," Mark sighed. "His name is Vaughn, and he's the animal dealer. I got all of my animals from him."

"Does this jerk actually live on a place called Sunshine Islands?" I spoke through clenched teeth at this point.

"Not exactly. He's only here on Mondays and Tuesdays, if that means anything."

I snarled. "He still shows up. Which means two out of the seven days I'm here, my days are ruined."

"Oh come on Chels, he's not that bad."

I rolled sapphire eyes to meet his emerald ones. "He's a jerk."

Mark just grabbed my shoulders and said, "Forget about him. Don't you want to meet everyone else?"

I looked up at him and wondered, "Are any of them nearly as bad as he is?"

He just laughed and shook his head. "Not a chance."

I bit my cheek. "Good." He and I started for the door, as we went to go introduce ourselves to everyone in the outside world.

We walked over the bridge, to an island that was called Verdure Island. I was able to reunite with Natalie, who introduced me to her brother, Elliot. He had adorable geeky glasses but a comforting smile. It helped me feel a lot better about the residents that lived here. I also got to meet their mother, Felicia, who had the same colored hair as them. And then Felicia's father, Taro. His head was a little bit too big for his body, and he was a little scary, but at the same time, he was extremely sweet and I knew he meant no harm.

"Just a heads up," Natalie smiled, "he's like some weather-predicting wizard. He'll always get the weather right, believe me."

It sounded weird, but on this island, I believed everything I heard.

We then went into a store known as Chen's shop, where we met the owner of the store, Chen, along with his young son-who seemed about twelve-Charlie. They were both kindhearted and extremely welcoming.

We met a kind chef as we walked out of Chen's shop. He had beach blonde hair and a bright purple top hat, and he went by the name of Pierre. He surprisingly was around my age as well and was always excited. He was another reason why I liked it here on the islands.

We then went into the shop next door, known as Mirabelle's shop. When I walked in, Mark gave me an awkward nudge before I fully opened the door. Not really understanding exactly what that meant, I completely walked inside. That was when I understood why he nudged me.

I noticed Vaughn, the grumpy cowboy from not too much earlier. It looked like he was talking to the older woman, while the younger girl who looked about my age, stood next to Vaughn. Great, I had to deal with him again.

They all turned my our way when we walked in. Both of the women had beautiful blue eyes and rich golden hair. The younger girl was a little bit too revealing, with a short white top revealing her cleavage, but she also had the cowboy boot attire. Oh Lord, these people must all be related. That's why the Jerk Cowboy kid was in here too.

"Oh hello Mark," the older woman said sweetly. It was a humble sweet and I liked it. "Is this your sister we've been hearing about?"

"Yes," I could tell he seemed a little disturbed with Vaughn in his presence. "Mirabelle, Julia, this is Chelsea."

"Hello!" the younger girl shook my hand viciously. "I'm Julia, Mirabelle is my mother."

"Vaughn," Mirabelle nudged the cowboy. He had his hat low and his arms crossed. "Say hello to Chelsea."

"We've met," was all he grumbled out of his mouth.

And that's enough socialization for a lifetime between us two, I thought grimly to myself.

"Oh Vaughn," Mirabelle rolled her eyes, and whispered, "can't you talk to anyone?"

"Leave me alone Aunt Mirabelle," he growled, "I don't need your motherly talks at this moment, okay? I'm old enough to deal with my own problems."

With that, he stormed out of the room, only to hear another door slam within an instant.

"I'm sorry for him," Julia patted my arm. "He's a very...to himself kind of guy. He barely gets along with my mum and I and well, we're blood. You'll excuse him, right?"

If I had the right mind I'd push him off a cliff.

"Yeah," I bit my cheek.

"Thanks. We're going to be great friends, you'll see."

"We should get to meeting everyone else," Mark grabbed my wrist, "we're sorry."

"Oh no, go right ahead," Mirabelle flicked us away. "I hope you enjoy it here on Sunshine Islands sweetie, it's a great place to be."

We then went to the next island over another bridge, known as Sprout Island. Mark led me towards a large mansion. I awed over it for quite some time, some drool possibly slipping from the corner of my mouth. Mark wrapped his hand around my wrist and tugged me inside before I could ooze over it anymore.

I was then introduced to a creepy looking man, a man with a frightening smile and curved lips that seemed to make you shiver in your spot. However, once he began talking, he sent a security through me that made me feel comfortable once again.

"My name is Regis," he said. "This is my mansion. I live in here with my only daughter Sabrina. Let me bring her in."

"Coming, Daddy." a voice called from down the hall.

Mark and I both turned to see the fearful girl step in the room. She had a cute pink dress and round, silver-rimmed glasses. She had long black hair and a bow tied in the back to keep it neat. She kept clacking her toes together and looked nervously to the floor, fiddling her fingers.

"My name is Sabrina," she almost mumbled.

"Hi Sabrina," I tried to be a little bit more outward to make her feel comfortable. "My name is Chelsea."

"N-nice to meet you."

An awkward silence fell over us. Mark and I stared at Regis and his shy daughter. That was when Mark finally concluded that it was time for us to depart, for I had to meet everyone else on the island.

I was then brought to the beach where I met a girl in a unique green dress and flowing blonde hair. She stood next to a boy with darkened skin, with curly brown hair hidden beneath a purple bandana. He had a bird on his shoulder, and a fishing rod tightly gripped in his palm.

"Chelsea, this is Denny and Lanna. Guys, this is my younger sister Chelsea."

"Oh so nice to finally meet you!" Lanna ferociously shook my hand. "I'm an aspiring singer! We'll be great friends, you'll see, you'll see!"

"I'm Denny," he said more smoothly, "I um...like to fish. A lot." He shrugged, as the bird on his shoulder almost seemed to give a smile. "What? I do."

Mark smiled and we said good bye, as Lanna and Denny waved back. Popper squealed to us, "Bye! Bye!" as we made our way to the blacksmith.

I was then introduced to Gannon. He was a large man, someone who could definitely die from hugging, but he had a friendly attitude. He was the blacksmith. He didn't smile much but the way he talked to me let me know that he was a good guy, and I always believed my instinct. I was then able to meet his daughter, Eliza. She was a small girl, about the same age as Charlie. She had perfectly curled blonde hair with a perfectly tied bow resting on her head. She wore a beautiful dress. I could tell by her looks and attitude that she was preparing to be some sort of pageant princess.

We then left, and I finally noticed a large pirate ship docked to the island. I poked at Mark and he said, "That's Will's ship."

I walked to it cautiously, only to see a blonde-haired blue-eyed beauty step out. He flipped his hair out of his eyes and gave me a curt not.

"Why hello there, Mark," he smiled to him. "Who may this be?"

"Will, this is my sister, Chelsea. Chelsea, Mark."

"How do you do, miss?" he kissed my hand oh-so-romantically.

"I do...well," I didn't know what to say. He was like prince charming right before me.

"Well, I would love to stay and chat, but I have very important duties back aboard my ship. I bid a farewell? For now?"

I just nodded and he gave a smile back. He let go of my hand and made his way back up to the ship. I poked at Mark again.

"I know," he sighed, "he's gorgeous."

It took me several minutes before I could stop nodding and actually say, "Um, yeah."

Mark and I then made our way back up to Ranch Island. I was exhausted from the long trip. I looked up at Mark and said, "Is there anyone else I need to meet?"

"Maybe a few of the outsiders, but that's everyone local."

"Outsiders?"

"The other islanders," he smiled down at me. "If you never go to the islands there's really no point in meeting them. There's the Witch Princess, Lily, and then there's Shea and Waka."

"Waka." I repeated the name. "I have a strange feeling he's not exactly...English speaking?"

"Um..." Mark let out a laugh, "you'll see what he's like if you ever get the chance to meet him."

We passed by Mirabelle's shop and I almost grimaced at it. We continued to walk on. I looked up at Mark, who hadn't noticed what I just did.

"Mark?" I wondered.

He stared down at me. "Yeah, Chels?"

"Are the people going to like me here? Nothing bad's going to happen to me...right?"

Mark just smiled and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. He pulled me close into a hug. "Chelsea, I'll never let anyone hurt you again. I promise."

A/N: IM BACK YOU GUYS.3

ive missed all of my readers so much...i hope that the long wait since The Fisherman, the Nerd, and the Cowboy has kept you from loving me? I'm back with a brand new Chelsea x Vaughn fic, and I hope you like the beginning so far.

my apologies for it being so long...i wanted to get this whole introduction thing out of the way so that the real story could come in asap.

so review, PM me, oh..and review? pleasum?

iloveyouall forever. 3

x silhouette dreams x