Author's note: ...*Throws chapter out and runs away* . ... In all seriousness, I'm really sorry to everyone who enjoyed reading this story. I know it has been years since this story was updated... I'm in my last semester as an undergraduate. College and life has kept me busy, but I also lost the motivation to write along the road. I never forgot about my stories, and I am happy to be posting an update. I can't promise that there will be updates any time soon. I also can't promise that I'll post chapters for my other stories in the near future (I have started the next chapter of Of Course I am a Boy, but still...no promises).

I've reread the story several times, so I hope this chapter blends well with the rest of the story. I also noticed several errors in previous chapters in terms of typos and commas. Those will not be fixed at this time, but I hope to clean up the story once I have access to the original files.

Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed and/or favorited this story. You all are the reason I wanted to come back. If any of you are still out there, thank you for your support. This chapter is for you! For any new readers, thank you for reading!

After getting an earful from Nina about embarrassing her in front of Denny, I spent some time studying my newly planted corn and tomato seeds. I was looking forward to their growth, especially since I wanted to know how the plants keep producing new harvests in this world. I wonder if it'll be like my garden back home…

I sighed and looked up to see the chickens scurrying about in front of the coop. I headed over to the chickens. I tried picking Pepper up, but she pecked my hand away. Angel squawked at me. I sighed again. Will these two ever like me? At this rate, I'll be in last place at the chicken festival. Wait… Chicken Festival! Oh no! That's coming soon. I'm definitely going to lose. Everyone's going to so disappointed in me if I lose that badly…not too mention they might question my competence at raising animals… Okay, maybe only Vaughn would do that, but he can be pretty mean…Hold on… Vaughn could also be helpful. I do want to get a start on that friend plan, but at the same time I don't want him to think I'm suddenly coming to him because he owes me for the Denny thing. I also don't want him to think that I'm not suited to taking care of animals. Ughhhhhhhhhhh… I don't know what to do.

I groaned and stared at the chickens again. They spotted me and glared with their beady eyes. I definitely needed help. Maybe I could go tomorrow? Oh wait, Vaughn won't be in town tomorrow.

I stood up somewhat reluctantly. I didn't even know what to say to him. How could I ask in a way that would get him to help me? Maybe I could just ask for some tips? He doesn't have to know the whole story. I attempted to mentally prepare myself as I walked off my farm in search of the cowboy.

I knew Vaughn had spent time with Denny, but I figured they might have headed their separate ways, so naturally I went to Mirabelle's Animal Shop first. I could ask Mirabelle for some advice. Although, she didn't really tell me anything useful last time I asked… Plus, she's the one judging the festival. I don't want her to get any wrong ideas that could hurt our scores. I decided to stick to asking Vaughn.

"Why hello, Calypso!" Mirabelle greeted.

"Hi, how are you?" I asked.

"I'm doing well. What can I help you with?"

"I'm looking for Vaughn. Is he around?"

"Oh?" she replied. Her face expressed slight amusement for a moment, but a small frown quickly took over. "Actually, I haven't seen him much this afternoon. He finished his work quite earlier today. I'm sorry I couldn't be of any help to you."

"No need to apologize."

"Say, since you're looking for him, would you mind giving him this for me?" she requested handing me a small box. There's a good chance I'll forget to give it to him tonight."

"I don't mind at all."

"Thank you, dear. Have a wonderful rest of your day."

"You too," I said as I headed out. Once I was outside, I stared at the box, curious to know what was inside. I could hear the contents as I jiggled it by my ear. I couldn't tell what was inside, but I knew it wasn't mine to open. I held it in my hand as I kept searching for Vaughn.

I decided to peep in the café window to see if he had gone back with Denny, but he wasn't there. He does like Meadow Island, but it would be better just to check around town first… I could go ask Denny.

I felt a little uncomfortable at the thought of asking Denny. While he would probably be helpful and I wanted him to see me with Vaughn as part of my plan, I didn't exactly want to rub the idea of Vaughn and me getting closer in his face. I also didn't want to spark any rumors about Vaughn and me. If Nina were to catch wind of a rumor like that… no, no, no, no. I shuddered. I clicked my tongue a few times, before deciding to check the Diner.

A flash of silver and black caught my eye as I spotted Vaughn entering the Diner. Bingo!

"Vaughn!" I called as the door was closing. The door was pushed back, and the cowboy stood in the doorway.

"Cally?"

"Hey, I was looking for you. Um…" I couldn't help but be a tad flustered. It was really awkward asking for farm help, especially from him.

"Hm?"

"Well…Oh, right! Mirabelle asked me to give this to you," I said, handing him the box.

"I could have gotten it from her lat- er, I mean thanks," he muttered. "Is that all?"

"No," I said a little too quickly. His violet eyes stared at me expectedly. "I actually-"

"Hey! You two just going to stand there or are you going to come in and eat?" Nick shouted.

"We'll be back later to order something," Vaughn promised. He grabbed my wrist and dragged me away from the door to the side of the building. He let go of my wrist and once again I found him staring at me. "So?"

"Do you have any advice on getting chickens to warm up to you?" I asked, slightly embarrassed.

"Depends. What seems to be the problem?"

I bit my lip and looked down. I didn't really want to explain the whole situation.

"You going to explain sometime today?"

I looked up and swallowed my pride. Something had to change. If Vaughn thinks poorly of me afterwards, so be it.

"Angel and Pepper don't like me very much, and it's been a while since we got them Mirabelle. It would be one thing if they were distant towards me and Chelsea, but they treat us so differently. I haven't done anything for them to hate me, but they won't stop pecking or glaring at me."

"How often do you care for them?"

"I've been letting Chelsea handle most of the coop work, but I still visit them daily to let them know I'm not neglecting them. I tried to hold Pepper the way you showed me. She either won't stop squirming or pecks my hand away."

Vaughn paused for a moment and stared at me. I could tell he was evaluating me.

"This doesn't have anything to do with the chicken festival, does it?"

I hesitated. It does… "Sorta… I-"

"You want me to help you win the festival?" he ask, clearly irritated.

"That's not what I meant! You didn't let me finish."

"Go on then," he replied. He didn't look very happy, but his hostility had dissipated.

"As much as I would love to win every festival, I know that won't happen. It's not about winning this festival. I'm nowhere near there yet and even if I manage to magically bond with Pepper with your help, it wouldn't be enough. It's going to take more time to for us to really connect on the level that we would need to in order to win."

As I continued, I could feel a passion growing within my words the longer I talked.

"Regardless, the festival brought to my attention that the chickens still hate me and I'm not okay with that. I don't want them to hate me forever. And honestly, I don't want to rank last in the chicken festival next week. I know it's selfish, but I don't want people to think poorly of me as rancher. And I would hate to give off the impression that I don't care about my animals. Peck attacks or no peck attacks, evil glares or no glares, Pepper is my chicken, and it's my job to make sure she's happy."

I took a deep breath after finished and stared back at Vaughn. I hadn't realized before how much Pepper actually meant to me. Everything I had said was truly how I felt.

Vaughn's eyes studied me before he said, "I'll help you."

I watched as Vaughn bent down to study Pepper. I can't believe I ended up explaining so much to him. Naturally, the chickens were acting normally since I wasn't alone.

"You can drop the act," he told the chickens. "Cally, come pet your chicken."

I reached over to pet Pepper. She pecked at me. Angel ran over and started attacking my boot.

"Ack! Cut it out!" I exclaimed. I heard a small laugh escape from Vaughn's mouth. I looked at him. Overall, his face was serious, but his eyes looked slightly amused.

"This is pretty much how it is every day. They only behave when someone else is around," I explained, trying not to get flustered. This is so embarrassing. Vaughn picked Pepper up. She had no problem with him holding her and even cuddled with him. He remained silent as he held her. Is he smiling? He might actually be enjoying this. Vaughn caught me staring.

"Here," he said abruptly, handing me Pepper. She protested and fidgeted in my arms.

"BOK!" she squawked. After another thirty seconds of struggling, I set her down. Vaughn eyed her carefully. He then looked at me.

"It doesn't make sense."

"What doesn't make sense?"

"The way she looks at you… it's resentment."

"I don't think I did anything that would make her feel that way…"

"I don't think it's your fault... I've seen you with animals before, and you cared enough about them to ask for help… Besides, it's not just any kind of resentment."

"What do you mean?"

"The look in her eyes is the same look I've seen in animals that were abandoned," he stated.

Vaughn's eyes were focused on Pepper. Abandoned? I've never abandoned the chickens. I'm not the kind of person that would abandon an animal… How could they think that? Wait… I stared at Pepper. Does she know that I don't belong here? Do the chickens know I'll have to leave to get back to my own world? Is that why they hate me?

I wasn't sure if I was right about them knowing that I would have to leave one day, but I had to let Pepper know that she would be left in good hands. Of course, I couldn't say anything with Vaughn still around.

"So, is there anything I can do?" I asked.

"Not sure. You'll have to treat them with kindness and hope they come around."

I wasn't sure what to say to him. He looked confused and even a bit frustrated. Vaughn rubbed his fingers on the back of Pepper's neck, while Angel attacked my boot.

"Hey! Please stop, Angel!"

Vaughn whistled, and Angel walked over to him. He used his free hand to rub her neck.

"That's a good girl. You're both good girls."

"You really have a magic touch with animals, don't you?"

Vaughn's cheeks tinged pink. Whoa, is this actually happening? He's almost a bit adorable…

"Years of experience," he replied flatly. His tone became rude. "Shouldn't you put them in their coop? It's going to get dark soon, and it's irresponsible to let them roam around in the dark."

My eyes narrowed. I guess I spoke too soon.

"Yeah, I'll put them back. Thank you for your help today, Vaughn. I didn't mean to impose, and I don't want you to think that I thought you owed me anything for earlier. I only asked because I know you're good with animals, and I didn't know what to do."

"You're welcome," he replied, after a brief pause. I gave him a small smile, and scooped up the chickens. They put up a fight, but I managed to get them back into the coop without any serious scratches. Once I set them down, I squatted down.

"Listen, Pepper. I don't know if you are acting this way because you know that one-day I'll have to leave. I'm not from this world, and I don't belong here. I plan to go home, but that doesn't mean I'm going to leave you on your own. Chelsea will be here to take care of you. It's going to be a while until I leave, so I'd like to be friends with you. I know it might seem silly to get close to each other, but I think it would be worth it." Pepper turned her head away from me, almost as if she was saying 'humph'. "I'm not going to give up on this. You're my chicken. I care about you, and I want you to know that. I'll see you tomorrow."

I was surprised that Vaughn was still there when I exited the coop. I gave him a puzzled look.

"Let's go eat."

"What?"

"I told Nick we'd be back. I'd like to keep my word," he replied stiffly.

"Oh, that's right. You did say that. Well, let's go. I'll buy you dinner since you helped me out."

"No need. I can take care of my meal."

"I insist," I said stubbornly. He glanced at me and decided not to argue.

"Alright."

After Vaughn told me about the chickens' resentment, I made it a point to be the one to feed Pepper and bring her outside every day. Taking care of her was the only way I might be able to get through to her. I set Pepper down and went to see Taro before watering my crops.

"Calypso, go home! There'll be a typhoon tomorrow!"

Fudge nuggets.

Thanks again for reading! Look forward to a slumber party and more chicken mayhem next time! Please let me know what you think.

Review Replies

-ScipioPB: Yes, she is! I do have a reason to go with that, but I have no idea when it will be introduced.

-CrazedAuthor17: :D I love incorporating silly antics. I think it highlights the friendships between Cally and the girls. I hope I have more time to write in the future too!

-FireStripe49: I'm glad you loved it. I really liked that part as well.

-BloodyKirai (it won't let me put the dot in your username): I haven't given up! It's just been an insanely long time... There is totally drama to come XD.

-Naruko88558855: Yeah... (I'm guessing you meant that there hasn't been any updates.)