A couple days later, it rained again. There was a day where it was just overcast, but then, the clouds decided they weren't done with their business, so it rained again. I'd decided to set up that plant lamp for my bouquet flowers; I was getting a little worried about how little sun they were getting this week.

On this particular rainy day, though, my fishing pole remained sitting against the wall by my door. The weeds uprooting the crystal paths I'd laid down made me realize that I'd let that project go to the wayside for too long… especially when my vision was so close to being realized.

So indeed, today, I headed toward the mines. I had to admit, my heartbeat was quickening before I'd even climbed the steps toward the mountain. I'd practiced a few sword swings before I'd left the house, but still, I feared I'd gotten rusty. And don't you know what could happen if you find your fighting skills rusty in the mines.

Before I could even reach the steps, though, I heard footsteps run up to me and a familiar voice say "Hey!" I turned around to face the yellow-haired musician himself. He had an expression that spelled neither joy nor discontent.

"Hi!" I smiled. "How goes it?"

"…It's going," he shrugged. "I've been looking around for something to cheer Sebastian up."

"Hmm…" I pondered aloud. "What does he like?"

"I know he likes sashimi," said Sam. "…Have you made sashimi before? Isn't it pretty much just raw fish or something?"

"I think so… but I've never made it," I replied. "I sell the fish pretty much as soon as I catch them."

"Dang," said Sam. "…Where ya headed, anyway? You don't have your pole on you."

"Oh, I'm going to the mines today," I replied. "I've let my farm pathing project go for too long, and I need more quartz."

"…Can't you find frozen tears down in the mines?" Sam pondered aloud. "He likes those, too, I'm pretty sure. I have a distinct memory about one day where he wouldn't shut up about them."

"Wow, him not being able to shut up about something?" I marveled. "…I almost don't believe you."

"I'm actually not joking," Sam chuckled a bit. "I'll never forget it. It was pretty early in our friendship, though. Hasn't happened again."

"Huh…" I said. "…But I haven't actually… gotten that far in the mines. When I looked down at that level of the mines and saw the floor just covered in ice, I… No. I'm not going down there."

"Yeah, I suppose that's pretty unsafe," Sam sighed. "…Oh! There is another kinda rock he likes: obsidian!"

"Obsidian, huh?" I replied, sounding a little more optimistic. I definitely had seen that down in the mines before.

"Yeah!" Sam smiled. "I think some obsidian would cheer him right up!"

"Well, then, I'll have to do my best to find some!" I smiled. "I… can't make any promises, though. Obsidian isn't the most abundant thing. When I saw it, it was actually sticking out of a geode, and I don't find those too often."

"Aw," Sam said with the slightest disappointment. "…Well, it's okay. It's not the end of the world if you can't find it."

"I'll try my best, though!" I smiled, turning toward the steps to the mountain. "If I find any, I'll be sure to report to you!"

"Awesome!" Sam smiled back. "Good luck!"

"Thanks!" I said, taking off toward the mines.

When I got up to the bridge that crossed the mountain lake, I saw something you'd think I'd see a lot more often: a frog, sitting on a rock. I couldn't tell you why I saw contemplation in its eyes, like… like something in its life was getting it down.

"I believe in you, little frog," I said, not caring who heard. "Keep on keepin' on."

The beat after I said that, I heard Sam's voice cry "Wait!", from the direction I'd just come from. Shortly after that, so suddenly it made me jump a little, Sam came dashing around the corner.

"W-What's up?" I asked, thinking he was panicking about something. "What's wrong?!"

He stopped in front of me, took a second to catch his breath, then said "Nothing's wrong, it's just… I want to help you look for the obsidian."

I couldn't speak for a couple of seconds. I wasn't really dumbfounded by anything; it's more that my brain kinda… lagged. My first impulse was to let him onboard and thank him for the help.

But to find obsidian, you have to go into the mines. Into the area of the mines with more monsters than the upper levels, as a matter of fact.

It didn't take long for the memory of my close scrape with death to resurface. I'd lost the fear of losing my own life to the mines a bit ago; I felt way more prepared, and I knew now to run if things started looking remotely bad.

But… I ultimately wasn't in charge of what Sam did, like I was in charge of myself. The actions he chose to take in the heat of something like that were beyond my control.

My blood ran cold at the thought of anything happening to him due to that. I'd rather I got mauled by bats a million times over.

"I… To be honest, I don't feel… I don't think you're prepared…" I said, not being able to think of how to put it.

"Prepared?" asked Sam. "What do you mean? It's just some bats and slime creatures, right?"

I… I couldn't tell you why this flipped a switch in my brain. An… immature one.

"Some bats?" I said, clearly irritated. "There had to have been a million of them that night." I felt like the words were going right from my subconscious to my mouth at this point. "They all ganged up on me specifically. It was like they were rabid; they were out for human blood. Mine specifically. On top of that, that… stone golem took a bite out of me like I was a sandwich. It was like all the creatures of the caves had… had finally had enough of my shit and decided I needed to die."

"But… But you wouldn't be alone this time," said Sam.

He was still insisting. I genuinely began to panic; I could not let him go down there.

"I know that, but…" I said. "Please, no. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Hey, I can fight, you know," he said, seeming genuinely irritated. "I want to help find this thing. I want to cheer Sebastian up, too, you know."

"You told me he likes obsidian," I said, temporarily feeling like I had a handle on things. "You knew that information, I didn't know that information, and you told me. Now, I know. That's thanks to you. You played your part."

"That's not enough," said Sam. "I want to help find this thing. I don't want it to be that I just ordered you to go find it, and that you did all the work, you know? What's so wrong with me helping out?"

That last statement was laced with pure irritation, as if he felt insulted. It set off another switch within me. My breathing started to hitch, my eyes started to water, and a lump formed in my throat, on top of the panic I was already feeling. I genuinely felt like I was fighting for something, whether it was his life, my own sanity… or neither.

I caught a glimpse of his face. His brows were furrowed, and there was a solid frown on his face.

I couldn't think to say anything else.

"I wouldn't know what to do with myself if something happened to you, Sam! You are WAY too important to me!"

I'd yelled it… as much as you can yell something when your voice is quivering and you're pretty much on the edge of sobbing.

Somehow, I was able to keep any actual sobbing from happening. I did so, though, by keeping my eyes scrunched closed, my fists clenched, and my breaths as deep as I could make them.

A couple of solid seconds went by. I couldn't see if Sam's disposition had changed, but I could hear the rainfall happening where words had been just seconds ago. I suppose it was more what I didn't hear; Sam didn't say anything.

At that moment, a new voice arrived at the scene. I suppose he was the most relevant other person to this situation.

"You guys don't have to do anything for me," said Sebastian, from… somewhere nearby; my eyes were still closed.

"Sebastian…" said Sam, seeming to have calmed down. "You… You look better than you did earlier."

I opened my eyes without realizing it. Sebastian was standing closer to Sam than me. I didn't really notice any distinct difference from how he usually looked, but based on that dialogue, Sam had clearly seen him in some kind of state.

"I… I-It's so strange," said Sebastian. "I… feel better. I… never expected to feel BETTER. But then, I realized it was raining. And that the frogs would be out, just… hopping around. And… I felt better. But if I thought THAT was unexpected…" He looked at me. "I seriously never would have guessed you guys would argue… at all, really, but especially over something that was for my sake."

He paused, probably expecting us to say something… but neither of us could find words quite yet. I looked at Sam, while Sam kept shifting his eyes between me and the ground.

"…Thank you guys," Sebastian then said with a smile. "I'm not sure I've felt more appreciated in a while." He turned to Sam. "And Sam, you really do need some combat training before you go down there. For a moment, I thought you'd actually forgotten… what happened."

"We'd be glad to teach you," I smiled, finally starting to regain my composure.

"But seriously, don't feel like you have to do anything for me," said Sebastian. "I'll… I'll be okay. The thought is more than enough."

If I was to find obsidian in the future, I would still report to Sam so we could give it to him. It's just that it was more of a mental note right now.

After a beat, I took a deep breath and said "Sam, I…" My heart lurched when Sam finally shifted his eyesight to be completely on me. "I'm sorry I snapped at you. I panicked."

After a few more seconds, Sam finally spoke.

"No, it's okay," he said. "I… That was really shitty of me, to accuse you like that. You did run into a really bad situation in there before. You were just looking out for me." He smiled. "I appreciate it."

"Sam, did you…" said Sebastian. "Did you… tell her what happened?" If I had to guess, it sounded like Sebastian didn't want me to know what happened.

"I don't believe so," I said. "I just ran into him in town, he said he wanted to find something to cheer you up… and the rest is history, I guess."

Sebastian then took a deep sigh.

"You're my friend, too, so… I guess…" he said. "Abby and I… We broke up."

"O-Oh…" was my genuine reaction. I could feel my heart break for him.

"We just can't see eye-to-eye, that's… really all there is to it," he said.

I then noticed that that same frog from before was still on that rock. I noticed it because it ribbited.

The guys must have noticed it, too, because all three of us were now looking at it.

Sebastian was smiling.

Sam noticed that Sebastian was smiling, opened his arms, and said "Group hug?"

I opened my arms as well, immediately into the idea. Sebastian, however, did not, and instead just looked back and forth at us. Sam and I both lowered our arms again.

"Heh, that's alright," Sam said sheepishly. "But… we're here for you, okay?"

"…Okay," Sebastian answered. "Thank you guys… really."

Author's note: …I suck at angst, don't I? I don't even know if I accidentally made Sam go out of character. Well…. at least I had fun doing it. That's super important, that you have fun writing something.