Well that was strange I thought after shutting the door. Peeling my shirt off of my body, I threw it onto one of the empty boxes that littered the living room floor and dug a bottle of water out of the fridge. Most of my things had arrived earlier in the week I just hadn't gotten around to disposing of the empty boxes or unpacking the rest of them. Standing on my tip toes I rummaged through the cabinet for my medicine, running my fingers through my messy hair as I did so. I downed the entire bottle of water and my medicine with it, wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and darted into the bathroom. I took a quick shower hoping my medicine would kick in before I got out. As quick as I could I toweled myself dry and threw on some shorts and a t-shirt. With a small frown I twirled some damp hair around my finger and proceeded to open the door. I heard a small yelp and felt some weight on my feet. Looking down I found Abigail leaning against my legs with a goofy grin on her face.

"Perfect timing, Sam just left." I took a step to the side and shut the door while she attempted to stand and dust herself off. "Sam had some things to do so he went home." She stuck her thumb out towards the direction of Pelican Town and pushed some hair behind her ear. "So..." A wide grin crossed her face and I took a step back.

"Well I certainly don't like the sound or look of this." I knitted my brow and passed a glance at Sebastian who also had a look of discomfort on his face. Abigail however just shook her head and put her hands on her her hips.

"Look it's not that crazy okay?" She sighed and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "I just got this game and I was hoping you two would want to play with me."

You're acting as if we have a choice." Sebastian raised his eyebrow and looked his friend over.

"I AM giving you a choice; you can either play it at my place or yours Sebastian." She then turned to me. "Unless you would rather play it in your own home."

I scratched the back of my head and looked out towards my farm. "I don't really have a t.v. in there so I think my place is out." Not to mention my home is still boxtopia.

Abigail nodded and looked towards her friend. "Alright rock paper scissors for it."

Sebastian rolled his eyes and held up his hand. "Your place okay."

Another smile crossed her lips and she turned on her heel and headed off to her place with Sebastian and I following in step behind her. It was a nice day today, the sun wasn't beaming down that hard and there was a nice breeze going. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Sebastian run his fingers though his hair and stick his hands back into his pockets. Now that I got a closer look at him he had some deep bags under his eyes almost as if he hadn't slept last night. He caught my eye for the second time that day but averted his gaze just as quickly. I tilted my head slightly before bumping into Abigail who had stopped abruptly.

"Is everything okay?" I asked quietly. She looked over at me and wiggled her eyebrows.

"Yeah i'm fine! I'm just excited for the new game we're gonna play." She said with a devilish grin.

Abigail can be ruthless sometimes.

We ended up playing this four person co-op game with just the three of us and saying it was crazy is an understatement. Abigail was constantly throwing Sebastian and I off cliffs, running me into enemies and stealing my power-ups. Sebastian tried to stay as far away from her rampage as he possibly could but even he couldn't escape her tormenting tornado of torture. Why did I agree to this again? I definitely wasn't having any fun and getting more frustrated by the minute. We shared lives so why was she constantly tossing them off a cliff?! The controller was gripped tightly in my hands, heat rising to my face and hands. If she pushed me into an enemy one more time I was going to smash this controller.

"You know this is why no one wants to play games with you, right Abbs?" Sebastian said, annoyance laced in his voice.

"W-What are you talking about?" her voice sounded sickeningly innocent. Turning my gaze to her I saw she had tilted her head and knitted her brows. "4-player co-op games are super fun!"

"I think i'd have more fun watching paint dry." I picked up my controller and made my character run over and throw Abigail's off the cliff. Sebastian followed my example and soon we went from 13 lives to 6. A small grin crossed my face and I let out a small laugh as the heat slowly left my face.

"Okay! Okay!" The young purple haired woman held her hands up in defeat. "I get it. I'm sorry." She paused and bit her lip. "But now that you're all riled up the real mission can begin!" She stood up triumphantly and looked down at us. "My plan was to make you angry and then head to the rock quarry! Have you been to that place Reimi?"

"I've been to the mines." I said with a shrug. "Is it close to there?"

"YOU went to the MINES and didn't tell me?!" She hissed in a hushed tone.

"Well I didn't KNOW you wanted to go!" I fired back. "And it wasn't like it was a planned expedition anyway. I was just exploring and some old guy gave me a sword and told me to 'Go Forth!'" I said with an eye roll.

"Ugh!" Abigail plopped herself between Sebastian and laid her head on his shoulder. "I really really REALLY wanna go." She stuck her bottom lip out and gave me a sorrowful expression. She looked pathetic.

"Well why don't you?" I raised an eyebrow, curious as to why such a headstrong girl wouldn't go on her own.

"Because my dad is stuck in the past and thinks a girl should be home cooking and cleaning. Domesticated." She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. Pulling herself from Sebastian she stared down at the carpet so hard I was afraid she would burn a hole into it.

"You're pretty rash Abbs. He just wants you safe." Abigail turned her head so fast I thought it would spin right off. Sebastian winced and looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. "But that is a very backwards way of him thinking." He added rather quickly.

"I'm still a newbie. I don't feel comfortable taking you in there. Hell, I barely feel comfortable going in there. Something dangerous could happen to you and I'd rather not be exiled when I've just gotten here." I paused to turned my body so I was completely facing her. "Maybe when I'm more experienced we can...talk about it. It would be even better if you can convince your father. I'm not into having one of my business partners wanting to smother me in my sleep because I was the reason his daughter got hurt." I gave her a sheepish grin.

Abigail held my gaze and for the first time since I started speaking I saw a little glimmer of hope in her eyes. "So...so one day you'll take me to the mines?"

At that exact moment the door was flung open and there stood a disgruntled Pierre. I exchanged a look with the other two and we slowly got to our feet. "No, she will not be taking you to the mines Abigail." He said in the calmest voice he could muster.

"But dad-!" He held up his hand, cutting her off.

"You two can see yourselves out correct?" He gave us a sideways glance and we nodded slowly. I gave Abigail a small smile and wave before we walked ourselves out the door. Sebastian and I went our separate ways once we were outside; he headed home and I headed towards the saloon.


Shane was in his usual spot against the wall but he was much more far gone tonight then he normally was. I made my way over to him slowly afraid of startling him but the closer I got the more I realized he wouldn't have noticed me no matter how loud I was.

I sat down next to him and put my elbow on the bar, resting my head in the palm of my hand. His leg was shaking and his eyes were blank as he took another swing of his beer.

"Rough day?" I asked softly. He nodded and placed both arms on the table, knitted his brows together and he let out a shuddered sigh.

"I'd rather not talk about it." he ran a shaky hand though his hair. I put my hand on his arm and he flinched, quickly yanking his arm towards his chest. I pushed some hair behind my ear and turned my attention to the scratch marks on the table. In the short amount of time I'd known Shane, I hadn't seen him like this. I stole a few glances and noted how sunken in his eyes looked, the deep bags under his eyes and his slumped shoulders. He looked absolutely defeated which made my stomach feel funny. Was it guilt? Sympathy? Empathy?

We sat in an awkward silence for a while neither of us making an effort to talk to the other. Shane drank a few more beers and besides the occasional burp he was silent. His leg never stopped shaking under the table though his eyes grew more blood shot. I opened my mouth a few times to say something but no words came out. We sat there for another thirty minutes before Shane wobbled to his feet, placed some money on the table and wobbled out the door. I followed shortly after and fell in stride behind him. He shot me a few glances over his shoulder but otherwise kept wobbling down the street. It didn't take long until I had completely caught up to him so I chose to walk a few feet beside him deciding against trying to meet his eyes. We walked for a few more minutes and stopped when we got to Marnie's Ranch. The green eye'd man leaned against the door frame and turned to face me.

"Look," He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand and kept a steady gaze on the stone steps. "I dunno if this is the alcohol talking or not but...thanks for sitting with me tonight." He paused. "And making sure I didn't fall into a ditch or some shit on my way back."

I felt my cheeks get warm and tucked some hair behind my left ear. "N-no problem." I paused to look at him through my lashes quickly noticing his cheeks were a bit more flushed than normal. The alcohol must finally be catching up to him which was all the more obvious when I saw him fumbling to find the right key for his lock. With a triumphant grunt he unlocked the door and slowly turned the handle. "Goodnight Shane." I whispered giving him a small wave. "I'm here any time you're too wasted to walk home on your own."

I saw the corners of his mouth turn up into a faint smile and he shook his head. "Fuck you." He opened the door and quietly shut it behind him.