Mira's P.O.V.
Sebastian glared down at me, his gaze piercing mine like a dagger. His face showed no emotion – none whatsoever – as I felt shivers run down my spine. It was only for a moment, but it felt like a lifetime – I could almost feel his ominous presence devouring mine. The atmosphere that he had created – his own devilish space – was engulfing me. My heart was pounding hard, my muscles tense. My breath was short. Then, without hesitation, his face pierced the very air with a sharp villainous smirk.
No… No… No…
He raised his hand. I held my breath. I knew it was already too late. His rugged lips parted as his face grew dark.
"Attacking for six."
"God damn it!" I shouted, throwing my hand of cards down onto the table. "You beat me again!"
"I told you blue-black decks were overpowered." Sebastian chuckled, shuffling his deck before putting it back into its box.
"I didn't even get a chance to put my giant behemoth onto the field…" I pouted, arms crossed, glaring down at my pathetic excuse for a mana pool. Two mana cards all game! What use is that to anyone?
"That was kind of the point." He flicked his black fringe from in front of his eyes. "You got that thing on the field, I'd stand no chance." Sebastian shuffled around the table to me and patted me on the head, sticking out his tongue. "Eh, it's half luck. You'll beat me eventually."
"Grr, as if I need luck to win!" I growled, irate after having Sebastian wipe the floor with me seven times in a row. Sebastian laughed, patting my head again. In a huff, I bit his hand. "Ow!" After that, we both burst out laughing.
"Sebby?" Robin's voice echoed from the top of the stairs. Sebastian sighed. "What?"
"It's almost 9am. We need to head to the forest soon, so get ready."
"Ugh…"
"Sebby!"
"Yeah, yeah, we're coming." He wiped his face with his hand, fed up.
"Time to go?" I stood up, fumbling my shoes on.
"Looks like it…" Sebastian grumped, blowing his fringe out of his eyes almost comically. "Horrible sunlight, here we come."
As soon as Sebastian had clad himself in layers upon layers of black clothes, the three of us headed down the mountain and through the town. No one was around, of course – they were all probably already in the forest. A little while later, we were there, too; a little makeshift bridge balanced over the chasm between the forest's hills, and even though I objected saying it looked risky, Robin assured me that they 'used this same bridge every year'. How many years 'til it gives out? It made me nervous, but I steeled myself and walked across the bridge after Robin and Sebastian. And, hey, I didn't fall to my death. All's well that ends well.
As we approached the clearing, I noticed rows upon rows of buffet tables laid out on the soft green grass. "Gus really went to town this year," Sebastian noted, almost impressed. Almost. As I scanned the tables looking for something sweet and sugary, I noticed a familiar man stuffing his cheeks with pepper poppers like a hamster. "Oh! Shane! Heeeey!" I jumped and waved my arms to get his attention – I'm short, you know. As my feet reached the ground again, I heard Sebastian sharply exhale beside me. Looking up at him, his eyes were daggers. I tilted my head to one side. "Seb? What's wrong?"
"Oh… Nothing." His expression went blank.
"I'm going to go see Shane. You coming?"
"No." Sebastian answered shortly, flicking a cigarette into his mouth. "I'mma go hang out with Sam for a while. Catch you later, Mira."
"Oh. Okay!" I smiled before running over to the buffet tables. "Hey, Shane! Didn't you see me waving?"
"Mmmmpf." Shane tried to talk with a mouthful of pepper poppers. And he failed. Miserably.
"Jeez… Ooh, chocolate cake!" I grabbed a slice of the fudgy goodness, getting the icing all over my fingers. I turned back to Shane, a little perplexed. "Er… Why are you in your Joja Mart uniform?"
"I have no other clothes."
"Wait, what?"
"I work every day," he rolled his eyes, "why would I need to have other clothes handy?"
"What about when you wash your work clothes?"
"I don't." Ew…? "I wish the mayor would hurry this shindig up so I can go to the Saloon. The lack of alcohol here is freaking me out."
"Hey, maybe it's good for you to get some fresh mountain air away from beer," I teased. Shane shook his head, clearly not convinced. He looked across the field all of a sudden, stuffing his face with another handful of pepper poppers. "Speak of the devil…"
"Good morning, everyone!" mayor Lewis bellowed across the field. "Thank you for joining me on this beautiful sunny day!"
"Get to the point, old man…" Shane quietly grumbled beside me.
"Okay, let's get to it!" Mayor Lewis shouted, as if reading Shane's mind. "Everyone between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two, come over here!"
"Looks like you're up." Shane muttered, still fixated on the buffet.
"Er… Yeah, looks like it." I really hope he doesn't want us to dance… I was born with two left feet, and in the dew covered grass, dancing really wouldn't end well for me. Regardless, I walked across the field to where everyone else around my age was gathering. Pelican Town was a pretty small place, so all in all, there were only ten of us. Looking around, I could tell that everyone was just as clueless as I was about what was even going on.
"You kids…" Mayor Lewis said dramatically, "are the future of Pelican Town!"
"What?" Sam reflexively said.
"Kids?" Sebastian grumbled.
"As you all know, tomorrow's Flower Dance is cancelled." The Mayor continued. "The dance moves that symbolise love and happiness that have been passed down for generations… Such a shame…"
"Duh. That dance is like, totally lame." Emily's little sister Haley said, twirling her shiny bleach-blonde hair around her index finger.
"Chyeah. People don't dance like that anymore." Piped up Alex, clearly trying to show off in front of Haley. "Totally not cool."
"I don't care if you think it's uncool, Alexander!" The Mayor was red in the face. Alexander? Ouch. "This dance is an important tradition in this valley, whether you like it or not!"
Everything went quiet. Well, aside from Sebastian and Sam giggling at Alex like little kids next to me. Finally, the Mayor composed himself, smiling as if nothing even happened. "So! Us old timers are a little past it when it comes to dancing, and you young'uns don't seem to have any appreciation for traditions at all!" he glared at Alex as he said this, who averted his gaze. I felt a little disheartened by his remark. How could he say that? I live on a farm! How do you get more traditional than living on a FARM?! "Whilst I must sadly admit defeat and cancel the dance this year… Next year will be the biggest and best Flower Dance yet! And all of you will be the main event!"
"Erm… What?" Sam looked confused. Well, he always looked confused, but even more so now – as was I.
"This town needs more youthful spirit. More romance, like the good old days." Mayor Lewis glanced over at Marnie, and winked. Eugh. "So, we're expecting quite the spectacle from the likes of you – the future of our town!"
"Wait, wait, wait." Leah, the local artist, stepped forward. "You want us to dance next year? Just us?"
"Precisely!" the Mayor enthused. I heard someone choke over at the buffet table – looks like Shane couldn't hold in his laughter anymore. And he had a right to laugh – this whole situation was bizarre, verging on ridiculous. My stomach turned queasily. I didn't want to dance. Even with a year to prepare, no amount of practice would make me a good dancer. "Oh!" a thought suddenly occurred to me, and I smiled discreetly. "Mayor Lewis, correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't this dance require two people together? People in love?"
"Well… Yes."
"Well… None of us are in love! We… We can't dance, right?" Maybe I said that a little too happily.
"Yeah!" Sam piped up with too much enthusiasm. "I don't want to do a stupid dance anyway!"
"I-I don't think I can dance, either…" murmured Penny quietly.
The Mayor sighed, closing his eyes. "Ah, to be young and spirited…" he looked up at us again, smirking. "I thought you youngsters might say that. Which is why the best dancing couple will be awarded the titles of Dancing King and Queen!" Wow. I actually cringed a little, and I thought Sebastian was going to throw up from the look on his face. Surely the Mayor realised this would only make us want to take part even less?
"Ooh! Dancing Queen?" Haley squealed, clapping her hands. "That's like, so exciting!" You have got to be kidding me.
"Huh. Come on, Haley. We'll wipe the floor with the other dancers." Alex sneered, putting his arm around the excitable blonde.
"It's settled, then!" The Mayor exclaimed. "If you have any suggestions, talk to Robin or Caroline. They'll be organising the event. Well, that's all, everyone!"
The townspeople started to disperse, but I just stood in place, dumbfounded. Making such a big deal out of dancing… My absolute worst nightmare.
"Mira?" Sebastian said beside me. "You okay?"
"…Yeah! I'm good." I forced a smile. Sebastian laughed. "This whole thing seems pretty ridiculous, huh?"
"Yeah…" I faked a laugh. "Yeah, it does…"
…
Shane's P.O.V.
Taking a big glug of beer, I slouched against the wall next to the fireplace. Finally, back at the Saloon… Being stuck on that mountain with the entire population of Pelican Town was driving me nuts. Plus, the Big Cheese decided to concoct another one of his ridiculous ideas, laughable though it was – it's not like any of the younger townsfolk were actually going to bother. Speaking of which, I looked over at the motionless figure sat down on a bar stool next to me. "Rain?" I poked her arm. "You still alive? You've barely spoken since we got here."
"Ughhhh…" she responded, looking up at me with troubled eyes. "Shane… I can't dance… This whole thing is crazy…"
"Just ignore it." I sipped my drink. "It's hardly the first time the mayor's come up with a stupid idea."
"Really?" Rain's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Yeah. Besides, you'll have no problem dancing or whatever, what with your boyfriend."
"My… What?"
"That goth kid?"
"Wha— Sebastian?!" She looked almost offended. Did I get the wrong end of the stick here? "No, no, no! We're just friends!" She waved her arms about frantically as if that would convince me.
"Oh. I guess I just assumed, since you're together a lot."
"Boys and girls can be friends, you know," she raised an eyebrow at me, "besides, I spend more time with you than I do with Seb. And you work all day." Rain indignantly took a sip of lemonade. My stomach turned a little at her words, and I looked down. She sighed, pouting like a baby. "I reaaaallly don't want to dance. I don't even know how."
"Heh. From what Aunt Marnie tells me, all the old married couples are the only ones who've been bothering to dance. But hey, maybe it's good for you to give new things a try." I teased as revenge for what she said on the mountain. I felt my mood grow a little darker as I got further towards the bottom of my pint glass. "Besides… World's still full of opportunities for you. May as well take the ones you're given." Staring down into the glass in my hand, I noticed the bubbles swirling around and around in a circle… Trying so hard to keep moving forward, but winding up right back where they started every time. Such is life, I guess.
"Hey." Rain turned to me, her eyes suddenly serious. "About the other night…" I swallowed hard at her words, my body tense. "…Yeah?"
"I won't ask what happened to you. But… I know that you've been hurt." She averted her gaze down at the bar, her fingers tracing the lines in the wood, her expression unreadably blank. "And I know how you feel."
"R-Rain…" I was taken aback. The happy-go-lucky, super eccentric girl in front of me just transformed a woman. No – she was always a mature, thoughtful woman. I was just too ignorant to see it. Albeit flustered, I was a little sad. Those eyes… The same eyes I see looking back at me in the mirror every morning. I didn't know why I cared, but I did. It drove me crazy to think that Rain was feeling that very same pain. I wanted to say something to her… But I couldn't find the words. She suddenly smiled very sweetly, two dimples showing themselves on her cheeks. "I just want you to know that you aren't alone. That's all."
My heart was beating at a mile a minute, my hands shaking. Tell her she isn't alone either. Say you're here for her.
"…Yeah."
Coward.
"…You know, I think Aunt Marnie knows how to dance."
"Really? D'you think she'd teach me?"
"Maybe." My stomach tensed. "…If you're not busy… Why don't you, er…"
"Yeah?" Rain tilted her head to one side cutely, and my stomach did a backflip. Ugh, not now… I sighed, clearing my head. "Why don't you meet me from work and come over tomorrow?"
"Oh!" Her eyes lit up. "Great idea, Shane!"
"Uh-huh…" I felt a sweat drop roll down my face. What have I gotten myself into…?
"So, 5pm outside Joja Mart, right?"
"That's right…"
"Great!" Knocking back the rest of her lemonade with a slight hiccup, she jumped up from the bar stool like she was ready to run a marathon. "I'll get going home, then. See you tomorrow!" She beamed even brighter than yesterday before running out the door. Her leaving me in amazed bewilderment was apparently becoming part of my everyday life… And somehow, I was okay with that.
"…See you tomorrow, Rain."
Author's Note: Whew. Hopefully this chapter actually made sense and wasn't a mess. xD
I wonder when ConcernedApe is going to do the marriage candidate update? I have a 24 hour gaming charity marathon at university next weekend, so it'd be pretty sweet if it was before then - I could easily spend 24 hours wooing Shane. xD It probably won't be that quick, though. Anyway! Thanks for your reads and reviews guys! ~Nyannygiri