Mira's P.O.V.
"…And what about the wood for the stage? Pine? No, that's not really in season, is it? Hmm… Oak? Redwood? …Mira?"
After getting all of my farm work done in the morning, I spent most of the day at Sebastian's place playing board games. It was getting late – towards the end of Shane's shift, so I was taking my leave, Sebastian following close behind to see me to the door. But, of course, a very neurotic Robin intercepted me before I could get out of the door and started gushing to me about building everything for next year's dance. She was a few types of wood away from talking my ear off.
"I think Oak might be nice," I forced a smile, glancing repeatedly at the clock above Robin's head, "Redwood has more of a Fall feel to it."
"Oh… You're right! Thanks, Mira! Now, what about—"
"Sorry, Robin, but I really have to be going," I shuffled toward the door, "Next time, okay?"
"O-oh, okay, Mira!" she waved, "where could you be rushing off to?"
"I'm meeting Shane from work." I responded with a smile.
"Tch." Sebastian tutted behind me. What is their problem with each other…? I shrugged it off. I didn't have time to be dealing with some middle school-esque rivalry if I was going to make it down the mountain in time for 5pm.
"I'd better be on my way now! Bye, Robin! Bye, Sebastian!" I smiled as I walked out of the door into the warm evening glow, the two of them waving me off as I went. The walk down the mountain was much quicker than the hike up, though the muddy rock trail did trip me up a few times. The weather was steadily warming up in Pelican Town, and the grass down the mountainside was adorned with beautiful little white flowers. Smiling to myself, I followed the trail of flowers with my eyes until they rested upon something strange. "An… Apple?" I muttered to myself and I approached the round green object at the end of the white flowery trail.
"Ah!" I gasped. The apple… Looked at me! I fell back onto the muddy stones, staring at the sentient fruit, the apple also staring at me with a blank expression.
"U-umm… Hello…" I said awkwardly, most of the awkwardness a result of the fact that I just struck up conversation with a piece of fruit. The apple looked at me with slightly blushing cheeks, let out an almost ethereal squeak, and slowly toddled away on two stick-thin legs before phasing away through a grey brick wall. Wh-what on earth…? Could that have been… Some sort of spirit? Staring at the spot where the little apple was just standing, I stood up, my eyes tracing up the wall. Two much worn redwood doors and a huge broken clock face stood tall – albeit crumbling – before me. "The… Community centre?" I whispered to myself in awe.
"Hey~! Mira!" a girl's voice called out to me, snapping me out of my stupor. "Over here!"
"…Leah?" I followed the voice to the river where, as predicted, the flame-haired artist was sitting, sketchbook in hand. On her left were Maru and Penny, with Haley and Alex standing together to her right. "Oh! Hey, guys!" I beamed.
"Afternoon, Mira," Maru grinned at me, pushing her glasses back up her nose. "We're making the most of the warm weather. Want to come sit with us?"
"I'd love to—AH!" I shouted, "What time is it?"
"Umm…" Penny looked at the watch around her pale slim wrist, "It's 4:58."
"Shoot! Sorry, Maru, but I have to go meet Shane from work!"
"Like, what the heck is up with you two?" Haley snarled, blowing her blonde bangs out of her face. "Hanging around with some drunken old man who thinks he's too good for the rest of us… Are you, like, after his secret riches or something?"
"Wh-" I stuttered. What is that even supposed to mean? Shane's not an old man. He's only 26 – only four years older than Haley. "He's my friend. That's all there is to it." I smiled awkwardly.
"Like, whatever," Haley rolled her eyes, appraising her geometrically perfect pink manicure. "Just seems creepy to me."
I rolled my eyes in return resisting the urge to point out that my social life is none of Haley's business, and waved at everyone before hastily making my way across the river and running up the hill to Joja Mart. Leaning on the giant blue eyesore of a sign, an auburn-haired man clad in a scruffy, torn up blue Joja Mart work jacket and green crew length work shorts. "Shane!" I panted, "Sorry I'm late!"
Shane looked me up and down critically with cynical eyes. "What in the hell happened to you?"
"What?" I looked down at my blue dungarees. Well, they weren't really very blue anymore – they were completely caked in mud from my fall earlier. I didn't notice before, but my hair was all over my face, too, probably from the uphill run. I looked down, turning pink – I didn't really know why, but it was a little embarrassing for Shane to see me in such a mess. "Oh… I… Kinda fell on my way down the mountain. But I'm fine!" I smiled wide, hoping there was no mud in my teeth.
"Jeez, Rain, be careful…" Shane sighed. "Come on. You can borrow some clothes at Marnie's." He moved in close and untangled a twig from my hair. I blushed a little, trying not to breathe too heavily as his face was inches from mine. "Th… Thanks. Okay then, let's go."
The walk through town was scenic, but quiet. Shane walked silently with his hands in his pockets for most of the way, his dulled eyes never faltering from the path ahead. For some reason, I was nervous to be going home with him, so I didn't say much. Sure, I'd been to Marnie's ranch tons of times since I moved in, but I hadn't been to Marnie's ranch with Shane before. Why did that even matter? Beats me. Either way, I was a little on edge, and still felt somewhat awkward. I almost asked Shane how his day was, but from the look on his stubbly face I decided against it for fear of him spiralling into some sort of nihilistic anecdote about how he'll never escape from the clutches of Joja. Relatable, though. Something was bothering me, though, so I struck up the nerve to ask. "Hey… Is there a problem between you and Sebastian?"
"Who?"
"Er… Black hair, black clothes…"
"The goth kid?"
"Yeah, I guess so…?" I sighed.
"Barely even know him. Never spoken to him."
"Oh…" I tilted my head to one side, confused.
"Why?"
"No reason, really…"
Eventually, the street lights led us to the edge of the forest, and Marnie's ranch was in sight. Shane opened the door and I followed him in.
"Ah! Welcome home, little nephew!" Marnie chirped eccentrically. Little nephew…? I had to stop myself from giggling. That nickname paired with Shane's demeanour… Ahh, sweet irony. "Oh dear, Mira! What happened to you? You're all covered in dirt!"
"I just tripped up a little. No big deal." I smiled back.
"If you're sure, dear. I have a little paperwork to finish up here, so make yourself comfortable for a while!"
"Come on," Shane grumbled, heading toward the door on the far right. "I'll find you some clothes."
"Okay~" I smiled, following Shane into what I presumed was his room. Walking apprehensively through the door into the small room, I saw that it was pretty empty. I don't like to admit being so judgmental, but I expected Shane's room to be kind of a mess. Instead, a chair, lamp, alarm radio and bed were neatly tucked to the right side of the room, with a TV to the left. "Feel free to play a game or whatever while I find you some clothes," he mumbled, sticking his head under his bed.
"Sure!" I sat down in front of the TV set. "Wow, you managed to get a Mega Station all the way out here in the country?"
"It's one of the few things I brought from the city. So, no." he said shortly.
"Huh." I looked at the top of the Mega Station, and noticed a suspiciously familiar black box. "I-is this a Code Sultan?! Shane, have you been using cheat codes?!"
"Maybe," I heard him smirk.
"Jeez…" I shook my head, smiling to myself. Looking down to my right, I noticed an open book left lazily on the floor. "How to Raise Chickens…" I mumbled to myself, reading the cover. "Shane, you're interested in farming?"
"Pff, I dunno…" a muffled voice came from under the bed. "Marnie just had it laying around and I was bored." Shane finally re-emerged from beneath his bed, a white t-shirt in hand. "Here."
I took the t-shirt. It was soft cotton. "I thought you said you didn't have any other clothes?"
"…Aunt Marnie got it me as a present when I first moved here." He seemed sulky as he said this. Curious, I opened the shirt. The letter I, a big red heart and a picture of a cartoon chicken. "I heart chicken…?" I giggled.
"Don't laugh…" Shane sulked some more. "I didn't ask for it. Just get changed, okay?"
"Okay, but…" I felt a bit flustered. "C-could you turn around or something?"
"Oh, er, yeah…" Shane scratched the back of his head awkwardly before turning to face the wall. I took off my blue dungarees and then the rest of my outer clothing, until I was stood in my underwear. In the same room as Shane. How embarrassing… I tried to unfurl the t-shirt as fast as I could.
"Are you done ye—"
"DON'T TURN AROUND!"
"S-sorry… Rain…"
"Jeez…" I puffed my cheeks out, feeling sheepish. Finally I dove head-first into the t-shirt, trying to fight my way through it. "This t-shirt is huge! I feel like I'm drowning in it!" I mumbled to myself, though I could've sworn I heard Shane snicker. Jerk. I eventually managed to find the head hole and pulled the poultry-loving t-shirt straight. The mud had soaked through to my trousers so I had to take those off too, but luckily the t-shirt was so long on me that I could pretty much wear it as a dress. Either I was really short, or Marnie had no idea how to pick sizes. "Ah… All done!"
"Took long enough," Shane quipped sarcastically as he turned back around. Then he just stood stock still, poker faced, his eyes fixated on me.
"E-er…" I did my best to hide my red cheeks. "Are you okay there, Shane?"
"What?" he snapped back into motion. "Oh… Y-yeah. I'm good." He averted his gaze. I started to feel self-conscious and pulled at the bottom of the t-shirt a little.
"Are you ready for your dancing lesson, Mira?" Marnie creaked open the door. "Oh! Nice t-shirt!" she winked, as if she'd forgotten that she was the one who bought it. I could almost sense Shane rolling his eyes. "Heh… Thanks…" I smiled awkwardly. "I'm ready to dance, I think."
"Wonderful! I've locked up so I can teach you on the shop front. There's more space out there."
"Okay!" I followed after Marnie. "See you later, Shane!"
"Break a leg." Shane murmured sardonically.
…
"Agh!" I tripped over and found myself in a heap on the wooden shop floor. Again. Marnie had been attempting to teach me to ballroom dance for three hours, and it was official – I had two left feet. "Ugh… Marnie, I don't think I can keep this up…"
"Maybe we should call it a night, in that case?" Marnie grinned.
"But I still can't dance… I'm still awful…" I panted. I had no idea how Marnie managed to endure dancing for so long and not even get out of breath.
"Hmm…" Marnie pulled up a stool and sat beside me. "Why don't you come over once a week? We'll chip away at it gradually, and by this time next year you'll be the greatest danseuse Pelican Town has ever seen!"
"I doubt that somehow…" I grumbled, picking myself up off of the floor. "But if you're willing to teach me, I'd love to give it a try!"
"Of course!" Marnie smiled. I headed back to Shane's room to get my shoes.
"Is it over?" Shane looked around comically. "The house is still in one piece."
"Pff, very funny," I glared, wrestling on my boots.
Shane chuckled to himself before kneeling down next to me. "No but seriously, how'd it go?"
"I'm probably the worst dancer in the world…" I sighed, tying my laces. "But Marnie says she'll teach me a little every week. So maybe I won't be totally hopeless come next year."
"Huh."
"Oh! I almost forgot to give you this shirt back…" I looked down at the cartoon chicken on my belly.
"…Hang onto it for a while if you want." Shane said nonchalantly.
"A-are you sure…?"
"Yeah. I'm not gonna wear it anyway."
"Why? It'd look cute on you!" I teased.
"Pfft…" Shane responded. He and Marnie walked me to the door.
"Oh dear, are you sure you'll be okay in the dark in just that t-shirt? Won't you be cold?" Marnie fussed.
"My farm's just north of here, so it's no problem!" I smiled back as I headed out into the night. "Bye, Marnie! Bye, Shane!"
"Take care, Mira, dear!"
"Later, Rain."
…
It had been a few days since then. It was the last day of spring, so the weather was really heating up as we headed toward summer. It was around 9pm, and I was sitting out on the pier on the forest lake with Shane. That had been the daily norm lately; after work was done we'd meet at the Saloon, stick around for a drink or two and then sit on the pier away from the world. The other villagers around my age had been looking down on us quite a lot, though. I didn't really understand it. But once we got to the forest, it didn't matter. No one came out here at night. No one could see or hear us. It was peaceful. I couldn't remember the last time I was this comfortable with someone, and Shane seemed to have loosened up from being the dismissive jerk he was when we met.
"Hey, Rain…" the moon reflected off of his deep brown eyes as he stared out into the water. "I'm… Sorry if I was rude to you when we first met." My eyes widened a little. It's like he's reading my mind. Spooky.
"It's fine… We're friends now and that's all that matters, right?"
"Yeah…" a hint of a smile showed on Shane's slightly tipsy face. "I guess I'm not used to people actually wanting to deal with me."
"Heh, at least you have that luxury," I jested, "as the resident farmer, I kinda have to get along with everyone." My sober thoughts were leaking out of my drunken mouth.
"Must be nice to be a farmer. No boss to bother you. Just… Plants and chickens." Shane had a faraway look in his eyes. Maybe he was drunker than I thought. Or maybe he was thinking out loud, too… That book I found on his floor… 'How to Raise Chickens'? Shane worked every day and he was out and drunk every night. There's no way he'd have spare time to read unless he actually wanted to.
"Hey…" I scooted my legs around on the pier to make my body face Shane. "Have you ever considered trying your hand at farming? I mean… You live on a small ranch."
"…I dunno. I don't think Aunt Marnie would want a useless sponge like me messing around with her animals."
"Hey…" I placed my hand on Shane's shoulder. He tensed instinctively, but relaxed to my touch. "You aren't useless… And I don't think you give enough credit to how much your Aunt cares about you."
"I… don't know…" he slurred.
"Look at me," I moved my hand up to his cheek, gently guiding his face in my direction. His deep chestnut eyes met mine, captivating me. He drew in closer, resting his forehead against mine. He had a bit of a temperature – it was probably the alcohol. His beer-scented breath tickled my nose as we stared into each other's eyes. "It's easy to fall into the trap of feeling like you don't matter," I whispered, letting the alcohol unlock the gate to my true thoughts. "But, you do. You matter to me. To Marnie and Jas too if you let them in. I know it's hard, but… Maybe try to reach out a little, y'know?"
"Huh…" Shane looked down, conflicted thoughts swirling in his eyes. Only then did I realise how close together our lips were. Swallowing hard, I did my best to stay as still as possible. His eyes flicked back up to meet mine, and my stomach did a backflip.
"Rain…" he whispered.
"What… What is it?" I said, as calmly as I could.
"I…" Shane finally collapsed, resting his head on my shoulder. "I don't feel well."
I stared past him for a moment, feeling his warmth resting over me. I smiled to myself, stroking his back to comfort him. "Jeez… I really have to carry you home again?"
"Heh heh… Sorry…" Shane slurred his words as I pulled him to his feet. "I'll carry you next time…"
"It's a date," I said, thinking out loud. Eek. Thank god he's drunk.
Once again, I lugged the drunken Shane back to his house, and watched as he stumbled into absolutely everything on his way to his room. "See you tomorrow, Rain…" I heard him sigh tiredly.
"Yeah." I grinned, closing the door quietly before taking the north path up to my farm.
"Whew…" Such a relief it was to finally flop into bed. I took off my farming clothes and put on the t-shirt that Shane lent to me. It made a really comfy night shirt. And besides… I couldn't quite place it, but there was something comforting about wearing it. Comforting on the inside.
"Goodnight, Shane," I whispered sleepily as the soft embrace of sleep took over.
Author's Note: My deadlines are done so here's a new chapter! I have exams soon though so I won't be able to write super frequently just yet. My summer break starts in a couple of weeks so once that time comes, I'm all yours! Thanks for the reviews! ~Nyannygiri