Shane's P.O.V.
My stomach groaned as my burning eyes traced the creases of my palms, my feverish head resting in my hands. The elbows of my jacket were sticky from the residue on the Saloon's bar – I felt so awful I actually had to sit down instead of standing in my comfortably secluded bar corner. With explosions going off in my head, I opened my hands slightly and looked down at my half empty pint glass, my stomach churning as the bubbles twisted on the surface of the beer. Hair of the dog never actually worked, but I could pretend. Still, I felt… Seriously awful. The box of city beer that Aunt Marnie bought me was empty when I woke up on the floor that morning, and I was still fully dressed… I must've drank it all and passed out. Groaning to myself, I once again covered my aching eyes with my hands. The ambient light of the Saloon was giving me a headache. "Shut up…" I whispered to myself as the obnoxious voices of the townsfolk pierced deep into my brain.
"Good evening, Emily!" Rain's voice chirped as she burst through the Saloon door. Oh… My god. My head. As if it wasn't already loud enough, the friendly neighbourhood foghorn decided to show up. A few seconds later, I heard some shuffling on the barstool next to me. "Hey, Shane!"
"Go away." I mumbled, my hands muffling my voice.
"Oh~?" she said, knowingly. "You're still being like this even after last night?" Last… what? What is she even—
"Woman after my own heart."
A shock ran up my spine as my own words flashed through my mind. Last night… The beer. The lake. The way the moon illuminated Rain's verdant green eyes. Wait, what? What even was that last thought? I felt the heat rising to my face as the events of the night before replayed in my mind. I sighed – to be carried home by a woman the size of a dormouse… How humiliating.
"Whatever, just—" I tiredly lifted my head and my eyes met hers. She was sitting with her face resting on her hand, and she was a hell of a lot closer to me than I thought. I felt a hot sensation in my chest and averted my gaze. "Just… Keep it down, I feel horrible."
"Aye aye, Captain," Rain whispered with a playful grin. I rolled my eyes and knocked back the rest of my beer. It wasn't fizzy anymore by then, and tasted fusty. As the liquid made its way down my throat, the gas in my stomach burst and it grumbled loudly. "Ugh…" That hunger pain… Usually the beer was enough to make me forget about it, but I was so weak that I couldn't concentrate on anything else.
"Haven't you had dinner yet?" Rain said nonchalantly, sipping some lemonade through a straw.
"Dinner?" I scoffed, "I haven't eaten a thing today." I pushed on my stomach slightly, trying to ease the pain.
"What? Why? Don't you get a lunch break?"
"Under Morris' regime? I'd be lucky." I traced my finger around the top of the pint glass. "Would've defrosted a pizza for breakfast, but it hits a hangover stomach like a rock. So I'm probably better off without."
"Don't be stupid!" she slammed her fist on the bar suddenly, spilling a few drops of lemonade. "Hey, Emily! Can we get two plates of spaghetti over here?"
"Sure thing, Mira!" beamed the annoyingly happy blue haired barmaid before disappearing into the kitchen behind the bar.
"What are you doing?" I glared at Rain. She smirked back at me. "Don't worry! This one's on me."
"Two plates of spaghetti?"
"What?" she cocked her head to one side jokingly. "You wanted to share a plate like in Lady and the Tramp?"
"Wha—" I felt myself turning red, again. Why does this girl have to torment me? "No… That's not it at all…" I sighed. "You don't have the money for this. Forget it."
"No, no, no!" she waved her index finger with a smile. "I shipped a bunch of cauliflowers the other day, so I can totally cover this!"
"Yeah… Not really filling me with confidence." I sighed. But she just ignored me and kept smiling, blowing bubbles into her lemonade through the straw. What a sickly sweet scene.
Moments later, Emily emerged from the kitchen with two plates of steaming hot spaghetti, the noodles almost sliding straight off the plates. "Here ya go!" Setting the plates down, the barmaid winked at me and said, "You kids have fun now~" before skipping back to Gus' side.
"Just do your goddamn job…" I whispered bitterly under my breath. Noticing the warm steam hitting my face from the plate in front of me, I looked down. Layers upon layers of shiny yellow strands of pasta in a rich red Bolognese sauce. It smelled… Incredible. When was the last time I'd eaten an actual hot meal? I couldn't even recall. I could feel Rain looking at me from my left side. I swallowed hard, trying to hide my appetite, and glanced up at her.
"What are you waiting for?" she smiled sweetly before twirling a hefty amount of spaghetti on her fork. "Dig in, already!" I looked down at the plate, my mouth watering. Ah… What the hell. I shovelled forkfuls of the richly seasoned pasta into my mouth, and I swear I could've cried from how amazing it tasted. For the first time in a long time, I was eating something other than alcohol or tasteless freezer pizza. My stomach actually felt… Warm. I tensed up a little as I realised that the warmth wasn't just from the temperature of the food – I was grateful. "…Thank you, Rain." I mumbled, pasta sauce dripping from my chin. She looked up and grimaced a little at the mess I'd made before smiling again. "No problem! I wanted to celebrate my first crop shipment somehow anyway, and a nice hot meal really is the way to go!"
"Heh…" I wiped my chin with a napkin, though it was already a little sticky from the bar. "I can't imagine it being easy for someone as petite as you to haul cauliflowers all day."
"Hey. I may be small, but I'm strong enough to carry you home, don't you forget!" she put her hand on her hip sassily. I smirked a little, but then… I mean, she wasn't there in the morning, but… What if we… I choked on my spaghetti as a terrible thought crossed my mind. "Agh—" I started having a coughing fit, smacking myself on the chest to try and get my breath back.
"Shane!" Rain exclaimed before she started pounding me on the back with her tiny hands.
"Ugh… I… I'm okay…" I sighed, catching my breath. "Er… Rain."
"What is it?" Her wide eyes gleamed in the warm light of the bar.
"Uh…" My stomach tensed and I stumbled over my words awkwardly. I scratched the tip of my nose. "When… When you took me home."
"Yeah?"
"Ugh…" I felt a little flustered, and my whole body felt hot at the thought. "What… Exactly happened?"
"Huh?" her brow furrowed, "Not much, really. I dragged you back to Marnie's ranch and you stumbled through the door. Then I went home."
"Ah…" I felt every muscle in my body relax, the sweat cooling on my forehead. So she didn't go into the house with me after all.
"Why do you ask?"
"Eh? Oh…" I scratched the back of my head, forcing a smile awkwardly. "No reason."
"Uh… Okay." She was pensive for a moment, but of course, she couldn't help but let her face form into a huge grin again as she finished her meal. "Really, though… No lunch breaks? None at all?"
"That's right… Just… Shelves." I felt my eyes glazing over as I thought about my pathetic excuse for a living. "Thank god I finally have a day off tomorrow."
"Oh, really? Lucky you!"
"Well, not really… everyone has a day off tomorrow."
"Eh?" Rain exclaimed with a sour expression. "And I still have to farm! Spring 23rd… What's so special about that?"
"Well, nothing." I scraped my fork along the plate, making line patterns in the last of the sauce. "There used to be some stupid dance on the 24th, apparently, but not this year."
"…Is the dance tomorrow instead?"
"I dunno. All I know is that the Mayor wants everyone in Pelican Town to be there or whatever. Well, that's what Aunt Marnie said."
Rain giggled. "A spring dance doesn't really seem like your scene."
"I guess not," I rolled my eyes and shrugged. "But, Gus tends to cater these events. He makes a pretty mean pepper popper selection, so I might show face."
"Well, I guess it wouldn't be a great impression for the new farmer to not show up, so I guess I'll be there too." She stood up suddenly, pushing her plate toward the back of the bar. "It's getting late, so I should go. I'll see you tomorrow, Shane!" Waving energetically, she headed out of the door and into the night. I watched after her in silence. Somehow, I'd gone from my mundane life to being wrapped up in a hurricane of this crazy girl. I sighed, but I smiled.
"Yeah. You will."
Author's Note: Whew, I actually managed to find time to update between coursework. :D I was actually planning to include the events of the next day (Spring 23rd) in this chapter, but it ended up being a little longer than I expected so that'll have to be a chapter in its own right too. Sorry if this one wasn't very eventful, but it was fun to write so hopefully it'll be okay to read. Thanks so much again for all of your reviews, they really do make me smile and get me pumped to write more! See you next time! ~Nyannygiri