A/N: okay so yes, Alex is not very Alex like in this chapter, and I promise I give him an explanation for being a dick. Plz don't hate me, Alex Fans. :)


Haley liked to chat.

Lucie had a sneaking suspicion that she hadn't had a good gossip with anyone for far too long, and the temptation of a newbie was too much to resist. She had ended up following Lucie as she scavenged the woods for some wild spring onions, or spice berries, or anything else that might have grown in the undergrowth. She had chattered the whole way, gasping dramatically when Lucie had looked up at her in confusion - "How haven't you heard!" Exclaimed each time with a glee unmatched.

Somewhere around 3 Haley had gotten bored, and Lucie wasn't able to put off going to the mines any longer. The thought of being trapped underground in a dank, damp and dirty environment did not appeal to Haley, and she'd scurried back to her house, the flower she'd found tucked into her long blonde hair. She'd left Lucie alone, and so began her least favourite part of the day.

Hours passed.

Shelves were stacked in JoJo Mart. Shane had fallen into a rhythm a long time ago, the beat of him placing cans on shelves matching his heartbeat; dull and consistent. There was nothing in his job that required thought, or even a brain, and so he could switch off for the long hours he spent stacking shelves. But today was different. His own words echoed in his brain, haunting him from 9 all the way through to 5. What do you want? It shouldn't surprise him that he'd said it - it was his usual means of interacting with people - but he couldn't stop feeling guilty about the morning's events. For some reason that simple 'what do you want' seemed more harsh, more aggressive than even their first conversation. Lucie had been so obviously nervous, and yet so pleasant, and Shane had barely even looked at her. He hadn't wanted to get to know a new person, he didn't care about the intricacies of the old farm - he just didn't care. So why did he care now?

The clock seemed to tick louder and louder in the quiet of the rows of cans, a tick that clanged of the metal tins, pounding louder and louder with each tick. Five more minutes and he could clock out. Five more minutes, then he could go to Stardrop and stop thinking about a stupid exchange from this morning.

Just five more minutes.

Lucie looked over at the wheelbarrow full of stone and her shoulder ached from the sight of it. Robin had said that if Lucie brought her the raw materials, she would build her a chicken coop, and a silo, and everything that Lucie could think of ever wanting for the farm. At the time it had sounded reasonable, but looking at the pitiful amount of stone she'd quarried so far and how much more was needed for even just the coop? It seemed an impossible task. But nothing is impossible in steps, she reminded herself. She bargained another five minutes in the mine, fill the barrow slightly higher, then, she would get in the lift and go dump the stone with Robin in a suitably unceremonious manner. It had been very kind of Robin to lend her the use of her yard to store her gathered materials - it saved Lucie dragging the stone all the way back to the farm, only to haul it almost the whole way back to the mines for Robin to use.

Five more minutes. That was all. Then she'd go to Stardrop, try desperately to get to know some more people, then she could go to bed and be content with the day.


Shane was halfway through his second pint when he saw Lucie come into Stardrop. She had the look of someone who had tried to clean as much dirt off her as possible but still looked filthy. Her hair was dulled with the grey dust of the mines, losing some of its usual shine.

Shane looked away quickly, focusing instead on the glass in his hands, staring intently into the golden liquid. He was lurking near the fire, deliberately not sat on a stool in the hopes that no one would come talk to him. He was too tired to be dealing with anyone trying to cheer him up today. Most of the townspeople had learnt that Shane wasn't the chatty type, that the piece of wall by the fire was his spot, and that one should always leave the barstool next to him empty unless you wanted to be glowered at all evening. Working at JoJo Mart was irritating enough, he didn't need people destroying his soul with vapid gossip as well.

He glanced back up towards the space that Lucie had occupied and found that she had moved, no longer lurking near the entrance but sat right by the till, animatedly chatting to Gus. The yellowish lighting which filled Stardrop Saloon lit up her eyes as she laughed. Something about her kept drawing his eye, no matter how much he tried to focus on anything else.

Lucie could feel the dust from the mines filling every pore on her body as she entered the Stardrop. Half of her wanted to wipe her hands on her trousers so as to not leave dusty handprints everywhere, and the other half of her knew that her trousers were far dirtier than her hands anyway. Swallowing her pride, she made her way over to the till and perched tentatively on the edge of the seat.

"Ah!" The rather large man behind the bar had an equally large smile. "You must be our newest resident, welcome to the Stardrop!"

Lucie couldn't have stopped the smile if she wanted to - on average, the people in this town were the most welcoming people she'd ever met, but Gus seemed to be trying to outmatch all of them.

"Yep, that's me!" She beamed back. "I'm Lucie - I'd shake your hand but I am so filthy right now, I don't think you'd want to!" The little laugh that followed was drowned out by Gus' booming reply.

"Don't you worry about that. Coal dust doesn't smell but the dung which Marnie brings in on her boots does." Marnie looked up at the mention of her name and protested, but Gus waved her protests away. "You fit in here, don't worry. Now! What can I get you?" The smile hadn't wavered once. Lucie decided that she was going to like Gus.


Lucie had gained her coffee, and Gus had meandered over to serve other customers. Lucie nursed the mug of coffee in her hand and rubbed the spot above her eyebrow. The exhaustion was starting to hit, her eyes aching in the darkening room. She could feel Shane looking at her from time to time, and it was all she could do to not return his gaze; meet critical gaze with critical gaze. Instead, Lucie had a young man sat next to her, irritating her endlessly. He used terrible pick-up line after terrible pick up line, bragging about his sporting prowess. Twice Lucie moved away from him, taking her precious coffee with her, and sitting back down, only for him to tail her and continue flirting with her. Lucie forced a smile on to her face, a smile formed with venom and hatred, and looked Alex dead in the eyes.

"Go away." Her words were curt and short, and she didn't care that Shane was within earshot, and was pretending not to watch the conversation. "Since you obviously don't get a hint, I'm going to say this very clearly. Go. Away."

Alex only moved closer and put a hand on her arm.

"Oh, don't be like that, we were having such a great conversation," he said, blissfully unaware of the seething fury in front of him. Lucie lifted the hand off her arm with the disgust of someone removing a particularly soiled nappy. She leant over the bar, and paid her bill to Gus.

"Goodbye, Alex."

Lucie turned and strode out of the Stardrop, cursing the fact that she heard two sets of footsteps following her out. She had hoped that moving to a small town meant that she was going to escape the jerks that filled the cities, but apparently that was not to be the case. Arseholes dwelled in even the quaintest of towns.


The night air wasn't crisp, it was freezing. It bit at every exposed bit of skin, immediately bringing a flush to her face.

"Come on, there's no need to be like that." Alex's voice drifted along to Lucie and she closed her eyes to the sound, continuing to walk towards her home in the black night. She pressed her lips together and didn't break her stride.

"She said to leave her alone." The voice came from a couple feet to Lucie's right. She whirled around and made eye contact with Shane, who moved a step closer to the two of them. Lucie rolled her eyes and held up her hands.

"No." Her hair whipped around her face as she looked at each of the men in turn. "No. No. I am not getting involved in whatever this is, so - Alex," she made heavy eye contact with him, her eyes cold under the street lights. "go home. And Shane, seriously? I can smell the beer coming out of your pores from here - I am walking you home so you don't fall in the river and die."

She strode towards Shane and grasped him by the arm, hauling him off towards Marnie's farm.

"I don't need an escort home," Shane muttered to Lucie, pulling his arm back. Lucie barely glanced over her shoulder, and saw Alex slowly start to move towards his house, still watching them closely.

"I know that, dumbass," Lucie responded through gritted teeth, "but I needed an excuse to get out of that. Could you at least stumble a little bit?"

Shane obliged.