It has been six fucking years since I've written anything fictional. I have no idea what the heck I'm doing. Heck. I'm almost 19 now, and I've been everywhere, at least I had been. From Avatar: The Last Airbender, to Percy Jackson, to Degrassi, to Harry Potter. I've been so many places. I can't find my "main account", considering I was 13 and had stupid, fake emails. Nothing like a fresh start thooo.

Shane sits in the saloon, in his usual spot, watching everybody. Marnie and Mayor Lewis were across the way, making eyes at each other. As if everyone did not already know that Lewis would sneak into Marnie's bed when she was lonely at night. Or at least he did, he could hear everything from the next bedroom. Demetrius and Robin were dancing, although Demetrius looked pained by it. Pam, the only person who could show him up in a drinking competition, was on the opposite side of the bar. He takes another swig of his beer, then closed his eyes. Everything was as per usual. It was like he was stuck in the same hellacious cycle. Sleep, work, drink.

However, tonight, something new happened. A whoosh of cool air comes through the door as it swings shut. He had vague memories of Marnie telling Jas a new woman was coming to town to farm, but he never thought past that. She was beautiful; she had (almost) white hair down to her butt, and in this lighting, her eyes looked like fire, a light brown that looked transparent. She wore a black skull shirt, and purple denim pants uncharacteristic of your average crop farmer. The only distinction he had that she was a farmer was her leather boots that had mud caked to the sides.

Shane immediately felt a pit in his stomach. He was interested in her. He wanted to know who she was, where she came from, her entire story. To him, she was torture. She would never want to be friends with him, the town drunk. Yet, after she finished speaking with the mayor, her eyes caught his. He could tell she was going to try and speak with him. Yoba, even the way she moved was interesting; she walked with her shoulders down, but with confidence. Where she occupied space, she smelled of strawberry.

"Hello," she murmured, holding out her hand. "The name's Marina." She popped a smile, but it soon disappeared once she realized Shane had denied her handshake. He felt like he had known her before. Maybe in another lifetime. But she felt familiar. Her very voice soothed him. That's why he could not ever let her in. He didn't deserve anything like her, and she didn't deserve to have to deal with his punk ass.

It stings as he says, "Don't you have work to do?"

Her smile is long gone, replaced by confused eyes. She drops her hand after a few seconds, then murmurs, "It is nighttime, the chickens are sleeping. Plants are watered. I came to meet some new people, but I get the picture." She tucks her arms together against her chest, then sighs. "It was nice to meet you."

As she walks toward the room where Sam, Sebastian, and Abigail are playing pool, Shane stands up. Someone like Sam would be good for her. Hell, even Sebastian would be better for her than him. He leaves his beer, and makes a less-than-composed walk to the door. He doesn't look back toward the girl. It was good to meet you, too, Marina, he thinks to himself.

Marina stares at her ceiling, not sure she made the right choice by coming here. She quit her job, she left everything behind in the city. Nobody here trusted her, except maybe her cat. Sure, people could ask her favors, give her recipes in return, but she didn't feel connected to anyone here. Anyone, except the one person who snubbed her the hardest. She didn't even know his name. He was sitting alone at the bar, looking lost in thought, looking slightly buzzed. She shouldn't have given him another thought; he embarrassed her in front of about a quarter of the town. However, she wanted to know. She wanted to know why he hated her. Why he was drinking so heavily. If he only hated her in the moment because of his alcohol consumption.

Abruptly, Marina flings the covers off of herself, and stands up, pulling on her boots. I need a walk, I need to splash water on myself. She heads south, picking up a few good skipping stones on her way to the water. She sits at the edge of the docks outside of Marnie's, and throws the stones. The water is calm tonight, and if she had a torch, she could see down into the water, see the fish swimming under the dock. She lets herself fall back, laying on her back, staring at the sky. At this time of night, if she were in the city, she wouldn't be able to see the stars. Tonight, it was completely clear. She could make out Orion's Belt, and wished she felt strong enough to keep her eyes open to keep looking for other constellations she knew. Farming had been hard on her body; if she wasn't in bed, fast asleep, by midnight, she woke up feeling dead inside.

I feel alone here, she told herself. I have my chickens, and I have my cat. That is who I have. Even though Marina felt the chilly spring air nipping at her bare skin on her arms, she did not feel like standing up. Instead, she closed her eyes, and let herself rest.

Shane woke up early nowadays, the chickens went hungry if he woke up late. Upon his descent outside, he eyes a body on the docks. Suddenly, his heart is thumping in his chest. He isn't sure he wants to go out there and see what has happened, but he persists. Once he is close enough, he realizes who it is: it's Marina, the new girl who had piqued his interest. She was merely asleep, her hair everywhere. She was curled into herself, looking paler than usual. She had a bit of wetness under her nose. He crouched down, and placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking her slightly. "Hey," he says. "Hey, you've gotta leave before someone thinks you're dead."

"I am," she groans, lifting her head. When she opens her eyes, she looks flustered. "Where am I? Did I fall asleep all the way out here?"

"What were you even doing here?"

Marina's brown eyes meet his. "I came out to think. Nothing to concern yourself with." She is on her feet, moving toward the path to her farm, when she stops dead in her tracks. "I need to ask Marnie a question, actually, so don't think I'm stalking you," She warns, heading toward the door.

Shane groans. Of course she does. "She's still in bed, and so is Jas, so don't bother them. What do you need?" His voice is husky, and deep. Marina can't tear her eyes from him. His hair is almost black, and his stubble on his jaw made her want to take her hand and rub it.

"One of my chickens won't lay eggs anymore. I need to know what is wrong with her, I'm worried."

"Let me feed our chickens, I'll swing by later and take a look," Shane promises. "Go home and eat. I can hear your stomach from here."

Marina looks tempted to argue, but then her eyes soften. "Thanks. Usually I can handle myself. I love my chickens, so I'm a little paranoid."

Shane wants to invite her to help him, he wants to spend as much time with her as possible. He has all day off. Instead, he says, "Just go."

She walks away, and Shane knows, he wants her so bad it hurts. Let her go, he tells himself. It is for the best.