COCKADOODLE-DOOOOOoooo...

The only thing worse than this bird waking me up at 6 a.m. every morning was getting out of bed. So, I guess, in turn, the bird was the worst thing. Either way, it had only taken a season and a half, but I had now come to fully realize that I was certainly not a morning person. My motivation was at its lowest, I cared the least, and I felt the most exhausted right after waking up. I found it funny how sleep fulfilled so poorly its main purpose. Oh, well. The show must go on.

I yawned as I sat up, stretching my arms above my head. I loved the way the sun rose from behind my house, allowing light to shine in through the window above my headboard, fully illuminating my bedroom. Despite my fatigue, the light of morning convinced me to coax myself out of bed.

Before getting a chance to, however, a buzz on my phone caught my attention. I wondered if it was Sam. But I knew it was, who else would be texting me?

"hey, you busy today?"

I looked out my window. The barren wasteland of my farm beckoned to me, It begged me to cultivate it, the unhealthy land craving some form of agriculture. Naturally, I decided that I would totally ignore my job if Sam wanted anything.

"no, do you need something?"

"yeah, we need to talk" This text had me taken aback. I didn't like the wording of it, people only said something like that when they had something important to say. The fact that he hadn't just texted me what he needed to say increased my feeling of unease, so when I stood up, I felt uncomfortable. I moved slowly around my house, getting ready to meet up with Sam.

"ok, right now?"

"the sooner the better"

"ok, see you soon. ill be at ur house in 15"

"see ya" I let out a breath. I didn't know why my nervousness had so overcome me, I was sure it couldn't be that bad. Maybe it was good news, who knew? Either way, there was no point worrying over it, I'd find out eventually. So, after I had completely readied myself, I stepped out into the cool air. I turned my head, squinted at the sun, and walked with intent.

Abigail felt like she had never thought so hard about anything in her life. She couldn't stand to ignore it, but she hated how obsessed she felt. What had she really seen last night? How could she get Sam back? How does Sam feel about the whole situation? What is going on in that farmer's head? Unanswerable questions swirled in her mind, she felt the burden of all of them plaguing her. The resolution they called for prevented her from acknowledging anything else. She had to think. She knew Sam better than anyone. Sam cared about few things, and one of those was his friends. So, right now, he must care wholly about that farmer.

"That's it!" Abigail was hit with an epiphany. Finally, an idea had sprung into her head. She knew there was a way to end this. All she had to do was execute. But how do to so only faced her with an excess of new questions.

"I need to get in contact with that farmer. Unless Sam's brainwashed him, he shouldn't hate me. Even if he does a little, I can turn on the charm and convince him that I'm on his side." She thought aloud to help herself think. "So, if I can just befriend the farmer, I'll have plenty of opportunities to get him and Sam apart. And I'll cross that bridge when I get to it." A smile crept across Abigail's face. She was no stranger to manipulation, though she hated to admit it. But, when she knew what she wanted and she was given the chance to get it, how was she going to say no?

"As for now, I'll think this through a bit more. But I've got it." Abigail fell backwards on to her bed, relieved."

"What do you mean, you had to tell your mom?" I didn't mean to sound as angry as I came off.

"Well, she was suspicious, and, you know, asking me questions, and it was just..." Sam was both defensive and ashamed. I didn't bother asking Sam why he had told his mom, what had happened had happened so I focused on helping Sam.

"So, are things okay? I mean, I don't care, but what did she say?"

"We're Catholic." Sam signaled air-quotes when he said that. "So I think she was disappointed."

"Is it okay if I'm here right now?"

"Yeah, she's out shopping or something."

Apparently, Sam's mom found about him and me. It was hardly my place, but it did make me feel kind of uncomfortable. Jodi was really nice, although we hadn't talked much. However, I didn't know much about her, and I had learned to grow quite weary of any people's reactions when they found out about anything along the lines of this. It was already a sensitive situation, and now that I knew Jodi wasn't outright supportive made me increasingly nervous. Of course, she was Sam's mom, and from what I knew she wouldn't do anything to hurt him. In all honesty, I knew things were still under control.

"She said, 'We'll get through this.'" Sam suddenly broke a silence.

"For real?" I said in disbelief.

"Yeah. I wasn't willing to argue, so I just looked down and didn't say anything."

"That's stupid of her to say." I didn't say this because I disliked Jodi, but because I was afraid of the implications of "getting through this".

"I agree." Sam looked toward me. I smiled. He did the same. She stood no chance. How could anything ever ruin this?

I took this next moment of silence to look around Sam's room. The green carpet, which cornered off and left a minority of the room bare with intricate, brown hardwood flooring, was beginning to peel up at places. The two windows on adjacent walls allowed light to stream in, the midday sun gleaming off the ground and creeping up the wood boards which lined the walls. Posters of various artists were pinned to the bricks, their corners wilting like the petals of flowers. Sam's drum set lay on the hardwood. The transparent membrane of the bass drum was stuffed with pillows, and I knew that was to muffle the sound. The other various instruments comprising the set appeared beat up, their wear indicating their age. Dented cymbals, discolored toms, and stands which leaned on one leg more than the other two. I had played drums when I was younger, so I appreciated knowing that the drum set was in fact Sam's and not Abigail's. Either that, or Abigail had just not bothered to come and get it back.

Almost on cue as I was thinking about her, Sam mentioned Abigail and asked, "Hey, uh, has Abigail, like, tried to talk to you at all."

I was bit surprised. "No, was I supposed to have?"

"No, I was just wondering."

"Why do you ask?"

"I don't know, I just had a hunch that she might have. I know her better than most, and her manipulative side tells me that if she were to try and get back at me, it would start with you."

"Oh, well, okay. I'll be sure to avoid her."

"I mean, I guess I can't tell you who to spend your time with. Don't take that the wrong way. Just, in case she does try and talk to you, be careful." Sam tone changed to demonstrate his sincerity.

I looked to Sam, I had been distracted by something outside. "Of course."

Soon, Sam needed me to leave. Not that I couldn't be over while Jodi was, but, given the current circumstances, I opted to spend the rest of the day away from the woman who just told my boyfriend he was just in a phase.

On my way home, It was odd, but I felt a certain sense of ambition mixed with caution. On one hand, I knew the acceptance of Sam's mom would be a big step in our relationship, and I wanted to do what I could to help that along. On the other hand, it didn't seem like it would be easy. Not that anything worth doing ever was, but my previous experiences in things like this were not altogether successful. Overall, the situation was...interesting.

As I was walking through the town square, I decided to take a stop in Pierre's store. Just as I neared the opaque doors, they suddenly swung open. My mind still on my conversation with Sam, I was unable to react quick enough and move out of the way of whoever was exiting the store. Very immediately, my eyesight was flooded with purple. I realized I had run into Abigail, and, despite my outstandingly pristine physique, I was knocked to the ground. Abigail yelped as we hit the ground, though I broke her fall. After coming to my senses from having thought my rib was broken for about a second, I looked over at Abigail laying on the ground.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you. Are you okay?" I was genuinely worried.

Abigail sat up, rubbing her back. "Oh, no, I'm fine, it's my bad." She looked at me, a bit pained. But her eyes lit up when she recognized me, to my surprise. "Hey, you're that farmer! From that night with the band? (m/n), was it?"

I was caught off guard. "Oh, uh, yeah. Hey, Abigail." I just looked at her for a bit, and, after realizing we were both still on the ground, I stood up. I went over and reached out a tentative hand to help her up.

"Sorry, you probably think I'm some lunatic." She accepted my hand and hoisted herself on to her feet. "We never got a proper introduction. I'll bet it's pretty weird only having that impression of a person."

"Oh, I didn't really think too much on it..." I remembered that Sam had just warned me about her.

"Well, I hope we can not be weird about it..."

"Me, too." I smiled. She actually didn't seem that bad. "I'm sure it's a really complicated situation, I can't judge you for anything." At this, Abigail seemed to open up. She smiled, and we talked a bit more. Nothing personal, I didn't want to be rude and avoid conversation though. Eventually, she invited me in the store. Considering that's where I was headed in the first place, I obliged. The more I talked with her, the more my image of Abigail shifted. She seemed truly considerate, and I didn't interpret her kindness as manipulation at all. As much as Sam had complained to me about her, I couldn't help but feel charmed as we talked.

"Well, did you need anything from the store?" The conversation was wrapping up.

"I guess I wasn't really. Not sure why I was coming in."

"Haha, I do that all the time."

"Well, I gotta get going, that soil won't till itself." I waved after I said this.

"See ya!"

I turned and walked out the door, and, as I did, I couldn't help but notice that the door was actually transparent from the inside.