Shane had returned home much earlier than Marnie had expected. She'd just been saying farewell to Mayor Lewis when Shane burst through the doors, muttering a quick 'hi' before slamming himself into his bedroom.

Flustered, Marnie faltered in the hallway, before lightly knocking on Shane's door.

"Hey, is everything okay?" She called to the wooden door. The door opened a crack, and Shane met Marnie's gaze for a brief moment.

"Fine." The door shut once more.

Marnie frowned at the door, and then looked away. She took half a step before turning back.

"Are you sure? You seem a little… not fine?"


The door clicked open and Marnie opened it enough to see Shane returning to his position on the floor, staring at the open drawer of shirts, all crumpled together in a tangle of fabric. He hugged his knees and looked up at Marnie. He looked so like his younger self that Marnie felt her heart cave in on itself. Wide-eyed and frightened little Shane had always sought comfort with his aunt whenever she was there, somethings truly never changed.

"I think I might have accidentally asked Lucie out," he said quietly.

Marnie did not ask how someone accidentally asks one out. Instead, she glanced at the drawer full of discarded shirts.

"Do you want to go on a date with Lucie?" She asked instead. Shane buried his face in his hands, muttering to himself. Marnie folded her arms at her nephew. "Shane. She is a lovely girl - if you don't want to do this, then it is not fair to string her along."

"I know," he whinged, sounding increasingly like a bratty child. "I just…" He paused. Then, looked back up at Marnie. "I don't know what I'm doing."

Marnie sighed a small sigh and shut the door behind her, moving fully into the room. She walked over to the bed and sat down, signalling for Shane to come sit beside her. He did.

Marnie wrapped an arm around Shane's shoulders, comfortingly, and he lent his head on her shoulder.

"Why don't you tell me everything?"


Lucie stared out into the air, stood in the middle of the town square, not really sure where to go. She blinked.

Did he ask her on a date, or not? It was just the Stardrop, but was she expected to dress for a date, or dress for the Stardrop?

Did she have to shower? - Yes. A sharp inhale told her that she definitely needed to shower, irrespective of the date/non-date quality of their drink.

Did she even want to go on a date with Shane? Also a stupid question. Even though he was a little bit of a mess at times, that JAW. And he was sweet. He remembered things about her that she never expected him to remember and the way he looked at her sometimes made her gut vanish.

Never mind butterflies, she gained an abyss when he looked at her like that. She forgot how to breathe, how to move, how to think. Her stomach turned to void and she could feel the emptiness in her yawn wider, dust mites swirling in the absence of butterflies.

She didn't even know what the look was - it wasn't as if he was actively doing anything, he just looked at her with … appreciation? Understanding? Something!

Fuck it.

Lucie strode towards the houses at the bottom of the square and marched into the first one. Emily looked up, startled.

"Please, dear Yoba, tell me Haley is in," Lucie begged, slightly out of breath. Emily's eyes widened slightly.

"What's she done?" She asked, suspicion now narrowing her eyes. Lucie flapped the suspicion away with a wave of her hand.

"No, no, no. I need her help." Lucie let out a heavy breath, rubbing her jaw anxiously. "Please?"


Haley followed Lucie home, occasionally glancing sideways skeptically at her, as though trying to scrutinise details out of her. Lucie was flustered, that much was obvious, the pinking of her cheeks gave that away at first glance.

And Haley was flattered that she was the one that Lucie had come to for help. It wasn't surprising, after all, who else in Pelican Town had any sense of fashion whatsoever, but that didn't make it any less enjoyable. Haley just dreaded what she was going to be working with, as this was one of the few times the new farmer had been wearing something that Haley didn't immediately hate.


The door to the farm house was forced open with a shove of Lucie's shoulder, and less than ten seconds later, Haley had flung open the wardrobe that stood in the corner of the single room.

"Is this it?" The disappointment flooded Haley's voice before she could hold it back. The wardrobe was small enough as it was, but it was half empty. And half of the things that should have been hanging were folded - and oh, no. Haley looked reproachfully at Lucie as she removed the top from a far-too-big hanger, which was pushing its shoulders into bizarre points. Lucie had the grace to look a little abashed, before lifting out another two suitcases from under her bed. Haley swatted at her shoulder with a friendly scold. "By Yoba, Lucie, you've been here three weeks and you haven't so much as UNPACKED?"

"I've been busy!"

"I don't want to hear it!" Haley held up a hand, and began picking through the clothes in the suitcase. She glanced towards the farmer and then rolled her eyes. "Why don't you shower and I'll sort out this mess. You do have a shower, don't you?"

Lucie crossed her arms at the sarcastic drawl, and snatched up the towel from the radiator, heading towards the small wooden door to her left.

"Wash your hair!" Haley called after her.


Lucie looked at herself in the mirror once more.
She had to give Haley credit for making her look…put together if nothing else. Her long brown hair had been wrestled into two neat plaits which gathered into a bun at the nape of her neck. She felt the weight of it press comfortingly into her neck as she twisted from side to side, making the slight sparkle smeared across her eyelids dance in the yellowing light. Her makeup was subtle - Lucie had been slightly afraid that Haley would hear the word 'date' and go straight for red lipstick and smoky eyeshadow, but she hadn't. She had barely done anything at all, causing Lucie to look like herself, just herself on a really good day.

So, if she'd gotten the wrong end of the stick, at least Shane wouldn't think that she'd put effort into getting ready. If it wasn't a date, then she just would look nice for her own sake, and wouldn't feel embarrassed for two reasons.

Lucie had been even more relieved to see that the dress Haley suggested was more or less the same dress she'd been wearing earlier in the day. It fell to her mid thigh, and had an airy quality about it. The major difference was that it had a sweetheart neckline. And was more cleavage heavy than Lucie would really like - she really thought she'd left that dress in the box at her father's house.

At least the cardigan helped to preserve her modesty a little.


Shane stood in his usual corner by the bar.

Marnie had washed, dried and ironed his shirt in the time it took for him to shower and find his deodorant hiding somewhere in his room. He was fairly certain that she enlisted the help of something from beyond this world to do all that in time.

His fingers twitched on the bar, dancing out a small impatient rhythm as he eyed the door. He jumped every time it opened, startling himself with his own surprised reaction.


Finally Lucie arrived.


He watched her scan the room for him, her bright eyes taking in every facet of the room. Her hand lifted to her neck and lightly rubbed the join of neck to skull. Then, she caught sight of him, her mouth broke into a wide grin and her eyes caught the light as she looked into Shane.

He swallowed difficultly, then his lip twitched, almost smiling back at her without his permission.

"Beer?" She mouthed, heading towards Gus' till. Shane gave her an almost imperceptible nod, and her face shifted from questioning to joyful in a second.

He watched as she leant on the beer with her elbows. He noticed her lifting herself on to tiptoe, even though it was entirely unnecessary, as Gus moved over to her. He smiled at the way she put her chin into her hands as she waited for the beers, bouncing slightly on her feet, and then reached out to take them from Gus before he could place them on the counter. He watched her spin in place, this time all her weight going through her heels, her toes lifting off the ground - the heel of her short boot grounding into the stone floor - and then snap back down again once she faced him.

He drank in every single movement she made, yet somehow missed the way her pupils widened slightly whenever she looked at him. Missed the slightly hitch in her breathing as she moved within earshot.


She held the beer slightly closer to her chest, trying not to glower at Haley who now wore the cardigan she'd confiscated from Lucie outside of the Stardrop.

"Happy Birthday!" She said instead, shaking the thought from her mind and ignoring how self-conscious she now felt without the thin fabric covering her slightly. "My gift-giving guilt is now abated."

That made Shane smile.

"Gift-giving guilt?" He raised an eyebrow at the farmer, who thrust the beer at him, only just avoiding spilling some down his freshly washed shirt.

"Shut up and take the beer, or I'll drink them both," she retorted.

"It's bad for your health, you know."

"You're bad for my health."

Lucie tried to look stern, but ruined it by laughing. Against his better judgement, Shane laughed too. It was barely more than a particularly audible exhale, but it was more.