A Farmer's Prejudice

by sunsetinvelvet

Summary:

Former Zuzu City soccer champion Valeria has been all but marooned by her previous employers. She traded in the vibrant city for a life of anonymity in the countryside of Stardew Valley. Her wish to be left alone is, however, thwarted by a certain writer who just can’t seem to ignore her.

Chapter 1: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

The wheels of the old bus fell into a slow stop, the vehicle parking right in front of a weathered sidewalk. Other than the few birds flying between trees on either side of the road, the area was lifeless.

The doors opened, and a young woman walked out. She told the bus driver a quick “thank you,” before grabbing her only suitcase off the platform. The bus peeled out of the road, and the girl viewed her surroundings. To her left, what looked like an abandoned minecart. To her right, a short trail leading into an overgrown forest. She bent down to admire a bright yellow dandelion, gingerly uprooting it from the ground and admiring its shape. If her memory served her correctly, her grandfather once said that dandelions symbolized hope and transformation. “How fitting,” she murmured.

“Hello!”

The girl jumped at the voice. She turned around to see a woman beaming at her. Her fiery red hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail and she was clad in green garden pants and a yellowish-brown vest. “I’m Robin,” the redhead said, extending a hand out to the girl. “I’m the town’s local carpenter. You must be Valeria.”

Valeria reciprocated the handshake and offered a smile. “Nice to meet you, Robin.”

“You’re tall!” Robin exclaimed. She gave Valeria a once-over. “And strong. You have an excellent build for this.” Though Valeria was uncomfortable with the amount of scrutiny about her body, she hid it well under a mask of nonchalance. Robin suddenly tilted her head, studying even harder. “I hope you brought uglier clothes.” Valeria, dressed in a nice pair of cream linen pants and a yellow blouse, apparently stuck out like a sore thumb to Robin. Before she could reply, Robin ushered her toward a dirt path that led into a forest. “Well, let’s get to it. Mayor Lewis is waiting for us at the farm. He sent me to come get you.” The two wandered into the forest, and a wave of silence enveloped them. Robin was the first to break it.

“I knew your grandfather. He was a very upstanding man,” Robin said, breaking the silence. Valeria looked over, her expression unchanging. “He loved this town,” was all she said.

“He sure did. He was always so nice, so giving. His farm was a miracle, Yoba bless him. I’m happy to see that his farm stayed in the family– well, I guess I should say your farm now.”

“I’ll do my best to carry on his tradition.”

“We’ve all been waiting for your arrival. It’s not every day that a new person joins this town, let alone to come work in it. I remember once that your grandfather said you used to visit the farm sometimes. He spoke about you quite often.”

Valeria froze. What did the townspeople already know about her? “All good things, I hope,” she said lamely.

“Of course. He said that you had the greenest thumb he’d ever seen. The summers you spent here were the ones where the crops always looked and tasted the best.”

At that, she smiled. She’d always had an affinity for plants, but she’d foregone all of that when she traded it out for a life in Zuzu City. It was nice to know that her grandfather had still clung onto those memories, as did she.

“I always liked foraging and tending to the plants. I don’t have much experience with farm animals though.”

“Marnie will help you out! She’s your neighbor, actually. But don’t worry, it’s probably going to be quite a while before you can even put a barn up on the farm.”

“Why do you say that?” Really? She’d been here for fifteen minutes and already the carpenter underestimated her ability to maintain the land.

“You’ll see,” Robin snickered.

As the ladies approached the front of the farm, they were greeted by a somewhat short, but extremely peppy man. “Hello to you both,” the man said with a cheerful timbre. He walked over to Valeria and gave her an encouraging smile, setting a firm hand on her shoulder. “I hope you made it here alright. I’m Mayor Lewis; I’m the one you spoke to over the phone when we set up this little arrangement. It is my honor to officially welcome you to Stardew Valley!”

 

His gaze diverted out to the front of the farm, and he suddenly became very uneasy. He pulled back, scratching the back of his neck. “I, uh, I’m sure this place looks a lot different from what you remember-”

“‘Different?’ There’s not a single piece of land open for tilling,” Robin interjected with a laugh. Ah, so that’s what she meant when she said that having barn animals would be a far-off dream.

Valeria took a minute to take in the land herself– and, to Robin’s credit, it was quite different. The fields, once lush with willowy green grass and edible berry bushes were now patchy and covered in debris. Stone and rock littered the terrain, insinuating that quite a few storms had blown through. The saving grace, however, was that there were still quite a few trees as far as her eyes could see. She always loved how this farm felt like a private forest.

Lewis glowered at her. “The house– and the land– have good bones. It will take some time and effort, but the land will look perfect in no time.” Lewis turned to Valeria. “She’s just trying to make you a repeat customer. Robin happens to sell quite a few different house upgrades and farm buildings.” At this, Robin rendered silent, a blush of embarrassment painting her cheeks.

“In any case, we’ll leave you be so you can settle in. Tomorrow morning you should stop by the town square and introduce yourself to the town. Everyone’s been expecting your arrival.”

Lewis’ words made Valeria’s stomach curl. She really wasn’t expecting to be the center of attention so soon. The whole point of her coming out here was so that she could seclude herself from any kind of socializing. She crossed her arms protectively. “Well, I mustn't keep them waiting for long.”

The ends of Lewis’ mustache curled up into a bright smile. “I agree wholeheartedly! I wish you the best of luck settling in here.” Robin and Lewis make their way to the farm’s exit. Valeria picked up her suitcase and stepped up to the porch when she’d heard footsteps approaching.

“Oh! I almost forgot,” said Lewis. He rummaged in his trousers pocket and pulled out a small paper brown package. “These are some parsnip seeds. To get you started. I figured it would be an appropriate birthday gift too.” To this, she raised her eyebrow. “Your birthday was on the paperwork you sent over for the deed.”

She took the package from him slowly, as if she was waiting for it to detonate in front of her. “Thank you,” she said. He gave another encouraging pat to her shoulder.

“Of course. It’s nice to see you again, all grown up. I have faith in you.” His stare felt like an invasion of her privacy. She watched as Lewis caught up with Robin, and their figures disappeared into the forest.

—-------------

The inside of the farmhouse was nothing to write home about. It was quite small and furnished only with a bed, table, dresser, and fireplace. It didn’t leave much to the imagination. The interior looked almost the same from what she remembered, but now the house was so… bare in comparison. There were no rugs, no carpets, not even a picture frame was left out in the open. She began to wonder just how lucrative the estate sale was for this town. Despite its emptiness, the house still had this homey, quaint quality that reminded her of her childhood summers and holidays where she would spend her days with her hands in the dirt.

Valeria set her suitcase by the bed and walked over to a small dresser. She opened each of the drawers to see what was left behind after her grandfather’s passing. She knew that an estate sale had happened at some point, but she didn’t know anything else beyond that. She wasn’t there, her mother sure as hell wasn’t there, and her dad couldn’t even get bereavement leave. The first drawer she opened contained a box of matches, and a few pictures without frames (the frames were also probably sold in the estate sale), some of which included her. She saw a box of stationary and a wax seal stamp that read “MorningStar Farm,” which was framed by the outline of a starfruit. She realized that this was the same stationary that her grandfather used to write her that letter from all those years ago. And now here she was, nearly a decade later, standing in the same room in which her grandfather took his last breath.

She shut the drawer immediately.

The sun had fully set, and the moon was making her appearance through the small window by the fireplace. She walked over to the window and opened the window, and almost instantly a cool wind wafted into her house. She closed her eyes. Her grandfather always had an affinity for leaving the windows and doors open almost year-round; he said that it was a way to keep nature’s spirit flowing through the farm. She wasn’t the most religious person in the world, but she felt like somehow, this was a sign from him.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t visit sooner,” she said aloud. She paused, then cursed herself. She felt like an idiot. But isn’t this what people do when they’re trying to talk to someone who’s already dead? She felt the persistent need to repent, and maybe this was a way of doing so. It’d been years since she had visited Stardew Valley, and she never got over that. This place used to be her life, her childhood. But soon it only became a yearly occurrence for her, and even those visits had gradually turned into short visits that happened every two to three yeras. And once she’d graduated university and became captain of the Zuzu City Vipers, she didn’t come to visit at all. She’d just been so busy.

She started with sending her grandfather letters. He was an old school kind of man, and she knew that he appreciated a nice hand-crafted item. However, the time still slipped by, and the letters they would write to each other were demoted to video calls (courtesy of the old Pelican Town Library’s shoddy wifi), and when those became too hard to plan, he would try to call her, but these often ended in him leaving her a voicemail. When she’d received the news of his death, she didn’t think she would ever be able to shake the feeling of guilt. All it did was consume her.

This guilt set up camp inside her, and misery joined its company. She knew the deal that being an athlete wasn’t a stable career, nor was it long-lasting, but it had been her pride for years and for a while, it was all she knew. It was just her, her teammates, and a wide open field in which thousands of people came to watch them play their rivals. Women’s soccer was one of the most popular sports in Zuzu City, second only to gridball.

She swore her heart shattered when the all-mighty Joja Corporation bought the Vipers. It only got worse for her when she refused to follow some of their “company orders,” and the smear campaign launched by the next day. Like they had planned it. The entire altercation damaged her career so badly that she was honestly more impressed with them than pissed off. Shit, it was good enough to get her to leave Zuzu City, most likely for good. A girl can only take so much harassment and stalking from the general public. This part of her life was something that she’d been working so hard to remedy and conceal; she was just grateful that her PR team at the time was able to scrub the internet of most of the lies that were said about her. It'd taken the better part of a year for Valeria to warm up to the idea of moving back to Stardew Valley, but all she wanted was to be left alone, and what better way to do that than to pack up your life and move all the way out to some obscure town that no one’s ever heard about before?

Valeria put her hands on both sides of the window and stuck her head out, breathing in deeply. It was a technique that her therapist back in the city had taught her. She could feel herself becoming overwhelmed with her emotions, and her therapist had recommended that she breathe in deeply fresh air and also to actually feel the earth beneath her– the therapist called it a "grounding". She thought about going outside to complete the other half of the technique, but all she was thinking about was getting a good night’s sleep.

After all, by tomorrow the ground will become her best friend again, and it’s not like her anxiety will be going away anytime soon. Moving here was her choice, and she had the rest of her life to deal with the consequences.

Notes:

Hey y'all....
This is the first fanfiction that I've ever actually published <3 who else is scared... but if you are reading this thank you sm!!
As the tags say this work is intended to be a slow burn and I really wanted to do some worldbuilding that's specifically perceived by the farmer :p
Lowkey idk what else to say... I'm #workingonmyself because i over explain things so imma just let y'all read and not interfere!

Chapter 2: So Far Away

Summary:

first day on the job!

A rooster’s morning call pierced through the valley, waking Valeria up with a startle. She opened one of her eyes to take a peep at the analog clock that was hung on the wall. 6:00 A.M. Well, that surely was one way to start the day.

She sat up slowly, her long spine letting out a few cracks as she did so. That damned bed, she thought to herself. The bed had been her grandfather’s, and the age showed its signs. She didn’t go to bed until 1:30 AM, and she only stopped then because she felt like she was going to pass out otherwise. Lewis was right- the farm will take a lot of work. Valeria had become so engrossed in what she was doing. It had started with clearing out some of the rock that was so intricately woven into the soil at the front of her house. She’d almost tripped on the same rock twice. She’d successfully excavated the cobble, but then she noticed another problem. When she started tilling into the ground, she noticed that the roots of an annoyingly-large tree had cemented themselves into the soil. That took a couple hours to chop through.

All in all, the work wore her down to the bone. Sure, she was used to working from dawn to dusk in physical activity, but farming was not the same as kicking a ball around. It was around the eighth seed that she planted where she began to yearn for the miles-long running sessions her former coach used to make her do.

She walked over to her suitcase, which was still packed with all of her belongings. She squatted to the floor and unzipped it digging around until she found what she needed: a pair of overalls. They were something that her grandfather had gifted to her. She remembered how she spent that whole day painting flowers on them, and she always wore them when she went on her rare visits to the farm. She felt that it was proper to carry on the tradition. She combed her hair out and tied a bright yellow bandana together to create a makeshift headband. “Lewis said something about a store in the town center,” she muttered to herself.

—-------

She trudged through the greenery of Cindersap forest looking for any sign of life. Her hopes started to lift when she’d found the source of her alarm clock: right across the clearing was another farmhouse— this one, however, was filled to the brim with barn animals. She crept closer to the ranch and spotted some chickens roaming around. A rooster must have sensed her presence, for it let out a piercing squawk similar to the one she’d heard this morning. She jumped and let out a cry of surprise. “Jeez,” she murmured as backed up from the fence.

“Do I hear someone?” A woman’s voice called out. From behind the fence materialized a short woman with tousled auburn hair. She carried a milk pail in one hand and a basket of eggs in the other. The woman gasped when she saw Valeria and nearly dropped the egg basket. “Oh my goodness, you must be the new farmer!” The woman’s eyes skirted around as she looked for a decent spot to set her stuff down. In the end, she decided that the ground would be just fine. “Well come here, let me get a good look at you!”

Valeria hesitated for a moment, but in the end she obeyed the order and walked closer. The woman placed her hands on Valeria’s shoulders, studying her carefully. “You’ve got a strong build about you, you’ll do just fine.”

“Thank you?” It came out more like a question.

“I’m Marnie. I’m a farmer, too, but my specialty is ranching. Once you get your feet on the ground here, I’ll set you up with some animals.”

“I’m Valeria.”

 

Marnie looked at her curiously. “You’re not much of a talker, are you?” Before Valeria could respond, Marnie continued, “Mayor Lewis told me you’d be arriving this week. You’ve got your work cut out for you girl,” Marnie said as she picked up her bucket and basket. “You started working the land yet?”

“A little. I arrived yesterday, so I wasn’t able to get a lot done. But the mayor did gift me a few seeds to get me started.”

“That was nice of him. He really is a nice guy.” Marnie blushed as she said this, causing Valeria to raise an eyebrow. “He seems like it,” was all she said.

Marnie started toward the front door of the ranch, and Valeria followed. “Welcome to Cindersap Forest,” Marnie started. “Not many people live out this way, just me and another lady out yonder. So if you ever want some peace and quiet, here’s the place to be.” Marnie opened the front door and stuck her head inside.

“Shane,” she yelled out as they walked inside, “come help with the eggs! And come say ‘hi’ to the new farmer!” Valeria was met with a cozy interior as they entered Marnie’s ranch. Straw and hay littered the floors and was on all the furniture. She also noticed that Marnie had converted the front room into a shop, but she wondered how successful it was considering that the only farmers of Pelican Town were standing in this very room. Marnie led her into the kitchen, where a disheveled man– who she guessed was Shane– awaited them. Valeria crossed her arms at the sight of him. Shane mirrored her movements.

“Who’s this?” he grumbled.

“Our new farmer. You would have known that if you’d listen to a word I say,” Marnie chastised teasingly. Shane took the basket from Marnie and he opened the fridge, gently placing each egg in a wooden carton. A moment of awkward silence passed, and Marnie looked between the two mute parties. “You don’t want to say hi to her?” She prompted.

Shane heaved a troubled sigh and turned back around, theatrically bowing to her from across the table. “The pleasure is all mine.” He walked over to the other side of the kitchen and began pouring some coffee into a travel mug. Valeria watched him, still wordless. He started toward the door. “I gotta get to work,” he grumbled bitterly. The two women heard the door slam behind him as he exited. Well if I have the privilege of choosing my friends, I know who’s not on the roster, she thought to herself, bemused.

“I’m sorry,” Marnie said as soon as the door closed. “He’s been having a rough week.”

“It’s only Monday.” She fought the urge to smile at the humor.

Marnie laughed nervously. “Yes, I suppose that’s right. Um, Shane’s my nephew. He’s… well he’s very rough on the edges, but he’s a good man. Things have been hard for him recently.”

“It’s fine, really. I wasn’t expecting a welcoming party or anything when I moved here.”

“I still apologize. I hope he didn’t scare you off from here,” she said sheepishly. Valeria swore Marnie was about to cry. She needed to change the subject, and fast.

“I’d love to see the rest of your farm. Maybe you could show me some of your animals? ”

Though still seemingly frazzled, Marnie’s eyes lit up at the offer. “Of course! Robin actually just upgraded one of my barns, so now it looks amazing– my bull Bruce loves company. He’s been kind of lonely with all the new space…” Marnie started as she chauffeured Valeria to the back side of her house.
//%ᵕ‿‿ᵕ%//
Nearly an hour and a half after she entered, Valeria was finally able to leave the ranch. Marnie wasn’t a huge talker about her personal life, but the woman could ramble about all things farm animals. She sure knew how to give someone a thorough farm tour– Valeria met every single one of Marnie’s animals. She wasn't complaining though. Up until that point she hadn’t thought about raising rabbits on the farm, but she had something to forward to in the future.

Pelican Town was quite small in comparison to Zuzu City, but it had this homey and familiar feeling. Valeria had taken a stroll on the weathered cobblestone paths and admired the houses she saw. Each house had its own special aesthetic, which was so unlike the suburban hellscapes she’d grown up living in. She supposed that the townsfolk weren’t morning people, for it was a little past nine o’clock and the only living creatures she’d seen were a few pigeons.

Now, she stood face to face with Pierre’s General Store. From the outside, it looked quite quaint; a striking difference from the huge JojaMart conglomerates that were on every block of the city. She took a deep breath and placed her hand on the door handle. A wave of emotion surged through her. Her fears of meeting everyone were a bit subdued since the town wasn’t active at the moment, and because of that she was able to remember her excitement about getting the farm started. She hoped that this Pierre was the slightest bit helpful to her. She pulled the door all the way out and took a deep breath.

“Welcome to Pierre’s!”

I haven’t even gotten through the door yet.When Valeria fully entered the store, she looked across the room to see a man with a rather nerdy appearance materialize out of thin air. He pushed his glasses up and beckoned her over to him. “Lewis told me you’d be stopping by sometime this week. It’s nice to meet you, Valeria. I’m Pierre, as I’m sure you’ve already guessed. I’m your one and only that carries the seeds you need,” he boasted, his chest puffing up with pride.

“And only?” a feminine voice called out. Valeria saw a woman with striking green hair. The color reminded Valeria of the green tea she used to drink at her favorite café.

“Well, they’re not the only ones you can get in the valley, but they certainly are better! Pierre’s seeds are guaranteed heirloom quality. JojaMart probably lab-made and synthetic,” Pierre mumbled.

Valeria raised an eyebrow at that. “JojaMart?”

Pierre made a sound of disgust. “Unfortunately, Joja bought some land right across the river a few months ago. They’ve been a pain in my ass ever since.”

Well fuck that, she thought drily. Of course Joja found a way to sink their talons into the valley.

The woman rolled her eyes at Pierre’s words. “You do not have to sound so bitter in front of our new guest,” she chastised. She walked over to Valeria and wrapped her in a warm hug.“I’m Caroline, his wife. I’m so happy you’re finally here.”

Valeria was stunned for a moment, not expecting such a warm greeting, but she hid it well and reciprocated the gesture.“I knew some people were expecting my arrival, but I guess I underestimated the enthusiasm,” she said, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

“The entire town’s been talking about it. Word spreads fast around here, you’ll find out that much for free,” Pierre said. Caroline left the room and he motioned for Valeria to come to the counter in her absence. He displayed a few seed packages in front of her. “These are the seeds you can grow during the spring,” he told her, angling each package so that they’re properly aligned with one another. As he spoke, Valeria felt the small leather wallet in the pocket of her overalls, frowning internally. With all the legal drama from Joja, her bank account was tied up at the moment. She was able to extract a couple hundred gold from her savings, and from the looks of it, it wouldn’t get her very far. At least not right now. She needed to do what she was best at, and that was strategizing.

At that point Caroline had re-entered the store, walking over to Pierre with a frown on her face. ”Abigail won’t come out and say hello.” She turned to Valeria. “Abigail’s our daughter. I wanted her to come and meet you. I thought it would be good for her to have a friend in the valley.”
“Maybe a practical farmer would get her to stop hanging out with those hooligans or stop practicing that occult nonsense,” Pierre suggested, his voice hushed as he said it.

In all honesty, Valeria was fine with Abigail not wanting to make an appearance (she thought that meeting four new people was more than enough for one day), but she was also a bit surprised. Everyone had been so “excited” to meet her, so what changed? Her mind began to go to its “what if?” place. What if Abigail already knew who she really was, so she didn’t need an introduction? And what if Abigail believed all those vile rumors and was ready to put Valeria on blast in front of everybody? Valeria blinked a couple times, trying to recenter herself in the moment at hand.

“Maybe I’ll see her another time. I’ll probably be in here a lot, after all.” She reached for her wallet and paid the man for his labors. She’d also bought a tiny notebook to keep track of her field notes. An impulsive splurge, but she felt like she deserved it. She made her way to the exit, pen and paper in hand, when she bumped into somebody who was walking in.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I am so clumsy,” the girl said. The bell to the shop was still jingling as she said that.

“No, it’s my fault. I probably shouldn’t write and walk at the same time,” Valeria said. The first thing that Valeria noticed about the girl was her fiery red hair— Valeria hadn’t seen a color like this before. It was plaited in a somewhat messy braid, and her outfit screamed “I live in the valley and I love it!”

The girl gasped. “Hey! You’re the new farmer!”

“I sure am.” The girls stepped outside and moved away from the entrance. “I’m Valeria”

“Oh, what a pretty name! I’m Leah. I live right by Marnie’s, actually! She told me she met you today.”

“Is it the little cottage I passed on the way here? It’s quite adorable. I loved the artwork hanging on the windows.”

Leah’s eyes suddenly became really interested in the ground. “Oh my, thank you. I’m an artist; the art in the window is some paintings that I’ve made since moving out here.”

“I’m impressed, really. I don’t even remember the last time I’ve done something artistic.”

“Maybe those?” Leah pointed to Valeria’s overalls. “I love them. The flowers add a nice touch to the farmer aesthetic.”

Valeria smiled. “I'm not sure how long the aesthetic will last. I’m already up to my knees in dirt and I have more seeds than I know what to do with,” she said, pulling out a few packages to show Leah.

Leah gasped excitedly. “Oh, parsnips! How lovely. Those would go great in a salad, you know. There’s a lot of nice vegetables that grow in the forest during the spring. I could take you to all my favorite spots!” She paused. “You know, if that was something you’d be interested in. I’m sure you’re busy with the farm,” she rushed out, her face flushing toward the end of her sentence.

Based on her intuition alone, Valeria didn’t think that Leah gave off any red flags. A foraging partner this early on would also be beneficial. “I’d like that. I’ll have to stop by the forest sometime. It was nice to meet you, Leah.”

“It was nice meeting you too!” She hesitated for a moment. Leah was quite shy, wasn’t she? “I know it might be a bit forward, but I was wondering if maybe you’d like to join me at the Stardrop Saloon this Friday for a drink?”

“Oh.” Another social invitation so soon? She felt the anxiety coming on again.

Leah’s eyes widened, and she held up a hand. “Oh, don’t worry! It won’t be only me; my friend Elliott would be joining us.”

You need at least one friend in the valley. You can’t be a recluse forever. Try. “I’ll be pretty busy with the farmwork this week, but I’ll do my best to make it.” She threw in a small smile to make her promise more convincing. It must have worked

“Great! Well, hopefully I’ll see you later this week!” The two girls waved each other goodbye, and Leah headed back into Pierre’s.

//%ᵕ‿‿ᵕ%//
Valeria didn’t make it back to her farm until sundown.

It wasn’t her fault. She’d tried multiple times to take the road back, but she kept getting stopped by seemingly every villager in town. It was like Leah’s introduction had sparked the entire town awake. And it didn’t help that nearly every conversation made her feel like she was an animal at the zoo.

“Oh! You aren’t exactly what I imagined, but that’s okay!”

“You know, if you ditched the dirt and the overalls, you’d actually be really pretty.”

“I knew your grandfather, you know! He was like a celebrity around here.”

“My godfather Shane doesn’t think your farm will make it past winter.”

By the time she was officially done planting the new seeds, the moon had risen high, and a bright crescent illuminated her otherwise shadowed farm. She plopped down on the dirt next to her crops. She eavesdropped on the night’s activities; she was able to pick out an owl’s call in a distant tree, and some frogs croaking by the small pond.

She blew a huff of air out to clear her bangs out of her eyes. Not a bad first day at all. If Shane was the worst person that she would have to deal with, then she considered it a win. Leah, on the other hand, she felt like she could trust her– and she didn’t say that lightly. Even though she practically blew Leah’s invitation off today, she felt like she should reconsider the option. Plus, this “Elliott” might also be the kind of company she should keep around. Maybe she wasn’t as socially isolated as she thought she would be. Before she went to sleep, she wrote one thing in her notebook:

Stardrop Saloon. Friday night.

Notes:

blah blah worldbuilding, blah blah character descriptions... our man will show up in the next chap i promise <3

Chapter 3: Gorgeous

Summary:

Valeria finally meets Elliott!!

Gorgeous

The Stardrop Saloon was not the hole-in-the-wall pub that Valeria thought it would be. Quite the opposite could be said about it. The interior was dimly lit with warm-toned lamps, casting a soft glow on everything inside.The tables, which probably exceeded her in age, were in great shape; only a few of them showed signs of damage. The saloon was full of people and emitted a vibrant energy. Nearly half the town was inside drinking, laughing, or dancing. It was, after all, the only social spot found in a fifty-mile radius.

True to her character, her skepticism made her hesitate on going to the saloon. She’d written it down in her notebook and everything, but when she woke up that morning she began having second thoughts. Her worries were washed away over the course of the day. That morning she’d received a letter from Joja Corporation saying that the “completely legal” drilling operation was finally finished. She took that as a sign to explore the mountains sinceshe hadn’t made her way up there yet. Turns out that Joja was drilling right next to a mine (which was way more scary on the inside). Surprised was an understatement when she saw some guy with an eyepatch wandering around its entrance.

”There’s some valuable ore down there. You ever mined before?” Eyepatch guy asked.

“I can’t say that I have,” Valeria said uneasily. Her eyes were strained in the dark. Did people actually mine down here? She couldn’t see a thing, and buying a flashlight wasn’t on her list of priorities at the moment.

“Yeah, I thought so, but I still wanted to ask. You might want to take this with you.” He handed her a sword that looked like it had rust on it… Or maybe it was dried blood. She didn’t want to know which one it was.

“Well, have fun down there! My name’s Marlon. You should stop by my guild sometime to see if it interests you.”

“What is my life right now?” She'd asked herself. Curiosity had won over caution, and against her better judgement, she'd descended the ladder down. And then she’d quickly ascended back up once something hit her and covered her in some kind of goo. She had to shower for over half an hour to get the feeling of the slime off her body.

 

So, all in all, she felt that she deserved a drink.

“Welcome back in, Miss Valeria!” Gus cheerfully greeted her from behind the bar. She waved him a salutation and walked up to the other side.

“It’s good to see you again. This place is way more lively than when I visited the other day.”

Gus chuckled, the ends of his mustache curling up as he did so. “The week nights are hardly ever busy. Just my regulars.” He jutted his head to Shane, who had settled himself by the fireplace, and then to Pam and Clint, and the former was chugging on some kind of ale. “Anything to drink tonight?”

She looked behind him to see what was on the shelves. Not the widest selection to choose from. “I’ll just uh, have a glass of the red wine. Whatever’s on the bottom shelf.” Gus looked behind himself at the wall of liquor, and then he turned back to her.

“We have only one shelf for wine.”

She pulled her wallet out and counted out the gold. While she was waiting for Gus to prepare her drink, she looked over her shoulder and saw Sam and Sebastian in what looked like some kind of arcade room. They were too engrossed in a game of pool to notice her staring. Sam was clearly losing. She’d met both of the boys earlier that week— and between the two of them, Sam was the only one remotely interested in talking to her. He looked the part too, what with his bright blond hair and friendly smile that she was sure garnered much attention from a certain romantic crowd. He’d also told her that he played the guitar, and who didn’t love a rockstar? Sebastian, on the other hand though.Well, apathetic was the best way to describe him.

“Here you go.” Gus handed her a glass of cherry-colored wine. “How was your first week on the farm?”

Valeria took a sip from the glass and hummed a sound of approval. “It was good. I’ve sold some crops already, but that’s about the only exciting thing I could tell you.”

Gus laughed again. “Well, it looks like your thumb is a little greener than you’ve let on. It’s a miracle that you were able to grow anything so quickly to begin with. That land was dead for the better part of a decade.”

“Are you buttering me up so I buy another drink from you?” She asked, a smile creeping up on her face.

“I’m just an honest guy who knows how to appeal to his customer base. And getting in your good graces might get me a discount on the vegetables,” he said with a wink. He made a shooing action and motioned to the tables. “Go mingle! You don’t want to talk to me all night, it’ll make you look weird.” Valeria mock-saluted him and grabbed her wine glass, searching for the redhead who’d extended her the invitation. She almost bumped into Robin and Demetrius when she stepped away from the counter.

“Sorry!” They both shouted over the ragtime music that was playing from the jukebox. They both laughed to each other as they danced away from Valeria. She wondered how free they felt in that moment. She shook her head and looked around the saloon to see if Leah had made it there before her. Luckily, Leah was perched away in the corner, away from most of the people there. The friend that Leah had mentioned on Monday was noticeably absent.

“Leah,” Valeria greeted as she approached the table. Leah gasped excitedly and stood to hug Valeria. “You made it!” She exclaimed.

“I sure did.” She pulled up a stool and sat across the table. She nodded to Leah’s half empty glass. “Wine too?”

“It’s my favorite,” she grinned. “You know, despite this being the cheap shit, Gus has a really good supplier.”

“He seems like the kind of person who ‘knows a guy,’” Valeria said. “Especially with the war going on, it’s probably that much harder to run a supply chain in a small town. He’s gotta be good at networking.”

“I think so too. He’s so personable. He’s always so nice and supportive of everyone here. Really perceptive.” Leah looked over at him. “When I first told him that I moved here to be an artist full time, he was the only one who didn’t offer advice about doing something ‘more realistic.’”

“I’m sure focusing on your career is worth more than the shitty comments people have made”

“Oh, absolutely. I don’t regret it at all. I don’t think I could ever go back to working in the city. Maybe you’ll feel the same way when you’ve adjusted to being out here.”

“Yeah, probably. I don’t think I’m ever living in the city again-” Valeria stopped herself. Was she oversharing?

“Good! I just became friends with you, and I need someone out here besides Elliott” Leah said, laying her hand over Valeria’s arm. Valeria let off a small smile. Maybe there was nothing to worry about after all. “Speaking of, he should be here by now. He better not have forgotten again” She rolled her eyes. The amount of times he’s stood me up here is ridiculous!”

“He sounds awful,” Valeria joked with a grin.

“Oh, the worst! He’s such a perfectionist it kills me.”

“Do my ears deceive me, or are you trying to disgrace my good name in front of your new friend?”

Valeria hid the look of pleasant surprise that was on her face. Handsome couldn’t even begin to describe the man that her eyes laid themselves upon. It wasn’t strong enough of a word. His laid-back smile was an inviting one, and the small lines by his lips indicated that it was a look he wore often. His skin, though quite light, had a golden, tan undertone to it that perfectly complemented his light auburn hair. And his jawline, just… wow. This man was simply gorgeous. His posture was so perfectly straight that she began to think he was something written straight out of a book.

“If I remember correctly, you told me that all attention can be good attention!” Leah grinned. “I’m glad you finally showed up; I’d talked you up so much and I didn’t want Valeria to think that you’re fake .”

The man turned his attention to the farmer, his eyes a shade of green that reminded her of a bright jade. The smile he wore never left his face. “Well, it appears I’m in the presence of the farmer that we’ve all been expecting.” He bent his torso down toward the table, giving her a small bow. This bow, however, was actually genuine, unlike the one Shane had given her a few days ago. She was intrigued by him, to say the least.

“I must say, your arrival has sparked many a conversation in town. I’m Elliott, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He grabbed a stool and placed it on the other side of the table so that he was sitting between both of the girls.

“It’s nice to meet you too. I tried to find you earlier in the week, but I didn’t see you around.” Valeria said, her thumb grazing her wineglass absentmindedly.

He laughed, a deep baritone sound ringing out. “I’m afraid that Leah was correct in her statement. I got carried away with my work… again. But once the creativity hits you, you must take advantage, otherwise it might pass over you.” He took a swig out of his ale glass.

Valeria looked between the two redheads. “Both of you are artists?” She didn’t even know why she asked that question, of course he was. He walked into a countryside saloon wearing a red suit and a green tie. No one does that unless they’re trying to make some kind of statement about themselves.

“ I cannot quite claim that profession,” Elliott replied smoothly. “I’m an author.”

She raised an eyebrow at that, her posture tensing up slightly. “A writer? What sort of stories are you writing all the way out here?”

“I’m most inclined to write poetry, but this year I’ve decided that I want to write something with more stubstance… I’m working on a novel at the moment.”

Okay, so he just writes poetry. I can work with that. “That’s great,” she replied. “Though I’m not sure how much inspiration you’ll find here in the valley. Sometimes it feels like time moves slower here.”

“I moved to the valley almost a year ago, and it’s offered me a world of inspiration that the city was never able to.” His gaze was so intense that Valeria resisted the urge to shift uncomfortably in her seat. She didn’t look away from him though. “You speak of the time as if you’ve been here before.”

“I visited when I was younger. It’s been such a long time that I might as well be as new as you are.”

“Well I suppose I should welcome you back to the valley then.” Elliott tipped his ale glass toward her. “It’ll be great seeing a fresh face around town. I’ll have to stop by Leah’s more often. The beach is quite lonely with only Willy and myself taking up residence.”

“Maybe now you’ll finally come foraging with me,” Leah said, nudging him lightly on the arm. He chuckled. His laugh was so warm. Valeria laid her head on her hand, observing the two of them with amusement.

“I’m not sure that our farmer will appreciate my efforts. I spent most of my time on the beach, but I won’t be much help on solid land.” Valeria could have flirted with him, and a deeper part of her wanted to– it would have been so easy for her to do that. But she needed to keep it cool. She reminded herself that she didn’t move here for that.

For the better part of two hours, the trio sat in that saloon, easing into each other’s company as the night grew older. Leah, shy as she was when Valeria first met her, was the most open out of the three of them– whether it was because Leah was comfortable or because she was a little tipsy, she had no idea. But her intuition had been correct: Leah posed no threat to her.

It was Elliott who she couldn’t figure out. He was so unlike the other men she’d met in Pelican Town. His entire demeanor was so mellow. Like he was always present in the moment, always listening. She was more annoyed at the fact that he wasn’t a big talker about his personal life. The only information he’d revealed about himself was that The Zuzu Gazette. has published a few of his poems. He wasn’t as shy about his work as Leah was. It was a huge source of his pride, but that’s all she was able to get from him. She wanted to know more about Elliott, but to do that would mean to talk about herself, so she stayed quiet and let the other two steer the conversations. This strategy had been working for her until the end of the night.

Leah had just finished giving Valeria a summary of the (very messy) breakup that happened between her and Kel. “And after that, that’s basically what gave me the green light to move out here. Every artist needs a tragic backstory.” “Wait, wait, I just realized something.” Leah pointed at Valeria. “You never told us why you moved out here.”

The question threw her off guard. She felt herself tensing up again.

“I… wanted to follow in my grandfather’s footsteps, as stupid as that sounds.” She wasn’t good at lying, but she was great at omitting the truth.

Leah’s curiosity seemed to be satiated. “It’s not stupid at all! I think it’s very admirable. I would have done the same thing if I were you.”

Valeria shrugged off the praise. “I guess. I don’t know. We’ll see how this first growing season goes.”

“To live on a farm,” Elliott mused. “It sounds quite inspiring to me.”

“Inspiring?” Valeria questioned.

“I would think so. There would be an endless flow of creativity.”

“I mean, maybe. But it’s not like managing a farm is a nine-to-five. You’re constantly working.” These kinds of comments have always irritated Valeria. Have people never thought about what it takes to actually cultivate produce?

“It still is nice to think about. You have the world at your hands, and you are creating life from its most primitive form. I find it fascinating.”

“I didn’t know you were so passionate about agriculture, Elliott,” Leah teased.

“Do you think I’m wrong?” Elliot started. “Sometimes I wish I could throw away this old life and start anew, just like Valeria did. Her story would be fascinating to write about.”

That was enough to sober Valeria up. “What?”

Elliott continued on. “I mean that I would give up the material world to live a more humble life.”

“A humble life?” She mocked. “You say that like being a farmer is easy.”

Elliott paused, his eyes fixating on Valeria. “I don’t believe I said that nor did I imply it.”

“It sounds like you did.” Those words alone reminded her of how much she disliked writers. It was like the rest of the world wasn’t real to them; they viewed reality like a playground.

Elliott’s smile faded slightly. Leah stayed silent, her eyes going back and forth between them.

“Of course farming has its own merits,” he said. “I think that it is a respectable profession.”

How condescending. “Well you’re more than welcome to join me on the farm then. I could use the extra help. If writing has been this hard for you then it should be nice to know that another gig is lined up.”

His affable demeanor fell almost completely. “I’m not sure that I like your tone.”

Valeria shrugged, letting her veil of nonchalance take over. “I’m not here to be liked, I’m here to play the role of a humble farmer, remember?”

Elliott set his jaw and was ready to respond, but he was interrupted by Gus’ booming voice. “Last call!” Valeria drank down the last of her wine and tipped the glass toward Elliott in a mock toast. “This was fun. Let’s do it again sometime.” She waved goodbye to Leah, who looked like she was trying to make sense of what just happened.

Valeria returned her empty glass to the bar and started for the door, but Shane was blocking the exit. It looked like he was trying to leave as well, but he was so inebriated that he couldn’t stand straight. She tried to move past him, but he ended up tripping over himself and bumped into her. They almost fell. Shane turned around and his eyes narrowed at her. 

“What the hell’s your problem? I thought I made it clear I don’t want to talk to you,” he sneered.

She straightened her shoulders and rolled her eyes. “You’re blocking the door to leave.” Shane stumbled again, trying to orient himself. He laid his eyes on the door and looked down, moving out of the way. “Sorry,” he grumbled. He definitely wasn’t sorry. She scoffed in his direction and headed out as fast as she could.

Are all the men in the valley making it their mission to piss me off? She thought to herself. Shane was annoying, sure, but Elliott had become a whole different level of irritating. He was so egotistical about his career that he looked at anything else like second rate. She wondered how his head fit through the narrow door of the saloon. “Her story would be so fascinating to write about” like he was just waiting for the right moment to profit off her own life. She wouldn’t allow it.

It was a shame about it, though. Tonight had been her first social event in months and she actually had fun. She couldn’t believe that she’d let her initial attraction for Elliott cloud her judgement about his character. Maybe he was saying stupid shit like that all night and she’d been overlooking it. She sighed and crossed her arms, feeling embarrassed with herself. “It’s not a big deal,” she told herself. Seeing Elliott around town would be inevitable, especially if Leah still liked her after tonight. It was a shame that he was so attractive…

She approached her farm house and slowed her pace down so she could unlock the door. She had just put the key in the lock when she heard a rustling in the bush by her mailbox. She squinted in the waxing moonlight. She felt around her backpack and pulled out the sword that Marlon gave her. She knew going into the mines was a bad idea; a creature probably escaped and now it was after her. She inched toward the rustling, sword drawn, and-

Meow!

She froze. The rustling continued, and Valeria squatted down and leaned forward. Out popped a small cat, and the only way Valeria could tell was because its eyes were glowing amber in the dark.

“This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder,” she said to it. The cat meowed in response, almost like it was talking to her. She sighed and stood up, motioning for the cat to follow her. “I guess it was fate. Come on, let’s get you a bath.”

Notes:

finished this chapter while watching high school musical 2 #nostalgia

Chapter 4: Flowers

Summary:

First Flower Dance!! ˚⊱🪷⊰˚

Chapter Four

Valeria stood at the edge of a forest clearing, her arms crossed, looking out to the sea.

Today was the day of the Flower Dance, which, according to her sources (Gus and Leah), was a big deal for the town. Well, for Mayor Lewis at least. It was the last festival of the season; a means to signify spring’s end and the start of summer. She was looking forward to the festival in this regard– she was growing rather bored of seeing the muted brown and green in her yard from all the kale and potatoes she’d grown; she was ready to plant something more colorful. She, however, could not care less about the dance itself. From what Leah told her, it was meant for all the young, single people to dance together and… fraternize, she supposed? Leah had begged her to join the dance, but Valeria told her she’d rather sit this year out. What if she asked someone to dance with her, and they said no? Or worse– what if they said yes?

“Good afternoon, Valeria.” She snapped out of her thoughts and turned around to find Willy walking towards her. “Did you find your way over here alright?”

“Hey Willy. Yeah I made it here okay, but the ‘bridge’ at the entrance was a little scary.”

Willy laughed and jutted his head to Mayor Lewis, who was frantically arranging some flowers in a pot by the fence. “You can thank the mayor for that. This dance has been going on for decades, but even when he became mayor he never found the funding to put an actual bridge in.”

“He sounds like a great mayor,” she said, her voice dripped in sarcasm. Valeria had been in the valley for about a month, which was enough time for her to get to know some of the townspeople. Lewis was anything but a good mayor, and that much was obvious to anyone who’d spent more than a day in Pelican town. She quickly realized that the large majority of the townspeople were living paycheck to paycheck, and the town itself was barely scraping above the poverty line.

And somehow the pressure to bring currency flowing into the town’s economy was placed on her, the new farmer who barely knew what she was doing. First it was the mines, and then it was the dilapidated community center that was a safety hazard more than a historical landmark. What the mayor didn’t know about were the Junimos, which Valeria figured she would keep as her own little secret. They kept her company during the days when she didn’t feel like greeting any humans. Plus, a huge bonus to fixing up the center was that it was the one thing that Joja wanted but couldn’t have.

And she liked being vindictive when it came to Joja.

“We’ll be stuck with him until he physically can’t be mayor anymore. So stay on his good side,” he said with a wink. “I reckon he’s probably upset with you for saying no to this little shindig today, too.”

She shrugged. “I can deal with a grumpy mayor. Besides, I didn’t think it was a big deal to miss it during my first year here. Surely I wasn’t the only one.”

On the other side of the clearing, she saw Elliott walk through the entrance. Like the other bachelors in town, he was wearing an aquamarine blue suit and an obnoxiously white undershirt. She observed him as he made his rounds to the other townsfolk. A firm handshake with Gus. A kiss on the cheek to Evelyn, and only a verbal greeting to George because George hates PDA. She didn’t understand how the whole town seemingly was under some sort of spell when it came to him. Everybody was in love with the writer, despite his idiosyncratic mannerisms and his even odder way of speaking. Even tough love Willy had a special soft spot for him. She saw this much to be true by how the former sailor greeted him.

“Hello there, my boy.” Willy clapped Elliot’s back and shook his shoulder. “You look mighty fancy for this year’s dance,” he said, which prompted Elliott to do a little twirl-and-plié in his costume.

“Why, thank you, Willy. This is the first year that I’m properly prepared for the dance. I wore my best shirt today, and that sort of thing doesn’t happen often!” He gave Willy a charming wink. The fisherman looked back to Valeria and gestured to the writer. “This man right here danced his first year here. And he looked somethin’ fierce when he did it.”

Elliott looked between the two of them. “Is something the matter?”

Willy shook his head. “Not at all, I was just telling our farmer how quickly you became a part of our little community.”

“Oh. I see,” he said, looking at Valeria for a moment with his silly intense gaze. “I’m quite the fanatic over all the little traditions that Pelican Town has. I feel quite honored that I am able to be here.” Gosh, he was such a suck-up.

“If only we could get this one to come out more.” Willy winked at Valeria and gave her a little nudge with her elbow.

Even though she rolled her eyes at him, a hint of a smile was on her face. “I’ve been busy.” Who actually cared if she missed the egg hunt or not?

“Taking breaks every now and again is better for productivity in the long run,” Elliott offered. “Maybe spending time with the people here will help lighten your mood.”

Valeria stared at the man in the little blue suit, holding her tongue from making a sarcastic comment. Ever since she started spending more time with Leah (and, in turn, Elliott,) Valeria swore to herself that she would just try to not speak around him, because when she did, it would always turn into a bickering match between them. They both just had to have the last word. And since today was a holiday of sorts, she would try to keep the same promise. “Maybe.”

“What an excellent perspective you have, Elliott!” The mayor’s peppy voice materialized in the group. Lewis threw an arm around Valeria’s and Elliott’s shoulders. “What a wonderful, perfect day for the Flower Dance. And our bachelors and bachelorettes just look absolutely fantastic! Don’t you think so, Willy?”

The fisherman nodded slowly, his eyebrow raising slightly. “Uh, yes, Mayor, everyone looks as spiffy as a daffodil.”

Lewis’ eyes lit up at the compliment. “It’s going to be a wonderful day, I can feel it. Elliott, you look as charming as always, and Valeria,” his voice cut off when he looked at her. “Oh, how I do wish you would join in the dance. You look so out of place. I brought some extra costumes with me today, you know.”

“I’m perfectly content with watching from the sidelines. You don’t need to worry about me.” She really did not need the mayor to keep breathing down her back.

He snapped his fingers, as if he had just come upon an idea, and a knowing smile crossed his face. “Oh, I see. You were just too shy to ask for a partner. I knew it!”

Her brow furrowed, and her eyes darted to Willy. “Actually, that’s not the case at all-”

“-Not to worry! There are quite a handful of fine bachelors in this town.” Lewis winked at her. “And you happen to be standing right across from one.”

“Elliott’s dancing with Leah.” She said it a bit too quickly, but she absolutely did not want to get cornered into dancing with Elliott.

“Well, Leah’s not here yet, so I’m sure she won’t mind! You two would look great together, being the same height and all.” Lewis chortled at his own observation. If only he knew how far off he was.

Valeria gave Elliott a quick once-over and then back to Lewis, who was still buzzing from excitement. “No thanks, Elliott could be a fair choice for someone else, but he’s not tempting enough to change my decision.” She almost couldn’t suppress the triumphant feeling from seeing Elliott’s eyebrow quirk up from dissatisfaction. Fuck the rule about not having the last word.

“Oh. Okay… I’ve never had someone deny the pleasure of a beautiful springtime dance, but I guess there’s a first time for everything,” Lewis grumbled. He sighed and straightened his hat. He looked at Elliott uneasily, probably hoping that the writer was able to find the words of what to say next.

“It’s okay, Mayor,” Elliott said warmly. “I have no qualms waiting for Leah a little while longer, nor do I have any about the farmer’s rather impudent rejection.”

Ignoring Elliott’s comment and Valeria’s cold stare at the person who made ita, Lewis let out a laugh, his nervousness subsiding. “Well, that’s great! I’ll need to grab you so you can be with the others. You’ll have to repeat this to Leah once she’s here, but once everyone is– Sam, what do you think you’re doing? You cannot eat in your costume!”

Just across the clearing, Sam was standing at the snack table, his offending hand in a bowl of chips. The blond was lost in his old world, so Sebastian smacked his arm so that he paid attention to the mayor. “What? Penny went home– said her mom got sick or something. I don’t have anyone to dance with, so I thought I would just chill here,” he said, a crumb flying out of his mouth as he spoke. Sam’s suit jacket was laid haphazardly on the corner of the table, and his white undershirt was already wrinkled. Valeria was surprised that Lewis didn’t spontaneously combust after seeing this.

The mayor sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. “If Penny’s gone, then that means we have an uneven number of dancers now. This can’t be,” he said to himself, his eyes widening at the thought of it. He looked back at Sam, and breathed in deep, as if to calm his nerves. “Valeria,” Lewis all but begged, his hands fisting up by his chest as he pleaded with her.

Ugh, this was just great. If she said no now, she’d look like too much of an asshole. She knew she shouldn’t have shown up today. The fortune teller on the TV told her that she’d have bad luck today, and unfortunately that damned channel was accurate every time.

“Fine.”

//%ᵕ‿‿ᵕ%//

A few minutes and one costume change later, Valeria found Sam in the north part of the clearing with the other dancers. He was walking around in a small circle, the rest of the world an oblivion to him. Out of all the bachelors, she was glad that it was Sam she was “forced” to dance with. He was easy to talk to and, like Elliott, friends with everyone. The difference was that Sam never asked any personal questions. Plus, it was easy to make him flustered, and she found it entertaining.

Sam gave her a little wave when she entered his sight. “Hey, there! I thought you bailed for a minute. Though I wouldn’t blame you if you did.”

She shook her head at him, gesturing to the dress. “Nope, I just had to go change. Besides, I thought it would be rude of me to be the second dancer to ditch you today.”

He waved her comment off. “Nah, you don’t have to worry about me. I’ve been in this dance since I moved here. My mom takes my picture every year, so I kind of have to be here. I should’ve known I wasn’t getting out of this dance.” A blush crept up on his face when he mentioned his mom.

“Oh, so you’re a momma’s boy, huh?” A smile crept up on her face when she saw him shift uncomfortably.

“No! What? Definitely not.” Sam scratched the back of his head. “Umm, anyways,” he said, taking a gesture at the space around them. “Let me show you the steps. They’re not hard, but they’re kind of repetitive and lame. But I’m sure you already assumed that much.” The pair practiced for a few minutes, which was all the time that they had anyway. Shortly after their “rehearsal,” Mayor Lewis walked to the center of the clearing and pulled out a microphone.

“Hello, my fellow Pelican Towners,” he said brightly. “Another beautiful spring has flown right past us. I would like to thank each and every one of you for your commitment to the town, and I would like to give an extra thanks to our new farmer, Valeria, who’s been going around and gifting everyone a little something from her farm.” A gradual wave of applause sounded out through the clearing, and Valeria gave a little wave to the audience, an awkward smile on her face and her nose scrunched up slightly.

“As always, we will celebrate the end of the season with our flower dance.” At this, he motioned towards the dance participants. Sam grabbed Valeria’s arm and walked her over to their positions. She was settled between Haley and Abigail, and between the two of them, only Haley looked thrilled about the dance.

Valeria heard speakers creak to life, and after a few seconds of a shrill screeching sound, cheerful folk music started to play. She focused her eyes on Sam, who wasn’t lying about his participation in the dance– he made every move perfectly. She did her best to follow suit, and she thought she was doing pretty well, if she did say so herself. She was just happy that most of the townsfolk were spread out and not focused on one particular dancer. When the dance ended, she curtsied to Sam, and he bowed to her. A perfect, well-mannered ending for the couple that felt so-so about the dance.

“See, that wasn’t so bad at all!” He’d told her once the music stopped playing through the speakers. Jodi rushed over and snapped a picture of Sam and Valeria. Almost immediately after the picture was taken, he removed his jacket once again. “I hate wearing stuff like this, man. It’s too stuffy. Maybe next year I’ll convince him to let me wear jeans or something.”

“Yeah, good luck with that. He almost had a heart attack because Penny left early.”

Sam laughed. “It’s alright, it worked out in the end. You’re a pretty good dancer. You almost outshined the Flower Queen herself.” He said this loud enough so that Haley could hear him, and she glared in his direction. “Not funny, Sam.”

He shrugged his shoulders and looked back at Valeria. “I thought it was pretty funny.” Valeria felt an arm wrap around her shoulders, which caused her to jump a little. She knew it was Leah because the scent of pine and freshly-shaven wood had wafted through her nose.

“You little liar! You told me that you weren’t dancing today.” Valeria turned around so she could see her, and as always, Leah looked so effortlessly perfect.

“You would have seen why if you weren’t so late today. Where were you, anyway?”

Leah scoffed and rolled her eyes. “I had to deal with a rather interesting phone call this morning, and it threw me off for the rest of the day. I mean, how hard is it for someone to understand that I don’t want to move back to the city?” She shook her head at it, like the phone call was still looming over her. She looked into Valeria’s questioning gaze. “I’ll tell you about it tomorrow when we go foraging.”

“I’m looking forward to it.” She grew quiet when she saw Elliott saunter over.

“Are you ready to venture over to the saloon?” He asked Leah. He looked over at Sam, nodding his head in that direction. “Hello, Sam. It was wonderful to see you in the dance today.”

“Oh, thanks Elliott,” he said breezily, “I had a good dance partner.”

“I’m sure you did. Were you able to show our farmer the fun in a good old-fashioned Pelican Town dance?”

Sam’s eyebrows furrowed at the question, but he nodded nonetheless. “Well, sure. Pretty much the whole town has fun, you know?”

“Most of them. Valeria, I hope you enjoyed yourself. You seem less… peppery now.”

At this, Valeria looked over to Leah, and then to Sam, who both looked like they were holding in a laugh. Leah placed her hands on Elliott’s shoulders and steered him toward the clearing’s exit. “I think that’s our cue to go. I’ll see you tomorrow, Valeria!” She called out.

Her and Sam exchanged a look. “Well, anyways,” he said, “Do you want me to walk you home? It’s kind of dark, and my mom is cooking a vegetarian thing for tonight, so I kind of don’t want to be there for that…”

Valeria hesitated. “Umm, yeah.” She nodded in confirmation. “Sure, why not.”

Sam feigned a hurt look and he placed a hand over his chest. “Don’t sound so enthusiastic,” he teased.

“No, it’s not like that,” she clarified, “It’s just that no one’s seen the farm since I’ve moved in. So don’t judge if it looks like shit.”

The pair started to meander through Cindersap. The smell of the pine trees breezed in gently with the wind, surrounding them in a woodsy, lemony bubble. “It’s always so quiet out here. I think I’m one of the only people here who will say this, but sometimes I miss the noise of the city. It gets too quiet for me.”

“Honestly, I don’t miss it that much,” Valeria countered, “I kind of love the fact that there’s not another soul around my house.”

“What if there are, like, monsters or something lurking in your yard? The trail that goes up to the mountains would be the perfect spot for them to come and attack you!”

“Monsters are the least of my worries right now anyways. Besides, I-” she paused. “How do you know about the trail by my house?”

Even in the dusken light, she could see Sam’s face redden. “I guess now would be a good time to tell you that this isn’t my first time being on your farm.” He laughed nervously. “Sebastian and I used to go up there when he felt like smoking… It was his favorite smoking spot, too.” He looked at her again when he noticed she wasn’t saying anything. “Oh, but don’t worry, we don’t go up there anymore. Obviously. That would be weird.”

“You talk a lot when you’re nervous.”

“Yeah. I talk a lot all the time; I think it annoys my mom even if she denies it. I just have a lot of energy. And I don’t like the quiet. I think I already said that. Anyways, do you like music?”

She couldn’t help but grin. “I’ve been known to listen to it from time to time. Why, are you going to play me a song on your guitar?”

“Actually, yes. I’m trying to get a band together and I need someone to listen to us and give us their opinion.”

“Yeah, I’ll definitely think about it,” she said. The pair was greeted by the soft glow of a torch at the base of her farm. She led him through the makeshift path that she’d made by hacking away at some overgrowth.

“Aw, see, this doesn’t look bad at all!” They’d made it to the front of her farm, and Sam was walking around the spot where all of her crops were. “I don’t really know what any of these are, but.”

She looked at him. “You don’t know what vegetables look like?”

“Nah, I don’t really cook vegetables. Or eat them. I like the frozen meals from Joja Mart, though.”

“Gross. I’d rather starve,” she said, scrunching her nose up. She squatted down and patted at Sam’s leg so he would take a step back. “You were stepping on a cauliflower leaf. You would know that if you didn’t eat food made exclusively from metal machinery.”

“Are you making fun of me, farmer?” He grinned at her. “They’re not that bad. My mom buys them because they’re cheap, you know? You get used to the salt.” His food started absentmindedly kicking the dirt around him, but he stopped when something brushed against his leg. “What the-” he gasped. “You have a cat??”

Valeria stuck her arm out so the cat would brush against it. “His name is Nova,” she said. Nova started to purr, and he started to circle Sam, nudging his leg every now and again. “Marnie told me she found him living around my farm for the past week, so I decided to keep him.”

“Aw, I’ve always wanted a pet. It seems like all the eventful stuff happens on the farm. Speaking of which, what was that little thing that happened between you and Elliott earlier?”

Valeria stood up and crossed her arms, looking at Sam with a coy smile on her face. “How is that a ‘speaking of which?’”

He shrugged, his lazy smile making a reappearance. “It’s not, I just wanted to be nosy.”

She sighed and pursed her lips, trying to figure out what to say. “I mean, it’s nothing bad,” she said. “We just… didn’t get along the first time we met. That’s all. Now he thinks I don’t like him.”

“do you like him? I mean, he called you ‘peppery,’ whatever that means.”

“I like him when he doesn’t talk.” Sam tried to keep a straight face, but he ended up laughing anyway.

“You’re really funny. I think this place is actually gonna be fun now with you around,” he said. Sam’s phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out, the phone’s screen illuminating the space around them. “Aw man, I totally spaced on Abigail. I was supposed to meet her at the graveyard after the dance.” He noticed the silence. “Oh, she’s into, like, witchy stuff or something. I don’t know, she wanted to show me something over there. You cool if I head out?”

Valeria nodded her head and waved him toward the main farm entrance. “Yeah, thanks for walking me back. And let me know when you need someone to listen in on your band. I think I’d like to hear the kind of talent you’re offering in Pelican Town.” As she walked by Sam to go inside, she flicked a piece of his hair that was hanging down his face. She picked up Nova, and she was halfway inside her home when she was stopped by Sam’s voice.

“Wait, were you flirting with me?”

She held back a laugh and turned around for just a second. “Not in the slightest.”

Notes:

Hello you guys!! ✮ ⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✩

It took me a bit longer to update than I intended (i've been trying to update once a week as a personal goal) but unforch I did get really busy, so I'm doing it now :3 I was in a wedding and then i got sick right after LOL

But anyways I had fun writing this chapter and loved the farmer's Darcy moment! I hope u enjoy (⊙ _ ⊙ )

Chapter 5: We're Getting the Band Together!

Summary:

Leah and Sam's 2 heart event scenes :)

Notes:

Ok so in terms of story progression, time moves differently in the valley since there's only 4 "months." so I'm treating each in-game "month" like it's 3 months real-time to keep it consistent with character and world building progression!!

“Mmm, sweet peas always smell so nice in the summer.” Leah uprooted a long stem from the ground and placed it in her canvas tote bag, along with the other foraged items she’d found that day. “This is going to make a lovely paint for my next piece.”

“You never cease to amaze me,” Valeria said as she popped another spice berry in her mouth. “I would never think to make paint out of a flower.”

“That’s how they did it back in the day. Plus, it’ll create a unique color you can’t get from commercial paint. My art will be more special that way.”

Summer was in full swing, and the air felt more festive and bright. It was almost as if the sun had cast a saturated, warm glow around the valley. Most of the town could be found doing something outside, and overall everyone was more cheerful. The downside was the awful humidity that rolled in. The air always felt thick enough to cut through, and her farmhouse didn’t have AC yet. Valeria had set a fund aside to have Robin upgrade her house, hopefully by the end of the year. She really didn’t understand how her grandparents lived all those years without a cooling system. The single ceiling fan did nothing but circulate the same stale air around and around.

Her favorite part about the new season, however, was how much more intricate it was to grow the summer crops. She’d spent the last week of spring chopping down trees so that the space at the front of her farm could get full sun— if she didn’t look like a hermit before, she certainly looked like one now because she’d barely left the farm. Sam practically dragged her out of the house to go to the saloon one night (which she secretly appreciated, but she never said it out loud). Leah also was a good sport and met her at the farm every couple of days so they could forage together. It was therapeutic for the both of them; being able to forage in a comfortable silence with the occasional town gossip that Leah brought from aerobics class. Valeria finally felt like the novelty of her arrival had worn off, and she was able to let some of her guard down and enjoy her budding friendships with Leah and Sam.

“Your art is already special,” Valeria told her. “You just need to be more confident about it.” Confidence, Valeria found, was not something that could be found easily in the valley. Insecurity was almost like an epidemic in the town.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Leah’s voice grew quiet, and there was a long pause of silence. “Do you think it was selfish of me to move here just to become an artist?”

Valeria gave her a knowing look. “You asked me that last week after the Flower Dance, and my answer is still ‘no.’” She stopped picking berries from the bush in front of her and turned to see that the artist still had a frown painted on her face. “Are you still thinking about that phone call?”

Leah’s cheeks tinted with a blush. “Yeah,” she said finally. “I just… I don’t want to be seen as a selfish person. Like someone who just does things only for themselves.”

“Well, it’s not like you led her on or anything,” said Valeria. “Didn’t you say that you guys were constantly fighting?”

“Yeah. It was always over the same thing.” Leah sat back against a tree trunk, getting herself comfortable for another therapy session. Valeria turned and laid on her stomach, resting her head in her hands so she could look up at Leah as she spoke.

“We were basically living paycheck to paycheck. Kel took some high brow business exec job in the city, but she leased an apartment that was making her live way above her means. When I moved in with her, I was still working at a museum, so obviously that wasn’t making a lot of money in comparison. She tried to get me to pursue business administration like her, but I just couldn’t do it. I knew that I didn’t want to go back to school for some degree that I didn’t even want.” I think the final straw for me was when she wanted us to apply for a loan to move into a town home. A town home, Valeria! Could you imagine me in one of those?”

“Gross. Not at all.” She thought that Leah definitely belonged in a lakeside cottage that had a ton of yardspace.

“So one day, I was looking at places in the valley. I heard one of my coworkers talking about retiring in a small town like this one. I found the cottage open for sale, so I just bought it. I didn’t even think to rent it or anything; I just put all of my savings into the house. And don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I did, but I don’t know. It feels like all the progress I made out here is wiped clean because of that one phone call I had with Kel.”

Valeria knew that feeling all too well. “Well, it’s not. You chose your own happiness. You would have been miserable in the suburbs answering to some HOA asshole. To me it just sounds like you and Kel wanted different things out of life, and that’s not a bad thing. If you were selfish, you would have led her on and made her think you wanted to stay in the city.”

Leah nodded, though clearly still unconvinced. Valeria sighed and tilted her head to her, like a mother does to a child whenever they’re about to have a heart-to-heart. “Look, to put it plainly, you had a mature conversation with her and explained your side of the story. You’re both adults, so who gives a shit? Plus, from what you’ve told me, I don’t even like Kel, so I would never support her.”

Leah laughed. “You’re a great friend,” she said as she reached into her tote bag and pulled out a few grapes. “When you put it like that, that’s so true. Could you imagine me working as an accountant for the rest of my life and living in a glorified chicken coop with no green space?”

“It sounds awful, doesn’t it? So answer me seriously: are you still hung up over Kel when you live in such a beautiful place? ” Valeria pointed out to Leah’s cottage, which was all but a speck to them at this distance.

“Thank Yoba you’re my friend, it’s like, you just know what to say.” Leah tossed a grape into the air, and Valeria caught it in her mouth. Valeria then took a spice berry and replicated the action to Leah.

“I’ve been thinking. Since you’ve made so much art in the past couple of years, I think you should host an art show. Right here in town.” Valeria’s eyes scanned Leah’s as the redhead processed the information, and didn’t process it well at first. Leah’s eyes widened, and her face paled at the very thought. “What!?” she asked incredulously.

Valeria nodded, doubling down on her suggestion. “I’m serious. I’ve seen the stuff you’ve made recently, and it’s really good. There’s definitely people out there who would buy it. Hell, when I get rich I’ll buy all of it.”

“I don’t know,” Leah said with a shake of her head. “I couldn’t. I don’t think anyone in town even cares about that sort of thing.”

Valeria groaned. Leah was one of those people who thought that everyone disliked them, but in reality they were the most adored person on the planet. “What are you talking about, Leah? Everyone loves you. They would absolutely come out and support you. You could even advertise it in other places if you’d like. The internet is wonderful in that way.”

Leah sat still for a few seconds, and then her eyes lit up. “Okay, so maybe I could post a few listings online, and then host an art show when I feel more comfortable with it or when I sell some pieces.” She sighed softly and closed her eyes, envisioning the new ideas that were now swimming in her head. “An art show,” she said wistfully. “Now I’ll really have to dedicate some time to my sculpture this week.”

Now it was Valeria’s turn to sigh. “Oh, thank goodness. I thought you were going to back out already.”

“Hey! Not everyone is as cool and confident as you are,” said Leah teasingly, though she meant it

Valeria smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Aw, you think I’m cool?” She asked coyly.

“I do. It’s just like, nothing bothers you. I wish I had that trait.”

Valeria rolled onto her back, so she could look up at the sky instead of Leah’s eyes. “I mean, of course things bother me, but sometimes it’s just too much energy to care about it for too long.” There was a beat of silence, and now Valeria needed to change the subject. She checked her wristwatch, and saw that she was nearly late for her session with Sam. She couldn’t have asked for better timing. “Oh, shit, I should probably go. I promised Sam I’d help him and Sebastian with their band today.”

“Maybe Pelican Town will finally have something to look forward to other than spending Friday nights at the Stardrop,” Leah said longingly.

“They need to actually make some music before that happens,” she quipped, “That’s actually why I have to go over there.”

“Let me know what they end up choosing!”
—------------------
“What if I play it like this?”

“No, that’s way too peppy.”

“Umm, okay… Like this then?”

“That sounds too much like that one song.”

“Well it’s not like you can copy a chord progression!”

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” Valeria’s voice broke through the squabble. She’d been standing at the door for a couple minutes, but Sam and Sebastian were too engrossed in their argument to even notice.

“Oh, hey Val. You came just in time, actually. Can you listen to this and tell me if it’s good?” Sam strums a quick few notes on his guitar, the same ones he played for Sebastian.

“It’s good, but it sounds too much like that one song,” she said, earning a high five from Sebastian when she walked by him.

“See? It’s not just me,” he said, playing a few keys on his keyboard. Sam glowered at him and threw his hands up at Valeria. “You were supposed to be on my side! Traitor.”

“I’m not on anyone’s side,” she clarified as she flopped down on a beanbag by Sam’s bed. “You enlisted me to help give you opinions. And my opinion is that it sounds a lot like-”

“-Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got it,” Sam said with an eyeroll. He blew a piece of his hair off of his forehead and adjusted the capo on his guitar. “Do you think it will sound better if I change the key?”

“I still think that we should come up with a new sound. Try something new,” Sebastian suggested. “We’re getting nowhere by just aimlessly playing music.”

“Always the realist,” Sam grumbled. “But I don’t even know, like, what our sound is. Valeria, what do you think we should do?” Sam looked so helpless she thought he was going to burst.

She thought for a moment. What did work for Sam and Sebastian? She knew that Sam was a big fan of classic rock, but given the most recent conversation, Sebastian didn’t want to go in that direction. But Sebastian didn’t like to do a lot of things, and he also didn’t offer any solutions. So where did that leave the band? “Answer this for me first: what do you both want out of this band?”

“I wanna play shows all over the country,” Sam said, not having to give it a second thought.

“I don’t really want anything from it. Sam just kind of forced me to be here.”

Valeria shot Sebastian a look. “Love the enthusiasm.” She turned back to Sam. “Maybe you should experiment with dancing music or something. You could play at a club in the city.”

“Like what?” Sam strummed a different set of notes on his guitar, presumably trying to match what he thought was “dancing music.”

After he was done playing, she shook her head to show she didn’t like it. “You could do EDM or something. You have the instruments for it.”

“Hmm, we could do that,” Sam said, “But I want to sing too. Like, ballads or something.” His eyes darted between Sebastian and Valeria nervously.

“Ballads?” Sebastian asked, clearly unconvinced. “I mean, as long as you’re the one singing them, I guess.”

“I think it’s a good idea. I mean, if you want to try out a bunch of different sounds, just make a mixtape.” A beat passed. Valeria looked at Sebastian and then at Sam, who were both seriously considering what she just suggested. Sebastian was the first one to say something.

“I think I could get behind that, actually. We’d be able to make some kind of metal music.”

“Then I’d be able to write a ballad,” Sam said, his voice quiet in thought.

“I think you should go even more experimental and make a country song,” said Valeria, which earned a look from both the boys. “What? It would play so well at the Stardop. Everyone in town could dance to it. It would gain you some popularity.”

“You’re so business-minded, Val, I like it.” Sam started scribbling notes on an old receipt.“This has been good. Real good. Now I just need to convince Abigail to be a drummer for us, which shouldn’t be too hard.” He wiggled his brows at Sebastian.

“You disgust me,” Sebastian said with an eyeroll. “Nothing is going on between us.” His mouth said one thing, but his body language said another. Sebastian immediately tensed, and his breathing got ever-so-slightly faster.

“Nothing that I know of. I saw the way you were dancing with her at the Flower Dance.” Sam grinned, clearly getting a kick out of this.

Sebastian let out a loud, dramatic sigh. “This conversation bores me.” He stepped away from the keyboard and walked out of Sam’s room without another word.

“Bye, I’ll miss you!” Sam yelled out after him. He looked back at Valeria with a shrug. “I don’t know what his issue’s been recently. He’s been really irritable and stuff lately. I don’t know, I thought the band would help his mood when he’s here.”.

“Have you tried, I don’t know, talking to him about it?” Valeria asked him. She got up from the beanbag and took Sebastian’s place at the keyboard.

“I have before, but the problem is that he doesn’t like to talk about anything anymore. I was hoping this band would be good for him. He’s all isolated up in the mountains and he’s got no one to talk to, and sometimes it makes him grouchy. Kind of like you.”

“Gee, thanks,” Valeria said dryly. “But maybe he likes being alone sometimes. It’s not that crazy of a concept.” She brushed her fingers over the keys, playing a few notes quietly.

“Yeah, I’m kind of the opposite I guess. I like being around people. And I tend to overthink things if someone seems to be mad at me… I probably sound like a clingy boyfriend right now,” he said, sitting on the edge of his bed. “Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned Abigail…”

“You do sound like a clingy boyfriend,” Valeria agreed. “But seriously, I think you’re fine.” She stopped playing for a moment. Do you work today?”

Sam groaned and laid back on the bed. “Yeah, I decided to pick up a few more shifts so that I could pay for some new equipment.”

“That’s probably a good idea. The sound quality of this keyboard is abysmal.”

“Hey! Be nice to it. My mom found it at an estate sale or something, so it’s been through a lot.”

“Fair enough. If you can’t play on mediocre equipment then you’re just a shit musician anyways.” She started messing with a few controls on the top panel.

“I can’t wait for the day when the music takes off and I don’t have to work at JojaMart anymore. Sometimes having a rigid schedule like that backfires for me. I would definitely feel more free if I was on the road touring or something.”

In the short time that Valeria had known Sam, she’d realized pretty quickly that he had a lot of dreams and a lot of passion, but he was too much of an idealist. The band was a relatively new idea for Sam, and even though he was pretty talented on the guitar and the drums, he was already planning out what his life would look like as an A-list musician when he hadn’t even released a song yet. Naturally, she had taken on a managerial role of sorts because he “liked her realism, even if it was annoying.”

“You’ll get there. But you need to start recording some music first.” She finished adjusting the keyboard and played it again, nodding in approval when it sounded better to her standards. “The sound quality should be a little bit better now.”

As if he had just taken notice in what she was doing, Sam eyed her as she played, and then his eyes narrowed. “You know how to play the piano? Why didn’t you say anything!?”

She played a few more chords to confirm that she solved the issue, and then she stopped when she was satisfied with her work. “It’s Sebastian’s job. And you never asked.”

He pursed his lips. “You’re so secretive. Stop it.”

“It’s a part of my charm. I’ll show you more when you finish writing a song.” She got up from the stool and unplugged the keyboard.

Sam grinned at her. “Alright, deal.” An alarm on Sam’s phone started to ring. “Ugh, it’s time for me to leave for work.”

“I’ll go with you. I have some errands to run in town anyways.” Sam pulled off the t-shirt he was wearing and replaced it with one that had the infamous JojaMart “J” on it.

“Really?” Valeria asked him, throwing her arm up halfway in the air.

“What?”

“You threw your shirt on the floor. Right next to the hamper.”

“Oh, yeah…” Sam looked at her blankly, confused at what she was getting at.

“So pick it up!” She reprimanded.

He rolled his eyes dramatically and picked the shirt up, tossing it in the hamper like a basketball. “Better?”

“Much better. I’m going to have a serious talk with Jodi if it happens again.” He pushed her on the shoulder, and she pushed him back, which was soon followed by a dramatic, “Ow! I didn’t even push you that hard,” from him. The pair exited Sam’s house in one piece and made their way towards Pierre’s, and they were stopped by Penny, Jas, and Vincent.

“Oh, hey buddy,” Sam said, high-fiving Vincent as they approached each other. “Did you learn anything fun today?”

“Penny was teaching us how to write in cursive.” Vincent held up a piece of lined paper to show his older brother. It was wrinkled, and the writing was all over the place, but it was clearly written by an eight-year-old.

“That’s awesome, Vince! Penny’s a great teacher,” Sam said, winking at Penny as he said it. Valeria noticed the schoolteacher blush at his compliment.

“Oh, it’s nothing. Vincent’s a great student. So is Jas.” Penny’s eyes never left the ground.

“Don’t listen to her, Valeria. She reads like, all the time,” Sam said. “Her and Maru are probably the smartest people in town.”

Penny’s eyes watered at the compliment. “Thanks, Sam, that’s really nice of you.” Jas started to tug on Penny’s arm, whining about wanting to go home. “Alright, we’ll go,” she said gently. She looked at Sam as she walked past him with Jas holding her hand. “I’m so sorry about that. I’ll see you around sometime.” When the girls were out of earshot and Vincent inside the house, she tried to prompt Sam into saying something about Penny. “So, Penny seems really nice.”

“Oh, yeah, she’s pretty cool. She’s been a good friend to me. Between you and me, I had the biggest crush on her but I think she only likes me as a friend. Which is fine. I like that she’s a good role model for Vince.” She rolled her eyes. She made a mental note to bug him about that at a later time.

When they reached Pierre’s, Valeria bid Sam a farewell, saying something along the lines of getting groceries from the better store in town. When he was out of sight, however, she hiked it up to the Community Center with the intention of donating the items she found earlier today. It was always a pleasure visiting the Junimos, and she’d grown protective over them. After the Wizard made her drink some weird potion, she was able to understand and communicate with them. All they asked for were a few simple items for her to bring them, and in return they gave her things that helped her farm. She still didn’t quite understand why they chose her, but she felt like their existence should be kept as her own little secret. It’s not like anyone would believe her, anyways.

//%ᵕ‿‿ᵕ%//

The high-pitched squeals of the Junimos greeted her as soon as she opened the door to the community center. She stepped around them carefully, exhibiting extra caution with her clunky farm boots. As she laid out her foraged goods, she also slid them a couple boxes of raisins. She sat down on the warped floor and watched them work their magic as they scurried from her and into their hut. A bright light illuminated the inside of it, and moments later they returned, handing her a stack of seed packages. “I don’t know how you guys do what you do, but keep doing it,” she complimented, stuffing the seeds in the pockets of her overalls, earning an enthusiastic wave of chirps from her magical companions.

Notes:

Sorry it took me so long to update... I got busy with my job and then a mean case of impostor syndrome.. but anyways I will be updating twice today to make up for it!! Elliott scenes will be coming very soon but one thing about me my female characters WILL be passing the Bechdel test!! that is all x

oh and btw i dont really know anything about music so if something about music terminology in this chapter sounds weird, it's because i tried my best :p

Chapter 6: Bloom

Summary:

Elliott's 2 heart event! And more!

“I think you did pretty good today, lass. Dinner’s gonna be real tasty tonight.” Valeria watched Willy silently, observing how the fisherman was filleting a freshly-caught catfish. “You’ve sure got a knack for giving great gifts.”

“That’s true,” she said, a triumphant grin on her face. “I figured I’d bring you a catfish since you never seem to go anywhere but here and the saloon.”

Willy nodded solemnly.“Aye, I’m afraid I’ve grown weary in me old years. The trip up north just ain’t what it used to be fer me. It’s also nice to know that I can count on the second best angler in town to bring me one.” He winked at her. He started working his magic with his filleting knife, making precise incisions around the fish. Valeria used to physically cringe when she saw Willy do that the first time, but after slaying demons in the mines and filleting her own fish, she no longer had the same reaction. “You’ve become pretty good at this fishin’ gig. You caught this catfish nearly as good as me pappy, and that’s sayin’ a lot.”

“You’ve been a good teacher,” she complimented. Every single week, she and Willy would spend one day fishing together right in front of his shop, rain or shine. Willy was fun to spend time with, and he also had a vast knowledge about the types of fish that could be caught around the valley. Every tidbit of information was helpful to her financially and also helpful for her to bring more gifts to the Community Center. In return, she’d bring him gifts from places where he no longer cared to venture to. The catfish, for example, was something that could only be found during rainy weather for some reason, so yesterday Valeria had sat out for hours trying to catch one for Willy. If that wasn’t dedication, she didn’t know what was.

“I’m just glad to see somebody young in the valley taking after some of the old practices. Your grandpappy would be real proud of you right now.”

Valeria gave him a small smile at the comment, but she was more happy to hear it than she let on. “Did he go fishing with you?”

“All the time, lass,” said Willy. He jutted his head to the metal door at the back of his shop. “Back when we were young gentlemen, and back when I’d took more care of my hair, me ‘n your grandpappy would take out the ole boat ‘n catch all kinds ‘o fish. We’d go to Ginger Island in the winters to get the tropical ones, and before the war, we’d sail down to the Gotoro Empire right past the Gem Sea. Yer pappy would go with us too when he was old enough.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that,” she said. “I actually kind of don’t know much about what my dad did when he lived here.” The memories of the stories he’d told her as a child were distant flecks in her mind.

“He was always getting up to trouble around here,” he said with a chuckle. “Always was somethin’ with him. He loved going into them mines at the top of the mountain.” He looked up from the catfish and eyed her. “I hope you’re not going there, lass. Especially not alone.”

Valeria smirked and straightened her posture out of pride. “I’ve been to the mines once or twice. How do you think I got you that pretty diamond?” She knew that the little reminder eased some of his concerns. Willy grunted, dropping his paternal concerns almost instantly. “Aye, I suppose you got me there. I just don’t think that yer old man would appreciate it if I let his only daughter get injured in the mountains. Or worse.”

“I’ll be careful, I promise.” It was at this time that she elected not to tell Willy about the one time Maru found her in the mines, passed out and covered in bat remains.

Willy started patting a dry rub into the catfish. “Have you heard from yer pappy lately?”

She nodded her head in confirmation, but she was reluctant to talk about it. “I got a letter from him at the end of spring. It didn’t say a lot though. Just the usual ‘war sucks’ stuff. He did send me some money though.” Not that the money changed much. To her, it felt very odd to receive a letter from her own dad that basically insinuated he might be able to come home soon, but not before he dies in the middle of a battle. It was his way to warn her about the possibility of seeking closure, but that still didn’t make it any less shitty.

Willy gave her a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, lass. This war’s been hard on everyone. He’s coming back home, I know it.”

“You don’t know that, actually.”

“I do know,” he implored. “Just keep yer chin up and keep working that land out there on the farm. By Yoba’s will, yer pappy’ll be so happy to see what he returns home to.”

“Thanks, Willy.” The old man was the closest tie she had to her family, and Willy happily filled in the missing gaps for her. She knew that he enjoyed the company too, considering the only townsperson to visit his shop besides her was Elliott. But that was the price he paid for being all the way at the end of the pier. The tiny shop was hardly visible at the beach’s entrance; essentially lost in the ocean fog or the sun’s bright haze at any given time of the day. She’d wondered if Haley ever ventured up this way to take a picture or two.

Valeria left the shop after Willy finished marinating his fish. He took her to the front of the pier and showed her how to properly bait and harness a crab pot (which did result in a gnarly cut on her forefinger, but this was easily remedied by some gauze and bandaging). She’d finally gotten the hang of it and placed the bag of bait in its designated spot, some slime oozing out of the top of the bag. “Gross,” she said, her face scrunching up in disgust. She swished her hands in the ocean water, figuring that the salty rinse would have to suffice until she could access some soap.

“Well, hello there, farm girl.”

“Shit,” she swore under her breath. Of course Alex showed up right after Willy left for the saloon. Since her back was faced to him, she took it as an opportunity to roll her eyes to the back of her head. She wiped her wet hands on her overalls and then turned around, using one of her hands as a visor to look at him. “Hi, Alex. I see you’re still using that asinine nickname for me.”

Golden Boy’s smirk faltered, his brows furrowing as he tried to decipher what the hell she just said to him. “I don’t know what that word means,” he admitted honestly, “But it’s cute. Just like you.”

“Oh, spare me,” she said, walking past him and making sure that her shoulder bumped into his as she went.

Naturally, Alex turned to follow. “Hey, hey now, don’t worry. I like a girl with attitude. I never get along with the nice ones.”

“Really? I think you and Penny’d go great together.” She quietly took pleasure in the disappointed look on his face.

“Well, that’s the first time someone’s ever said that to me.” He shook his head in disbelief. “Anyways, I was wondering if you’d be a good sport and spend some time with me since it is my birthday. You can think of it as your present to me.”

“Oh, was the quartz I brought not enough for you?” she asked sardonically. She knew that he hated them because George told her about it in passing. She’d kept a few of the rocks stashed in her house for times like these.

He frowned at her. “That was a garbage gift, and you know it. That’s why I was hoping you could make it up to me.” He stepped a little closer to Valeria, but not close enough to where she felt the need to back up. “I’m not asking for much, honestly. Just maybe throwing the gridball around with me.”

“I thought you don’t play gridball with girls.”

“You could change my mind. You’ve definitely got the figure for it.” Alex took a moment to look at her body, because in his mind it was an appropriate compliment. “I’m just saying, you and I would make amazing D1 babies.”

Valeria had to give a tight-lipped smile so she could stop herself from laughing. She wondered if Alex knew just how much charm he actually lacked and how many girls have pretended to tolerate him and his douchey pickup lines. “Alex, I’m going to say this as slow as possible so you can understand me: I don’t want you. Not now, not tomorrow, not ever.”

“You just have to get to know me, farm girl. I’m one of the most popular guys in the valley. You wouldn’t want to give the opportunity with me up” He set his gridball down on the sand and started to flex his biceps, peacocking his physique to her. Jeez, has this man never felt shame in his life? Her eyes darted around for any form of excuse that could make Alex leave her alone, considering that the word “no” wasn’t registered in his already limited vocabulary. She silently cursed, remembering that Willy had not only locked his shop up, but probably passed Alex on his way to the saloon.

It was when her eyes settled on Elliott’s cabin that the wheels in her head started to turn. “You know, I really can’t hang out with you right now… I promised Elliott that I’d… help him with his indoor plants. He said that he’s been killing them off or whatever.”

Now, there were three things in which Valeria knew to be true: the first thing was that Elliott was definitely killing his plants because he’d mentioned it at the saloon, and she was half-listening to his ramblings. The second was that he would never ask for her help specifically– for obvious reasons. And the third thing was that he also wasn’t home because he spent Saturday afternoons with Leah. But Alex didn’t need to know about any of this. He was also too self absorbed to see that her lie was, well, a lie.

“Alright, you’re playing hard to get, I get it.” His arrogant smirk had finally returned to his face. “When you get bored of the poet and his plants, you know where to find me.” Without waving goodbye, she stalked through the sand in the direction of Elliott’s cabin. That stupid athlete was ruining her mood just by being born today. How utterly inconvenient it was of him to practically corner her on the beach! And the only solution to her problem was to enlist the help from the house of someone she didn’t even like? She didn’t know what she did to deserve that.

Valeria made it to Elliott’s cabin and turned the doorknob with no issue. She slid her way inside and closed the door behind her, and then she pressed her eye up to the adjacent window to see if Alex was still there. Unfortunately he was, but his focus was now on the gridball that he was tossing up in the air to himself. She blew a puff of air up through her bangs, partly from the frustration of previous events and also from the suffocating humidity inside, which was making her hair stick to her forehead.

“May I help you?”

Valeria jumped, and then let out another sigh, though this time much more quiet and frustrated. She turned around to see Elliott standing on the other side of his cabin. He was clearly perplexed by her barging in, but he gave no indication that he was angry or upset.

“Oh. Hi. I thought you would be in the forest right now,” she admitted truthfully. Not that the observation made this encounter any less awkward for either one of them.

“I should be, yes,” he said, his tone evenly smooth. “But I had stayed up for all hours of the night, and I decided that it would be better if I stayed inside.” Valeria took a moment to study his face, and that much was true– his eyes were sunken in from the lack of rest, and his smile wasn’t quite reaching his eyes.

“Right. Okay.” The pair stood there, each looking the other in the eye. His refined demeanor wavered and he smiled, almost as if he was going to laugh. “So, may I ask what brings you rushing into my cabin?”

“Right. Sorry about that, by the way.” She wasn’t really sorry, but she wasn’t in the position to be a bitch about it. She turned to glance out the window once more and then turned back to him. “Alex was bothering me. I just came in here so he’d leave me alone.”

“So you just assumed that my cabin would be open for the taking?” His tone wasn’t unkind, just curious.

“Everyone in this town leaves their doors unlocked. I figured that you were no different.”

“And you leave your house locked up all day?”

“Of course I do.” She gave him a look. Why was he acting like she was the weirdo for doing that?

“Of course you do,” he agreed. She narrowed her eyes at him, but she didn’t pursue the comment. Instead, she took the time around at his cabin, which to her was a glorified shack. It was smaller than her own farmhouse (which she thought was virtually impossible up until now), and when she saw that his ceiling had no fan, she understood why the humidity was so biting.

“I do apologize for the mess,” he said. “I’m afraid that I got carried away in my work last night.”

Valeria didn’t recognize anything overtly messy in his cabin. He must be doing his humble-brag bit. Everything in his home was neatly in its place. To her right was a tiny end table with a stack of books on them, and she picked up the book on top of the pile. It was a navy blue leather-bound book with several annotation tabs sticking out of the top of the pages. “It Always Rains in Kingston," she read aloud, her brow furrowing in disbelief. “There’s no way you like this book enough to annotate it.” She’d read it for a socratic seminar in university, and she thought it was one of the most overhyped books ever written. How it was called a “classic novel,” she wasn’t sure.

“On the contrary, it’s one of my favorite novels ever written. It’s a classic for a reason, even if some call it pretentious.” It’s like he’d read her mind.

She set the book down in its place and shrugged. “I’ve read better. People call it pretentious for a reason,” she said. “The plot twist was half-baked and the characters were one dimensional.”

“So I take it that you’ve read it before.” Elliott leaned against the wall, his posture still perfectly straight.

“Does that surprise you?” She turned her gaze from the stack of books and looked at him. She watched him hesitate, choosing his words carefully before replying.

“I suppose it does. I’m aware that we have… different tastes in the arts.” Valeria shrugged in agreement at his remark. She knew that he was referring to the same night at the saloon when he was talking about his plants.

//%ᵕ‿‿ᵕ%//
"You are so full of it! What do you mean ‘pop music is terrible?’”

“Valeria, I didn’t say that at all. I enjoy the occasional adult contemporary. I simply mean that I don’t think it holds the same merit as the more traditional genres, like classical music.”

“So you just hate everything fun. You must be great at parties.”

“I’ll have you know that I’m rather wonderful at parties. It is one thing to disagree with me, but it is another thing to go around and throw personal insults at me!”

“You’ll survive. I’m sure you can find a piece of classical music to bore yourself to sleep tonight.”
//%ᵕ‿‿ᵕ%//

“Yes, I guess we do.” She broke eye contact with him and walked over to the other side of his cabin. A patch of white caught her eye. She saw a long desk that was covered in a mound of crumpled paper. Some of the pieces had fallen to the floor and traced the outline of the furniture. “Is that the mess you were referring to?” She had to grin at that. That wasn’t a mess in the slightest; but everything he did was always so prim and proper. Compared to the other parts of his life, this probably was a mess to him.

“Yes, and it is the source of my sleep deprivation, I fear.” Valeria nodded absentmindedly. Given the sheer amount of paper, she assumed that his all-nighter was more like several all-nighters. “Inspiration can be a wonderful, yet fickle thing. It becomes even more complicated when your career revolves around it.”

So, even though she’d said it as a passing insult the first time they met, Elliott was genuinely struggling with his profession. She would never have known the difference by the way he acted in public.

“I’m sure that I’ve exhausted Leah and Willy with my angst and distress. Unfortunately, this profession has made me more sensitive than I’d like to admit.”

“Unfortunately, I think that’s true.” Valeria looked over at him and saw that he clearly wanted to say more, but was probably hesitating because she was the last person in town he wanted to share his emotions with. She turned to face him, and gestured to him. “Well, out with it. I kind of owe you one for saving my ass from Alex.”

Elliott’s hands, which were neatly folded in front of his stomach, unraveled themselves, and he went to sit on the end table by the door. “It’s been quite difficult out here,” he admitted, “When I moved here to pursue writing as a full time career, there weren’t many people in support of my decision. In fact, the first person who gave me a positive affirmation was Leah, and that was well after I had moved to the valley.”

Well, she couldn’t fault him on that. She knew all too well how the unanimous doubt from loved ones weighed on the mind. She was in no position to comfort him, but maybe she would try to keep him talking. “So what are you trying to write, anyways?” She picked up one of the crumpled pieces of paper and started to unravel it. Elliott got up and strode over to her, quickly yet gently peeling the paper out of her hands.

“Oh, don’t you worry about those,” he said, crumpling it back up and shoving it in the garbage bin under the desk. “They aren’t worthy enough to be seen by the eyes of someone else.”

As quickly as Elliott had thrown the paper away, Valeria reached around him to grab another. Despite his protests, she unwrapped the paper, but then her eyes squinted at it in confusion. “Elliott, this has only one sentence written on it. Why did you throw it away?” Paper was quite expensive at Pierre’s, so why was he pissing his money away like that?

He reached over her and again plucked the paper out of her hands. “Since when are you interested in what the sleepy poet has to say?” After she gave a noncommittal shrug, he continued anyway. “Well, as you can see, the well from which my creativity flows from has run quite dry.” Elliott walked over to the window by the wall, his back still facing her. “I haven’t even sent a poem out for publishing in Yoba knows how long.” He let out a deep sigh, and shook his head. “I do apologize, I don’t mean to trouble you. Especially since I know how you feel about me.”

Valeria raised an eyebrow at him. “And how do I feel about you?” This was the first time that she and Elliott have been truly alone together, and coincidentally it was the first time they hadn’t broken into some kind of argument. It was almost unnerving. She felt like she was stepping into a new territory.

“I know that you’re not particularly fond of me.” He walked forward. “Am I wrong in my assumption?”

 

She crossed her arms defensively. Of course that much was obvious to anyone with eyes and emotional intelligence, but she didn’t want to give him that simple satisfaction.“Contrary to your belief, I don’t think about you enough to have a strong opinion.”

“I see.” He walked a few paces more towards her. “So I suppose I’m just the lucky recipient of your harsh commentary?”

She rolled her shoulders back slightly and straightened her posture when he walked closer. No way was she gonna let this guy feel satisfied in his observations. “I only speak to you like that when you become arrogant. Maybe you would benefit from a little humbling.”

“Oh, is that so?” He asked, his tone almost mocking. Almost. “And you decided to bear that responsibility out of sheer altruism?”

“Perhaps. Leah’s too nice to shake you back down to reality.”

“Ah, yes, Farmer Valeria of the Morningstar farm, The Realist. Maybe that is the story that I’ve been destined to write about.” The worst part was that he sounded sincerely genuine.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Whatever story you decide to write is yours and yours alone. I want no part of it.”

He tilted his head at her. “Well, I can say that I’ve never encountered someone who would decline such an offer. How marvelous.”

She shrugged, a small smirk playing on her lips. He was so easy to get a rise out of. “I don’t like writers.”

Elliott nodded like he’d finally come to a revelation. “Ah, so it’s nothing personal then, of course. You don’t like writers? Have you met all the writers in the world?”

“I’ve met enough.”

He stayed silent for a moment, his thumb and forefinger on his chin, deep in thought. “Do you not enjoy reading either? I guess that would explain why you didn’t enjoy “It Always Rains in Kingston.”

She rolled her eyes. “I enjoy reading,” she clarified. “Separate the art from the artist or however the saying goes.”

“What do you dislike about writers then, Miss Valeria?”

She shook her head and waved the question off. “It’s unimportant.”

“My, my, your opinions are quite unfounded.” Elliott looked at her, an amused smile on his face. “But now I’m rather curious about what you like to read. Would you care to tell me your favorite genre, or is that too personal of a question?”

Elliott’s comedic delivery made her want to smile. But that was soon replaced by a deep feeling of embarrassment. She didn’t think about what to say if he’d asked her what she liked. “No, it’s stupid. I don’t know. I read fiction,” she said lamely, turning her back and walking to the other side of the room.

“I sincerely doubt that it’s stupid. You’re speaking to a man who had to write a rather pornographic short story for one of his university seminars. Nothing you say will be as humiliating as that.”

He couldn’t see her face, but it contorted into a smile. Maybe she’d ask him about that story when she was drunk enough or nice enough. She hid her smile and turned back around, trying to keep a straight face. “I like to read romance novels.” As soon as she said it, the regret washed over her like the beach waves at high tide. She felt her cheeks redden in embarrassment. Her, embarrassed! She wasn’t one to get embarrassed over little things like this, but her confession felt oddly intimate. It was an awfully horrid feeling. “I told you it was stupid.” She wanted to hide her face in her hands so badly, but she had to at least put up a front on the outside.

“Oh yes, liking the most popular genres in existence is so embarrassing,” he teased. “Though I will say, I didn’t expect that response from you. Why romance novels?”

She stuttered for a second, trying to find the right words.“I- I don’t know. They’re… predictable, I guess. And safe. Like, you always know what the ending is going to look like. And it’s always a happy one.”

Elliott studied her face, his hand on his chin like he was deep in thought. She wanted now more than ever to quip a sarcastic remark to take the attention away from her confession. Another beat passed, and she was almost eager in anticipation for what he had to say about it.

“It’s very interesting,” he said finally. “Thank you for sharing that with me.”

“Sure. That’s all you’re getting from me though.”

Elliott chuckled. “I wouldn’t expect anything less. I do have one more question for you though.” He walked back over to his desk and held up a blue clay flowerpot that was showcasing a dying flower. “Do you think that you could tell me what I’m doing wrong?” The poor thing was drooping down, its leaves browning and mushy. She didn’t understand how someone could ruin a succulent such as Elliott was currently doing.

She walked over to him and took the pot from his hands. She inspected it for just a moment, easily diagnosing the problem. “Well, first of all, you’re using the wrong soil, and you gave it way too much water…”

Notes:

The book title that she finds in Elliott's cabin does not exist and if it does, it's merely coincidence! I just chose a random ass title from my head to avoid any real-life conflicts about literature

I had a lot of fun writing this chapter!! I hope you enjoyed :3

Chapter 7: Attention

Summary:

Summer forever ೃ⁀➷

Notes:

Yes, Elliott makes an appearance :p

One day, on the rickety elevator down to the mines, Valeria realized something: mining was a lot like soccer. To her, the balance between mining for ore and slaying a few beasts was all about moves, countermoves, and timing. Once she pretended like she was defending her life like she was defending a ball, the whole prospect of fearing for her life seemed laughable. She was able to do-si-do between offense and defense quite seamlessly, and she hadn’t had a near-death experience ever since. She also had become quite the skilled swordswoman after practicing with a sword in her backyard.

She wasn’t the only fan of what the mines had to offer. Sam, Sebastian, and Abigail always looked forward to her visitation when she sat in during a band rehearsal. “Here you go, as promised,” she said after she walked in during one of their sessions. She handed Sam a tigerseye, Sebastian a frozen tear, and Abigail an amethyst. Thankfully they were all easy to shop for in the mines.

“You always bring the best gifts,” said Abigail. “This is gonna look so beautiful on my altar.” She glared at the boys when she caught them giving her a look. “Oh, fuck off. Nothing I practice has anything to do with either of you.”

“You’re always collecting weird rocks and shit. We never know,” Sam said. “Like that one time you were using that aquamarine stone and the next day I got sick. Explain that one.”

“I don’t use that stone for any spells, dumbass. I just thought it was pretty,” Abigail corrected with an eyeroll.

“Can you cast a spell that helps us finalize the setlist for Friday?” Sebastian mumbled.

“Did Gus finally cave in to your request?” Valeria asked.

“Yeah, finally. He said he was worried that George would complain about the noise, but we wore him down eventually. I just hope four days is enough time to rehearse because I’m not playing if we sound shitty.” Sebastian carelessly pressed a few keys on the keyboard, an ugly, jarring sound coming from the speaker.

“Well with that attitude, we’ll sound shitty,” Sam cut in, glaring at Sebastian in annoyance. “We’ve been practicing almost every day. I think we sound pretty good.”

“Yeah, that and a plate of Evelyn’s cookies will maybe guarantee us not to be the laughing stock of the town. I’m gonna tell my mom to tell Demetrius that they shouldn’t come to the saloon. I don’t want them knowing about the band like that. I don’t need to give him more excuses to think that I’m a fuck-up.”

Abigail put a hand on his back “It’ll be fine, Seb, stop stressing out. Soon enough we’re all gonna be so rich from the band that we can move the fuck out this cow town and live somewhere cool. No offense, Valeria.”

“Hmm, some taken, but I’ll let it slide.” She pointed her finger at them and made a lassoing motion. “Alright, I want to hear the song you played the last time I was here.”

Sam exchanged a look with Sebastian and Abigail. “Oh, that one? We weren’t sure about putting it on the setlist, but okay.” He cleared his throat and grabbed his guitar. The other two bandmates settled at their stations, and Valeria sat down on Sam’s bed. When they started playing, she listened intently and wrote some notes down in her notebook. The band had improved immensely since adding Abigail on the drums. They smoothly transitioned into four other songs, each one sounding better than the last. She heard some pop undertones, as well as some ragtime and country-inspired music that sounded perfect for the saloon but still experimental enough for the group. When they finished playing, she didn’t clap, but she gave them one final nod in approval. “That sounded great. Is that the final setlist?”

Sam nodded. “Yeah, we wanted to keep it kind of short… And we also don’t have any other songs.” Embarrassed, he laughed and put his hand over his neck.

Sebastian, whose mood seemed to lighten up after the playthrough, also chimed in. “We honestly sounded pretty good today. Maybe we’ll be ready to play on Friday.”

“There’s the spirit!” Sam slapped Sebastian on the back, perhaps a little too hard given the glare that Sebastian gave him afterward. “I’m so excited. I’m nervous, but excited. Friday’s gonna be perfect, I can feel it.”

//%ᵕ‿‿ᵕ%//

“Oh, come on! This is so unfair!” Sam’s face was pressed against the kitchen window, his eyes scanning through the tapestry of green in the backyard. He peeled away from his spot and looked at Valeria. “What even is this? Why is it here? And why did it have to happen today?” Valeria blinked for a second, and then she held her hand up to stop his rapid-fire investigation.

“Okay, first of all, I can only answer one question at a time.” She shook her head. “It’s just some sort of green rain; I can’t explain it. I went to visit Demetrius before coming here and he said he’s doing some lab tests or something with Maru.”

“Which you should not have done, by the way.” Jodi’s voice rang through the kitchen as she walked over to Valeria and handed her a bath towel. “What if it was acid rain or something dangerous? You could have burned your skin off!”

“Jodi, that’s not how acid rain works,” Valeria said as she wrapped the towel around her shoulders. Even though the rain was harmless, it was disgustingly warm. Unlike the cool and refreshing rain that washed into the valley every now and again, this special rain created another layer of hell for her. The humidity this morning alone was enough to wake her up because it felt like she was suffocating. But now that she was in an air conditioned house, she was shaking from the cold because the rain soaked through every layer of her clothes.

“Well, either way, you ought to be more careful. There’s a lot of danger out there, and you never know what’s around the corner.” Jodi helped fix Valeria’s hair so that it was laying over the towel. “Oh, it really is green.” Jodi rushed over to the sink and scrubbed her hands intensely. After rinsing them for a third time, she felt satisfied. “Oh, how I wish your father was here, Sammy. He’d know what to do…”

Father? This was the first time that Valeria had heard either one of them mention any kind of father. She wanted to ask where this mythical man was, but she took one look at Sam and saw that now wasn’t the appropriate time to do so. His face had hardened, and his posture became more rigid. “Mom, it’ll be okay.” He walked over to hug her. When they broke the hug, he said, “Besides, maybe this is like, a freak weather thing that’ll never happen again or something. For now, I say we just blame Valeria for all this and let Demetrius figure the rest out.” When Valeria looked back at Sam, she saw the mischievous glint in his eye return, and she knew that for now he’d be fine.

“How is this my fault!? I had no idea this was going to happen,” Valeria defended. Sam shrugged his shoulders, his eyes flickering around as he was trying to find a reason to back up his claim. “Well, you were the last person to move here, and you’re always doing weird stuff around the town. That’s gotta mean something, right?” When Jodi wasn’t looking, Valeria flipped Sam off, to which Sam reciprocated the action.

“Oh, Sammy, be nice. Maybe all those reports about climate change were telling the truth. I should go to the altar tomorrow and pray over this,” Jodi said. She clutched the Yoba necklace that was hanging on her neck.

“Yeah, Sammy, be nice,” Valeria mocked. “Besides, it’s not like you can’t go outside. Gus invited everyone to the saloon tonight. Didn’t you get the letter?” The house fell silent as Sam and Jodi processed what she’d just said. To Jodi, the prospect of her oldest son going out into some weird environmental phenomenon was the last thing she wanted. But to Sam, that meant he was still able to debut the band at the saloon with a lot more people showing up than he’d originally intended. When he finally put the pieces together, he clasped his hands and began pleading with his mom.

“Mom. Mommy. Mom. Please. I need to go. If Gus invited everyone then that means Sebastian and Abigail might already be there! I don’t want them to think I bailed. The phones haven’t been working all day. I need to go see them.”

“Oh, honey, I don’t know.” Jodi looked out the window. The rain wasn’t letting up anytime soon, that much was clear. “Oh, dear, I think the rain is staining the windows.” Jodi let out a deep sigh, closed her eyes, and mumbled a prayer to Yoba. “Okay, fine. But make sure Valeria goes with you, and take this.” She walked over to the kitchen’s entrance and handed them a comically large umbrella.

“Thanks, Mom, you’re the best!” Sam cheered. He all but snatched the umbrella from Jodi’s hands and pushed Valeria out of the house.

//%ᵕ‿‿ᵕ%//

The Stardrop Saloon was in a frenzy.

It was as busy as Valeria had ever seen it; nearly half the people inside were people that Valeria had never seen there before. Everybody was frantically shouting over each other, and it didn’t help that the TV in the back corner was ominously playing static noise and emitting a foul green color from the screen. How long had this been going on for?

“Okay, okay, everybody calm down!” Valeria heard Mayor Lewis’ voice pipe up from the crowd. His usual cheerful tenor has been replaced by a more frantic tone, which to her meant that even he was stressed out about the situation at hand. Sure, he always looked panicked about some frivolous decoration in the town, or frazzled whenever Valeria found him in Marnie’s shop. But those two scenarios had nothing on the mayor’s current temperament. “Since so many of you have decided to seek shelter in the saloon, you know by now that the rain is not harmful to anyone. I have personally spoken with Demetrius, and he said that the rain is not toxic to humans. He confirmed his samples less than a half hour ago.”

As Lewis spoke, she began to take in his appearance– he was drenched from head to toe. He must have booked it from Robin’s cabin and made a beeline for the saloon. He had since removed his hat, and his slate gray hair was surprisingly full on his head despite being dampened from the downpour. It was so odd seeing him in such a casual state of manner.

“He said it’s safe? Well, I’ll drink to that.” Pam sloshed her ale glass up in the air, which was not received by a single soul. Apparently no one else was in the drinking mood yet, for Pam was the only one with a glass. Which said a lot, because even Shane was soberly sulking away in his designated corner.

“Maybe we should hold off on the drinks for just a little while longer. But I’m happy to assist in some appetizers for everyone during these trying times,” Gus said as he slid a few plates of pepper poppers out on the bar. Sam rushed to the front and snagged a plate and a couple napkins.

“Thanks, Gus,” said Sam. “Can I also place an order for a pizza? All cheese, nothing fancy and no vegetables.” Gus chuckled and nodded, writing the order down on a ticket. When they turned away from the bar, Valeria grabbed a pepper and made a sound of satisfaction. “I’m so glad Gus kept the saloon open. I haven’t eaten all day.”

“You should probably eat, then,” Sam said as they walked in the direction of the arcade room.

“Thanks, genius,” she said sarcastically, “That’s easy for you to say when you actually have a kitchen. You’ve seen my house.”

“Hmm… true.” He handed the plate to her and wiped his mouth after eating a pepper. His posture perked up when he saw Sebastian and Abigail in the front corner of the room, lounging by the makeshift stage that Robin built yesterday.

“Look who finally decided to show up. We’ve been waiting half an hour for you. Where the hell have you been?” Sebastian asked. Even though he was giving Sam shit for being late, he was so clearly nonchalant about the situation since neither Robin nor Demetrius were in the saloon. He was leaned up against the pool table and had his arms crossed, his body only inches away from Abigail’s.

“Sorry, man, my mom wasn’t gonna let me come tonight. Thankfully Val mentioned that everyone was over here, so she felt more comfortable with letting me go.”

“Dude, you’re an adult now. She can’t really stop you from going to the saloon, which is, like, not even half a block away.”

“Some of us have strict parents, Seb,” Abigail chimed in. Sebastian made a pinching motion at the plate of pepper poppers, and Valeria handed the plate to him. Abigail reached over Sebastian’s lap to grab one too, her bracelets draping over his wrist. “My parents would freak out if I went anywhere after dark. It’s so annoying.”

“That’s why both of you need to just start sneaking out. It’s not that hard, who’s gonna notice?”

“Okay, Seb, enough third degree. Let’s start warming up,” Sam said with a roll of his eyes. He set his guitar case down on the stage and began to set up the amps for it. In the meantime, Valeria ordered her first wine and snagged a spot in the spot where she always sat with Leah. Moments later Emily materialized on the other side of the table, and she started to adjust the lamp on the table.

“Sam told me he wanted more ambiance in the saloon. I’m dimming all the lights down.” It took her a minute to figure out how to adjust the ancient fixture, but eventually she figured it out. “I had a feeling something weird would happen today. I had a few dreams about it last night, too. The emerald you gave me last week… there was a powerful energy inside it. Maybe the forest is trying to tell you something.”

Well, maybe Sam was right in saying this green rain was somehow her fault. “As long as it’s not trying to kill us, I don’t care what the forest is trying to say,” Valeria said. Emily always had this indescribable energy that Valeria couldn’t ever grasp. It always seemed as if Emily could see right through people. Valeria knew that the majority of the town thought that Emily spoke in this faux spiritual manner, but she didn’t think that. In fact, she was probably the only person that believed in Emily’s capabilities to see into the spirit. One night at the beginning of summer, they had shown up in each other’s dreams. And even though Valeria pretended like she didn’t have such a dream when Emily asked her about it, she was so freaked out by the situation that she avoided Emily for a week. She didn’t know that Emily could sense things from crystals either, so now in some odd way, this green rain is beginning to make a lot of sense.

“I think you should listen to the forest. If it’s trying to talk to anyone, it would be you.” And with that, Emily turned to the next table, her cerulean hair cascading small waves behind her as she fluttered away. Thankfully, Valeria had a full glass of wine to drink down. Gus had expanded his wine shelf to include “artisan” wines from the fruits she grew on the farm. She conveniently left out the part where some of the out-of-season-fruits were provided by some bats in a cave. She figured that it would be bad for business if that kind of information was leaked. Nonetheless, she was greatly enjoying the cool, crisp, flavor that the melon wine was providing.

She looked up from her glass when she heard the chair across from her gently scrape across the floor. Sitting across from her was none other than Elliott.

“Hi,” she said slowly when he sat down across from her. She looked around at the empty tables. Why didn't he choose one of those instead?

“Hello Valeria,” he greeted warmly. Even in the turmoil that was the green rain, he still managed to walk into the saloon looking absolutely brilliant. He was as dry as a bone; not a single drop of water had landed on him, and of course his hair framed his face in such an elegant way. It almost pissed her off how he was able to look so good today. “Have you been staying safe from all the chaos?”

“Not even close, but that’s the life of a farmer, I guess.” Her shirt was now stained a fern green. It created a ghastly tie-dye effect that she couldn’t stand and hoped would come out in the washer. She didn’t even want to think about her hair– it was still considerably damp, and every now and again water would drip from the ends. She tucked a strand behind her ear. Suddenly she felt subconscious about her appearance.

He smiled at her. “It’s nice to see the townspeople gathering here on such short notice. I suppose that Leah didn’t want to come up here– I suppose that the rain caused too much of a stir. I see that Willy beat me here, though, which is splendid. It feels like a good time for the community to come together.”

She hadn’t heard anyone else be so passionate about today. “Um, yeah,” she said lamely. She looked over to the stage and saw that the band was almost done setting up, thankfully. She felt Elliott’s eyes on her, and she turned back around. “What?”

He smiled, unaffected. “Nothing. Are you looking forward to hearing the band? Leah told me that you’ve been helping them out.”

She shrugged indifferently. “I guess. I just listen in on rehearsals sometimes. I can’t really tell you much more.”

“How marvelous. I look forward to hearing them play.”

As if Elliott had manifested it, Valeria heard the sound of a microphone being tapped on. “Hey everyone!” Sam’s voice cut through the crowd, and a gradual silence fell upon the saloon. When everyone’s attention eventually turned to the stage, Sam’s face pinkened, and she saw him fidgeting with his guitar pick. “Uh, I know it’s a weird time to be doing this, but the band– we’d still like to play some new sounds that we’re working on. So, here goes nothing!” Silence followed, and then the band struck up a soft rock instrumental. It was almost immediately a crowd pleaser; everyone in the saloon relaxed to the music and swayed to the rhythm. Even Shane was tapping his foot along to the music, albeit offbeat.

“How was the rest of your week, Valeria?” Elliott continued after the hype mellowed out. She turned back around for a second and gave him a once over, slowly. “It was fine.” She turned back around. She wasn’t in the mood to make small talk with him.

“That’s good.” A minute of silence passed. “Did you enjoy all the fruits of summer’s labor?” This time, she didn’t turn around when she spoke. “Yes.” Keep it short, keep it sweet. Eventually he would get the hint, right?”

“And how does it compare to your old life in the big city?”

She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Now was not the time to get emotional, even if it was completely justified. “I’m actually trying to listen to the band, you know.” She whipped around to give him a glare. “Why are you acting like a detective right now?”

Elliott took a swig from his ale glass and gave her a smile. “Well, now that we are friends, I-”

“What? You and I,” she pointed back and forth between them, “Are not friends.”

“We shared a nice moment in my cabin, though, did we not?”

“We’re barely friends,” she corrected. “We haven’t even spoken since that day.”

He ignored the comment. “Well, then, let us change that.”

“Why? I already have friends.”

“Oh, don’t say it like that. Another friend wouldn’t hurt. Even grumpy Clint likes friends. He’s just too shy to seek them out.”

“Maybe I’m shy too,” said Valeria. Elliott chuckled at this, because they both knew that that wasn’t true.

“Before you reject my invitation completely, I have something that I’d like to give you.” He smiled, his green eyes glowing so warmly in the dimmed light. “I want to introduce you to some prose that I think you’d enjoy.” Without another word, Elliott reached into his coat pocket and slid something across the table to her. She picked it up and realized that it was a book. “‘The Zuzu City Express?’” She asked him.

He nodded. “A breathtaking classic. Have you read it before?” He smiled with satisfaction when she shook her head. “Excellent. All I ask is that you read the book and tell me what you think about it.”

She didn’t say anything, but she flipped the book over to read the summary. Honestly, it didn’t sound half bad. It did, however, confuse her as to why he was giving it to her. “Why do you want me to read this?”

“I’d like to know your thoughts. We have a few differences in our tastes, and I want to better understand your perspective.”

“Is Leah busy or something? This sounds like something more her speed.”
“Leah and I nearly have the same taste in everything. I already know what she likes. Plus, you said you disliked writers, and I want to change your opinion.”

As she flipped through the pages of the book, she said, “My opinion shouldn’t matter that much to you.” He must be very determined to make everyone in town like him. Why else would he be asking for her attention? Nevertheless, she stuffed the book in her backpack. Maybe she would like having a hobby outside of chopping trees and exploring the mines. “Fine, I’ll read the book. But I can’t promise a fast turnaround time. I do have a farm to manage.”

He clasped his hands together, a triumphant smile on his face. “That’s okay. I’m quite patient; I don’t mind waiting.”

And wait, he did. Summer was long over by the time Valeria was able to return the book to Elliott. She spent about half an hour every night before bed reading the book, and with each passing night she grew fonder of what she was reading. She was pleasantly surprised by Elliott’s choice. It was exactly the kind of book she liked.

Elliott kept his promise of being patient about it, too. He never once asked her if she was almost done reading the book, or let alone asked if she’d started reading it. When she was finally finished, she was able to flag him down at the bridge that connects to the beach.

“Ah, she returns.” His eyes lit up when he saw the book in her hands. “May I take that as a sign that you’ve finished reading it?”

“I have,” she said, passing the book to him. “I left some notes in the margins. I hope that’s alright.”

“I couldn’t have asked for anything better.” He opened the book and flipped to a random page, reading her annotations with much enthusiasm. “Thank you, Valeria. I hope you enjoyed reading it. They’re turning ‘The Zuzu City Express’ into a movie, you know. But, I digress. Shall we move on to the next?” He drew another book from his coat pocket and handed it to her.

“Oh, another one.” She took the book from him and inspected the new cover.

“I think you’ll really enjoy that one. You don’t have to read it if you don’t want to, I think this shall suffice,” he said, tapping the pad of his forefinger on the annotated novel.

“Are you ever gonna tell me why you want me to read these books, or do I have to reach a certain threshold first?”

He held his forefinger to his lips. “At the moment, I’m not at liberty to say. But trust me, it will be worth the wait.”

She put a hand in her pocket and looked at him curiously. “Since when are you so secretive? It takes less two ales to get you spilling all your emotions.”

Elliott laughed at her teasing. “I can be elusive when I need to be. I don’t want to spoil anything until it comes to fruition.”

She rolled her eyes at his unnecessarily dramatic language. “Alright, Elliott. I’ll get back to you about this.” She tapped the book and started to walk back towards the town center.

“Thank you, Valeria. What are friends for?” She didn’t have to turn around to hear the humor layered in his voice.

“Not friends!” She called out to him.

“Not yet! Enjoy the book.” She wanted to be contrarian and tell him that she was going to hate the book, but she couldn’t, because she thought that she’d be lying to herself. Something told her that, like "The Zuzu City Express,” she’d like the next book too.

Chapter 8: Whiplash

“The doctor will see you now.”

Valeria stood up at the sound of Maru’s voice and briskly walked through the back doors of Harvey’s clinic. Maru met her around the back and gave her a bright smile. “He’s in the back room waiting for you. I can take that for you if you’re all done filling it out,” she said, holding her hands out for the clipboard that contained all of Valeria’s personal information: her full name, her previous occupation and all the injuries that occurred from it, as well as the details about her old therapist.

“Oh, I can take it to Harvey myself. I don’t mind,” Valeria said, not making any moves to give Maru the clipboard. Maru withdrew her hand and gave her an understanding smile. “Oh, of course. Enjoy your visit!” The nurse retreated back into the reception room without another word.

The sound of running water became louder when she got closer to the examination room. She hovered by the door’s entrance and knocked on the frame, alerting Harvey of her arrival. The doctor jumped at the sound and let out a tiny laugh when he saw who was there. “Good morning, Valeria!” Harvey chirpped out. He turned off the faucet with his coat sleeve and tentatively dried his hands with a clean paper towel. “Are you ready for your check-up?”

“Ready to get it over with,” she said honestly. Harvey laughed and pulled on a pair of white latex gloves. “It’s not that bad, I promise. I do my best to get my patients in and out. Now, if you’ll have a seat on the edge of the bed for me.” When she sat, he began the examination swiftly and it began to pass with a breeze. Admittedly, it was a little awkward because she didn’t know Harvey that well and he kept trying to force smalltalk that garnered one-word replies from her. Eventually, the whole ordeal was over and she felt like she could breathe again.

“Alright, Valeria, most of everything looks to be in order,” Harvey said as he re-wrapped the stethoscope around his neck. He grabbed the clipboard and flipped to one of the pages. “However, there is one concern that I have. Your heart rate is concerning me.” He scribbled something down and looked at her with his characteristically concerned eyes. “Your heart rate is dangerously low… your BPM is at forty-two. Do you have any history of chronic bradychardia?” Harvey asked as he sat back down in his chair.

“Oh, that? No, it’s normal, trust me,” she said. She lowered her voice and said, “I used to be a professional athlete for a few years. My heart rate has been in the forties for a long time.”
Harvey’s eyebrows shot up, and he looked at her with curiosity. “Oh, well in that case, that’s great! Now that we’ve cleared that up, this means that you’ve got a completely healthy body, between the sports and the farm work, I’m sure.” He flipped to another page in the clipboard. “Mm, torn Achilles in the left ankle, torn ligament in the right knee… it looks like you have not been too kind to your body.” He clicked his tongue on the roof of his mouth. “Maybe I spoke too soon.”

Valeria rolled her eyes at his reproach. “I’m completely fine. Those injuries were a long time ago and they healed properly.” She extended her right leg out and rolled up her jeans to show him her knee. “See?” she flexed her leg and rolled her ankle around. Harvey pressed two fingers to the back of her knee and gestured for her to extend her leg out fully.

“Yes, it healed nicely, but please be mindful of your knee when you’re on the farm. One wrong step and you could tear it again. Do you stretch before and after farming?” Valeria nodded her head as she held in a laugh. No one had ever shown this much concern about her physical health; not even her former coach. Despite it feeling comforting, it felt too helicopter-parent for her. “Don’t worry, I make sure to give my body plenty of rest.” Sometimes.

Harvey breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s great to hear. Usually everyone in this town complains when I tell them to take their bodies seriously. They’ll regret it when they’re older.” Harvey laughed to himself.

“So, am I all good to go, then?” she asked as she rolled her pants sleeve back down.

“Yes, you’re all set. Just check out with Maru at the front office so you can schedule your next appointment.” He grinned cheekily at her.

Valeria walked to the door, but she stopped when her hand was around the handle. “Hey, Doctor Harvey? Can we keep the whole, you know, ‘professional athlete’ thing between us? Doctor-patient confidentiality and all that stuff, you know?”

Harvey made a zipping motion of his lips and threw away an imaginary key. “I haven’t heard a word. Your secret is safe with me.” She thanked him and high-tailed it out of the office.

//%ᵕ‿‿ᵕ%//

Valeria walked out of the clinic with an appointment card and a bottle of energy tonic that Maru had peddled to her. “This might come in handy for the mines,” she told herself as she shoved both items in her pocket.

“Yoo hoo! Valeria!” She snapped her head to the sound and saw Mayor Lewis standing right next to the clinic. He beckoned her to him. “I have some wonderful news, Valeria! I was actually on my way to your farm, but I saw you walk into the clinic so I’ve just been waiting out here until you came out again!”

“Well, that’s not creepy at all,” she said with faux cheerfulness. One of these days, she was going to tell Lewis to stop meddling in other peoples’ business. Most importantly, out of hers. Unfortunately, her farm was doing pretty well for itself, and since Lewis thought he was being a good mayor, he was always poking around her land and asking her about any new thing she had going on around the farm. It was cute the first time when she was still new to the job, but then she quickly grew tired of his rounds because he would come over once a week at the most random times. Considering he was at her farm just the day before, she had no idea what was about to come out of his mouth.

“The Stardew Valley Tribune wants to publish an article about your farm! They have an ‘up and coming’ column where they write about the folks trying to turn this place around. This could mean great things for Pelican Town! More tourism, more money flowing into the economy. And it’s all because of you!”

“Um…” she tightened her grip on her backpack. Is he insinuating that her farm be turned into a tourist attraction? “I don’t really feel comfortable with that, if I’m being honest. Can you tell them no?”

Lewis reacted like she just slapped him. His entire body jolted from the shock of her response, and he took his hat off to fan himself. “You-you don’t want to be in the article?”

She shook her head. “No, not really.” Not if it meant that she had to dox herself to do it. She wished that she could explain why; to quit being the farmer who said “no” to the social events that happened here. But even though Lewis pretended to be an understanding person, he was only understanding of things from his own perspective. She knew that he would be at that saloon tonight telling his mistress about the bitchy farmer who never wants to do anything. Was her act getting old? Sure. Did she care? Not enough.

“Valeria,” Mayor Lewis started as he put his cap back on, “You’ve been here for almost a year now, and I feel like we’ve grown close enough for me to tell you this. That, and the fact that I was your grandfather’s closest friend and confidant.” Technically, Willy was my grandfather’s best friend. But whatever you say, Lewis. “Angelo loved the Morningstar farm. It was his pride and joy, as I’m sure you can remember.” Valeria nodded her head mutely, her stomach churning in anticipation for what he was about to get at. “It would just be a shame if you rehabilitated the farm and had nothing to show for it. How do you think he would feel about that?”

The grossest thing about this interaction was the fact that Lewis was being one-hundred percent sincere. She knew that deep down, he believed in every word he said, and he also believed that a stupid fucking article about the farm would somehow salvage the poverty-stricken town that he’s been mismanaging for twenty years. She could physically feel her body warm up in rage. She wanted to tell him exactly what she thought about him and his subpar skills at running a town of thirty people. And to use her dead grandfather as a “gotcha” moment? There was no way she was going to let him live that down. But, she didn’t do anything, because so much as berating him in public would end in her being shipped off to the loony bin. So, she did the only thing she could think of, which was to give him a tight-lipped toothless smile. Looks like the Joja media training was about to come in handy.

“You know, what, Mayor? I think you might be right. Send me the person I need to call, and I’ll take care of it from here.”

It was like a lightning bolt of happiness had struck Lewis. “That is amazing, Valeria! I’m so happy that you were able to see it my way.” In a flash, he pulled out a wrinkled envelope and passed it to her. “It looks like Pelican Town will soon have its own celebrity! Prosperous times are upon us.” He tipped his hat toward her.

“Yep, it sure will,” she said sardonically.

Lewis let out a pleased sigh and then looked up to the autumn sky. “Your farm, published in the tribune, on top of what you plan to showcase at the Fair this weekend. I couldn’t have asked for better timing. Yoba is on my side… on the town’s side.” Lewis closed his eyes and breathed in, and he smiled longingly. “We are close to the top of the mountain. Welp, anyways, I guess that’s it! It was great catching up with you, Valeria.”

“Mhm, bye, Mayor,” she said sweetly. When his back was facing her, she let out the biggest eyeroll that she could manage. She began plotting her retaliation on the walk back to her farm. The first part of her plan was to obviously call and cancel the publication. The second part, however, was going to require a little patience and hope that Marnie would be at the saloon tonight. It was a Friday, so she felt like the odds would be in her favor.

Shane swung open the door to Marnie’s with an aggressive pull. “What the fuck do you want?” Shane didn’t even attempt to hide the discontent in his voice when he saw Valeria on the porch.

“I’m surprised that you’re not at the saloon this late at night,” Valeria said, not bothering with a proper greeting.

“Jas wanted me to stay home tonight and keep her company. But thank you for the concern,” he deadpanned.

She decided to skip further pleasantries. “Is Marnie here? I need to borrow something from her.”

“Uh, no, but you can just grab it from her room I guess. For some reason, she really likes you.” Shane stepped aside to let Valeria in.

It didn’t take long for Valeria to find what she was looking for. Even though the front of her ranch was always littered with hay and animal tools, Marnie kept her bedroom neat and free of straw. Her eyes scanned the room for a minute, and they finally settled on what she came here for. There, sitting in the corner of Marnie’s room, half-hidden under her bed, was her purple ticket to putting Lewis in his place. “Looks like you’re coming home with me,” she said, a wicked grin on her face as she stuffed the boxers in her backpack.

//%ᵕ‿‿ᵕ%//

Valeria felt that it was safe to say that the Stardew Valley Fair was the busiest event of the year. Everyone was at the fair, including some tourists who she’d never seen before. The town center smelled only of fried food: fried chicken, fried ice cream, and even fried funnel cake. Her stomach started to growl as soon as the smell wafted through her nose. Right ahead of her were the display stands the mayor told her about, and hers was the only empty one. She saw Pierre frantically organizing and re-organizing the produce in his display. He was also stressing his wife out from the constant takedown of the items. Even at this distance, she saw Caroline growing visibly upset with him. She smiled and shook her head, deciding that she would have to fill her display at a later time. She walked down the main street and perused the different tents, but none of them were piquing her interest.

She made it down to the end of the road and looked around. Where was Sam or Leah? She hadn’t even Elliott gracing the south side of town with an appearance. She looked back at the booths and sighed reluctantly. “I guess I’ll just go to the fishing game,” she said to herself.

“Not necessarily. There are other activities at the fair… You just have to know where to look.” The Wizard bowed his head towards her as he stepped out of some bushes.

Valeria eyed him suspiciously. The Wizard never went into town. “Were you just… Waiting in the bushes?”

“More or less. I was waiting for the right person to come along. I like to observe the locals. From a distance, of course,” said the Wizard. “But you, Valeria, you always have this knack for finding me at the right time. Come this way.” He pushed two of the bushes apart and waited for her to step inside.

“As long as you promise not to do anything weird,” she joked, slowly but surely maneuvering her way through the greenery. The wizard said nothing as he ushered her into an ominous-looking tent. From the outside, it just looked like a normal(ish) tent with drapey purple fabric that was blowing from the soft autumn wind. When she stepped over the threshold, her pupils had to dilate quickly from how dark it was. There were obviously no windows, and the only light source was being emitted from… A crystal ball? “Um, Ras-” she turned around and squinted. The stupid wizard didn't follow her in. When she turned back around, a hooded figure had taken a seat right behind the crystal ball.

After a moment of silence between the two parties, the figure spoke. “Well, are you going to just stand around or are you here to have your future read?”

Wow, okay, rude. “Um, I guess I’ll have my future read.” She pulled back the chair on her side of the table and sat down slowly. The fortune teller continued to stare at her. “I don’t offer my services for free, you know. It’ll be one-hundred gold.” She flanked her hand out in front of Valeria expectantly.

“You know, for a fortune teller at a town fair, you have a big attitude,” Valeria said as she handed the money over. “I’m an oracle, not a fortune teller. The two are quite different. Just call me Welwick if that’s easier for a mundane person such as yourself.” Regardless, the oracle took Valeria’s hands into her own. “Dream with me for a moment,” Welwick said.

Valeria rolled her eyes and closed them, taking in a deep breath as she waited for something to happen. Even from behind her eyelids, she could see the crystal ball emitting a brighter glow than before. “It’s working,” muttered Welwick. “You can open your eyes. You didn’t need to close them in the first place.”

The crystal ball no longer glowed a phantom blue. Instead, actual images were swirling around and around. For a split second she was able to see a myriad of different pictures that reminded her of movie scenes. The images slowed to a stop and settled on one scene: Harvey’s clinic. There Valeria was, laid on one of the hospital beds, looking like she’d just come back from the dead. Her tan skin had paled to a sickly color that the word “beige” didn’t do it justice. “It looks like you took a mighty blow while you were in the Skull Cavern,” the oracle said indifferently. Her midnight blue talons lightly caressed the sphere. “At least your friend Sam will be there to help you during the downfall.”

“What the hell is a ‘Skull Cavern?’” Valeria queried. Welwick dismissed the question with a passive wave and continued on. The image flicked away and the carousel of images picked up in motion again. Once they slowed down, a picture of her farm came into focus. This image was clearly also in the future because the farm in the crystal ball actually looked clean and put-together. A majority of the debris was cleaned and swept away, and there were cobblestone pathways that lined beautiful wooden fences. She guessed that the oracle was showing her a future sometime in the summer because her planting grounds were filled with colorful melons and berries. Future Valeria was sitting on the ledge of her front porch, tossing a perfectly ripe blueberry in her mouth.

“That’s odd,” mused Welwick.

“What is?” Valeria squinted into the ball. Nothing looked out of the ordinary to her.

“There’s no one else in the vision with you.” Welwick slapped the ball like she would smack a car to get it to turn on.

“I mean, is that a problem? I work on the farm alone.”

“The second part of my readings is where I make a prediction for lovers,” muttered Welwick. “You obviously have not been making an effort in that direction, otherwise I would have picked up on it.”

Valeria shrugged. “I haven’t really had time to date.”

Welwick laughed at her. “My dear, you live in Stardew Valley. What else is there to do besides date?”

Valeria leaned back in the cushioned chair and thought for a moment. For some odd reason, there was no shortage of single people in Pelican Town. But the pickins were quite slim, were they not? Shane was too disgusting and mean. Haley was too nonchalant, which said a lot if Valeria thought that. Harvey looked like he was afraid of women, and Alex was a womanizer. Valeria also knew that she wasn’t the ideal bachelorette herself, given that she was now tied to the farm for the rest of her life, and coupled with the fact that she was maybe just a little emotionally unavailable. When she factored in the other single people, she was either too good of friends with them (like Leah and Sam), or they were too young (like Penny). So really, was there anyone else to strike up a romance with?

“I don’t know how many people I have to explain this to this week, but I actually have a job that keeps me busy.”

“Dear, I knew your grandfather for many years and I will be the first to tell you that managing a farm is not that hard. Just set up some sprinklers and have my good friend Rasmodius send some Junimos to work for you. Soon enough you’ll have all the free time in the world for some romance. After all, it’s not like he left you the farm to become a recluse in it. Well, let me read something else. Ah, yes. Here, I see you and a very pretty redhead named Leah foraging in the tropical forests of Ginger Island…”

Valeria made a beeline to the center of Pelican Town shortly after she left Welwick’s tent. Even though it was still early in the afternoon, she felt pressed for time and decided to pass by the other vendor booths. Robin and Jodi greeted her warmly as she walked by them, and the opposite could be said when she saw Alex and Haley, who both gave her a searing once-over. She laughed as she walked by. So high school.

“Hey, Marnie,” Valeria greeted when she got to the displays.

“Hi, Valeria, it’s so good to see you again!” Marnie pulled her into a warm embrace. Marnie looked to the right at the empty display grange. “You better get to organizing your display, girl. Lewis will be coming around to judge in just a few minutes.”

“Your display looks pretty good,” she told Marnie as she squatted down and rifled through her backpack to start putting her display together. She knew that she had no shot of winning the contest, especially since her display was sat between Marnie’s and Pierre’s. Both of them were piled high with lush vegetables, fruits, cheeses, and clothes, some of which Valeria hadn’t even begun to dream of making.

Marnie blushed at the compliment. “Well, thank you. I don’t get out as much as I used to, so I look forward to the fair every year.”

“I’m not sure if I believe you, Marnie, I see you almost every Friday at the saloon.”

“Oh, well, that is true, I suppose.” Marnie looked past Valeria, and her eyes brightened when they spotted their target. “I see Mayor Lewis, I should go talk to him before he gets too lonely.” Marnie rushed behind her and when she turned around, she saw Marnie talking to a skittish Lewis.

“One of these days, Marnie, you’re gonna wake up and realize he’s not the guy for you. Hopefully that day’s coming soon,” Valeria said to herself as she pulled out the last item for her grange display. She pinned Lewis’ shorts right in the center of the wooden board, resting right above some pumpkins she grew just a couple days before. She stood up and patted herself on the back. Other than the unsightly boxers, her display looked quite nice. She went for a typical autumn theme, so her display was a rainbow of dusty oranges and saturated reds. She looked back over and saw Lewis waving at her. She returned a half-assed wave, but decided it was best if she fled the premises before he saw what she did.

//%ᵕ‿‿ᵕ%//

“Hello, gorgeous, I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever!” Leah immediately pulled Valeria in for a tight embrace. “Where have you been? The fair’s not that big.” She found Leah hanging out by Gus’ barbecue station with Elliott.

“I was going through some of the booths down there,” Valeria said, pointing in the general direction of the oracle’s tent. She turned her attention back to the food. “Anything worth eating here?” She asked Leah.

“You’ll have to ask Elliott, this stuff is too greasy for me,” she said, holding a hand to her stomach protectively. Elliott took this as a chance to finally contribute to the conversation. “Hello, Valeria. It’s nice to see you again.”

“Elliott,” she acknowledged. She walked past Leah and looked around the area. “Where can I find a plate?”

Elliott reached behind himself and procured a plain white paper plate. “Try the spicy ribs, they’re quite marvelous.”

As she started to fill her plate with a plethora of items– most of it being meat, which was now a delicacy because it was one of the most expensive items at Pierre’s. “Have you two just been hanging around here all day?”

“Pretty much. We’ve been eavesdropping on the passerbys and convincing a bunch of tourists not to move here,” Leah said. Valeria looked up from her plate and to Leah, holding in a laugh. “What? What do you mean by that?”

“Well,” Leah started, “Gus told me that the fair is one of the biggest tourist events for Stardew Valley. Well, apparently a lot of people want to move here especially since Joja’s businesses are booming. So, I’ve been telling them how everyone here is awful and that the infrastructure isn’t that good, how there’s nothing to do, and- Elliott, what was that thing you told the mom with her kid?”

“I told her that the valley is severely lacking in public safety because we don’t have a police station, and the closest thing we have to an education system is Penny. I think I made a rather convincing argument for her not to come,” he said proudly.

“Look at you two, claiming stake in a town that you didn’t even grow up in,” Valeria teased.

“Hey, you should be thanking us! Soon one of those Joja bootlickers is gonna come knocking on your door asking to turn your farm into an office building. Or worse, luxury housing.”

Valeria playfully bumped her shoulder into Leah’s. “I could not imagine the farm being turned into a shitty suburb. I’m so glad I do not work for Joja anymore.” She stabbed some collard greens on her fork and looked back up when she noticed that there was an air of silence. “What?”

“You used to work for Joja?” Leah asked, an incredulous look on her face. Valeria looked over to see Elliott’s head tilted in contemplation. She didn’t know which look made her feel more uncomfortable.

“I mean, yeah. I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before,” she said, hoping to mitigate the fact.

“No, you haven’t, but it makes sense why you hate them as much as we do,” Leah said. “What did you do?”

“Um, it was just, like, some stupid job I did for a few years. It wasn’t really anything important.” People didn’t consider athletes as people who did important things, right?

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Valeria. I for one also had quite the draining job. What matters is that you’re here now, doing what you find fulfilling.” Elliott’s lips turned upward to a smile as his eyes found hers.

“Thanks for the pep talk, but it’s fine, really. I’m not ashamed that I worked for Joja.” I’m just ashamed of the way they tried to ruin my life.

Leah was in the middle of telling a rather funny story about what happened at her aerobics class when she was interrupted by a flustered Lewis. “Oh, hi, Mayor,” she said slowly, eyeing him up and down. When Valeria turned around, she saw that Lewis’ face was as red as a beet and he was huffing like he just finished running a marathon.

“Hi, Leah,” he said after he caught his breath. His attention turned to Valeria, and he pointed at her. “I was looking all over for you.” He passed her a sealed envelope and gave her a stern look. “Next time you find an item of mine, I would appreciate it if you handed it to me discreetly, and not publicly display it in front of the whole town!” He took one last huff, and he looked at Leah and Elliott, tipping his hat at both of them. “Alright, well, have a good day.” He gave Valeria one last disapproving look and said, "your display completely threw me off. I did nothing to deserve that!" Without another word, he walked away from the group.

Lewis was barely out of earshot when Leah started to laugh. “Valeria, what the hell was he talking about?”

Valeria set her plate down on the table and opened the envelope, unfolding the piece of paper that was inside. It read, “Fall Fair Grange Display,” but the word “DISQUALIFIED” was written in all caps with a scarlet red pen. She shook the envelope and heard the sound of star tokens clinking together. She put the letter back in the envelope and shoved the whole thing in her backpack.

“Let’s just say that the mayor was poking his nose in places it didn’t belong,” she said, a coy grin gracing her face. She returned to her plate and kept eating like nothing had happened. “Wow, Elliott, you were right. The spicy barbecue is phenomenal.” From the corner of her eye, she could see Elliott and Leah exchanging glances with each other, and the both of them burst out laughing. Even though Valeria also found the whole situation funny, she was also glad that the mayor learned his lesson, because she was never above teaching someone else how to respect her privacy.

Notes:

Helloooo!

I went on vacation and have been working on (struggling) with grad school applications, but I really wanted to get a chapter out because writing is one of the only things keeping me sane rn LOL!! i hope you enjoyed :3