"Okay… Here… we… GO!" I yelled as I hauled what would probably be my final shipment of pumpkins for the season into the box. "Whew…" I wiped my brow. Three seasons living on a farm and my physical strength had improved immensely! Imagine how much I could carry if I was taller… I mused. I'd been working hard those past few days to prepare for the end of Fall, but really, I was trying to keep myself busy. Because every time I stopped working for long enough to think…
"Is there someone else?"
Ah, there it was again. The butterflies punching me in the gut. Crippled, I sat on the ground. I hadn't really been out into the town since that night with Sebastian - I wasn't sure I was ready for how much things were about to change. Me and Seb will never be the same again now… I brushed my hair behind my ear, heading back into my house to take my dirty overalls off. I had no idea he even felt that way. I didn't notice. Maybe I was stupid not to notice. Did he think I'd been leading him on? I needed to talk to him. I needed to find the words to make things right between us… But there was no way for me to do that honestly until I'd figured something else out first. Or rather, someone else.
Shane.
The damn butterflies again. My cheeks heated up and my throat turned into a desert just at the thought of trying to talk to him about it. When did this even happen? Was I really that clueless? How long had I felt that way? I had so many unanswered questions - I was so unsure of everything. "Ugh…" I flopped down onto my bed and covered my eyes with my arms. My head was spinning. Do I really… Love him? I hadn't even seen him since I started thinking that, so how would I really know for sure until I saw him face to face? There's no point in making a plan of action if I'm not even sure. I lifted my arms from my face. The pearly moon was just visible atop the dusky clouds through my window. It was the day of the Spirit's Eve festival, and it looked to be about that time. "Guess it's time to go…" I murmured to myself. I fastened my shoes, opened the door and took a deep breath. It was time to figure things out. Time to see it through.
The path from the farm into town seemed much longer than any time before. My every exhale trembled against the flutter of my stomach. And then, as I approached the clearing into Pelican Town, one fleeting thought pierced my mind, and my stomach dropped out of my body. My feet stopped moving. What if I really do love him… And he doesn't feel the same? Suddenly it was much harder to take that final step into the festival. The fear of rejection - no, the fear of ruining absolutely everything wouldn't let me go any further. I started to reverse, ever so slowly. Maybe I should give this one a miss…
"No." I heard my own voice. My fists were clenched. If I didn't see things through that night, what then? Avoid Shane for the rest of my life because I'm scared to feel for him? It just wasn't an option. I had to go. That thought propelling me forward, I crossed the threshold into town.
Needless to say, everything was spookified. Jack-o-lanterns were littered around, a big cage full of what I guessed were probably robotic skeletons was in front of the clinic, and there were four large buffet tables featuring orange table cloths and pumpkin infused dishes. Notably, my former "friends" weren't anywhere to be seen… Guess they thought they were 'too cool' for spooky festivals. Not that it was an issue for me. If anything, a night of not feeling daggers in my back sounded ideal - especially with what I went there to find out. Speaking of which… Slowing my breathing, I approached the leftmost buffet table where, predictably, Shane was nursing a bottle of alcohol. Hearing my footsteps he turned to me, and I held my breath. I've looked into those eyes so many times before but tonight, for the first time, they were brilliant smoky quartz and deep, rich honey all at once. Oh god. Keep it together, Mirabelle. He held a bottle out to me in his spare hand, the orange liquid inside sloshing as he did so. "Pumpkin ale. Want one?" Even his normal, nonchalant tone was enchanting, his husky voice going through every bone in my body.
"Oh… Sure!" I took the bottle from him carefully, too self conscious to touch his hand. I'm gonna need this to get through tonight… I broke the seal on the twisty cap and glugged half of the sweet, cinnamon-edged liquid in one go.
"You alright?" He raised an eyebrow. "You're drinking that pretty fast. Not that I'm one to comment."
"Oh, y-yeah!" I tried to laugh it off. I'm being way too obvious… I glanced around the town square for something to change the subject to, and caught sight of Marnie tucking into a slice of pumpkin pie. "Er… How's Marnie doing?"
"Better," he took a sip of his ale, "She had a bit of a rant about Pierre the other night and she seems a lot better for it."
"Ah, I'm glad…" I still couldn't bring myself to look at him. I stared up at the hill, where rows upon rows of square hedges stood. "A haunted maze…?" My eyes widened. It was way too hard to just talk to Shane without something else going on - a spooky maze could be perfect. "Can we go?"
"Ugh… Seriously?"
"Aw, come on~" I chirped, trying to simulate my usual attitude when I'm not totally self conscious. "It'll be fun!"
"Haaah… Fine." Shane sighed with a small smile. That sweet, charming, stubble-ridden smile that I'd been taking for granted until now. I'm staring, aren't I? I need to stop staring… I walked toward the maze, hoping the cover of night would hide my red cheeks.
The maze wasn't a total disaster, I suppose. It would've been far too dark to see anything, save for the little blue wisps atop the hedges casting an eerie glow. It was pretty embarrassing to turn the first corner and jump out of my skin when I saw zombified hands sticking out of the ground. "KYAAAAHHH!"
"Rain… They're plastic." Shane's narrowed eyes said it all.
"Oh, of… Of course… Heh." I am an embarrassment to the species.
Justice was swift, though. A little ways into the maze was an old television, its screen flickering with static. Shane, the poor fool, let his curiosity get the better of him and as he drew in close to the screen, an unsightly green creature with rotting skin flashed onto the screen with a shriek. "GYAAAHHH!" He fell down backwards, and I erupted with laughter.
"Come on, anyone who's ever been on the internet would've seen that coming," I choked out between fits of laughter.
"Pfft…" He tried to regain his cool demeanor, which didn't really work with his flushed cheeks. I started giggling again, and offered him a hand. He took it, and the touch felt… Electric. His hand was so warm as I pulled him off of the ground. He wordlessly averted his gaze and we continued walking through the maze… It was only then that I realised - he never let go of my hand. Holding it just felt so… so natural that I didn't even notice. Heart racing, I stole a glimpse at his face. I couldn't read his expression. What was he thinking? Is this okay? Should I let go? Would it be weird if I suddenly let go now? So many questions were whirring through my mind… Not only that, but as we walked and the alcohol seeped into my bloodstream I had to stop myself from letting the image of his topless torso after he fell into my pond enter my mind. Jeez, stop it, Mirabelle… Don't be so shameless!
Next to the fountain stood some giant plastic spiders. "Aw… They're kinda cute!" I laughed. I guess that wasn't the maze creator's desired reaction, though. Just then, an ominous humming noise crept into my ears, growing louder. Shane's hand tensed around mine. "What is that…?" We followed the direction of the sound. At a dead end stood a wooden sign post with a red arrow painted on it, pointing toward the hedge next to it.
"Great. What now?" Shane sighed. "Do we go back?"
"I dunno…" I pondered. "What if there's some sort of final boss waiting for us on the other side of this hedge? Like a… A vampire?"
"A vampire." Shane's brow furrowed. "You don't really believe in that paranormal garbage, do you?"
"Hmm…" I laughed, "I'm not sure. One time on my way down the mountain, I saw an apple with arms and legs just outside the community centre. Maybe it was a spirit."
"Really? A sentient apple spirit?" Shane chuckled. His smile seemed to illuminate the maze.
"Well… Yeah! You never know!" I puffed my cheeks jokingly. "Don't you believe in anything like that?"
"Nah, not really," he laughed quietly. "I've never seen anything that couldn't be explained by science."
"Pfft, boring," I rolled my eyes playfully.
"Realistic." He retorted. "Anyway, there has to be a way through here…" He pushed the leaves where the arrow was pointing and, sure enough, they were thin enough for someone to walk through. We smiled at each other and advanced. A small cave opening was visible ahead. Shane appraised the structure of the walls with a knock. "...You sure we should go this way?"
"Why? You scared?"
"O-of course not." Shane huffed, pulling ahead. "Come on."
The mine shaft was narrow and crumbly, and I couldn't see a thing. I tripped more times than I could count. Finally, the dull blue glow returned as the opening came into sight. Shane was covered in dirt and, sure enough, so was I. In front of us was a red chest embossed with gold. Wordlessly, we worked together to lift the heavy lid and inside was…
"A pumpkin?" I tilted my head to one side as Shane lifted the squash out of the chest.
"Wait. Look." The pumpkin caught the flickers of light and shone brilliantly. "It's golden."
"Wow…" My eyes lit up. "Er… What should we do with it?"
"I dunno. It's shiny, so… Maybe Jas would like it."
…
"Wooooow!" And she did. "Thanks, Mira! Thanks, cousin Shane!"
"No problem!" I smiled, trying not to wonder too much what she was going to do with a vegetable pretty much the same size as her.
"Where did you even find such a thing?" Marnie said, eyes full of wonder.
"It was the prize in the maze, or something," Shane mumbled, trying not to let on that he actually enjoyed the maze. "We figured Jas would like it more."
"Well, how lovely!" She clasped her hands together and grinned before turning to Jas. "Jas, dear, it's past your bedtime. Time to go home."
"Aww…" She sulked, but relented with a yawn. We waved them off as they carried the enormous glimmering pumpkin between them. As Shane's soft eyes watched the two of them fade out of sight, I realised the night had been a success. I was sure - the man in front of me made me feel things I'd never felt before. I was in love with him. I was willing to take the risk of telling him that. I had to let him know. Deep breath. In, out. I can do this.
"Sh-Shane."
"Yeah?" He turned to me, unfazed, same as ever.
"Uh… Erm…" My voice got stuck in my throat. I… was still a little tipsy. No shame in taking a raincheck, right? "Look, um. This might sound… Weird… Uh…"
"It's fine." He nodded. "Go ahead."
"Can… I meet you tomorrow morning? Before work? There's something I wanted to talk about. With you."
"Oh… Sure." His eyes glimmered with curiosity. "We could… Meet at the fountain at 7? If that isn't too early?"
"That's fine for me." I smiled, trying not to let my lip do a nervous twitch.
"Great." He smiled. "Want me to walk you home?"
"I-I… Uh…" My cheeks went red at the thought of being alone with him like this. "I'm… Just gonna go check out the skeletons one last time. You go on ahead, though."
"...If you're sure. Good night, Rain."
"Night!" I waved.
Haley's P.O.V.
She waved him off like an overly excited puppy. Cute? Gross. Whatever. It was time to put an end to this. "You hear that?" I turned to the gloomy weirdo next to me. "Tomorrow morning. She's totally gonna confess. You know what you have to do, right?"
No response. Leah watched as Sebastian just glared at the drunken loser skulking back into the forest. I turned around to face Sebastian and put my hands on my hips. "Look. You've, like, totally been stalking her all night. Remember what we talked about? It's now or never."
"...Don't have to tell me twice." He spoke at last.
"Good," I grinned. "Get it done." And off he went. Leah and I watched as Sebastian approached Mira. She seemed startled at first, but soon warmed up with her usual over the top smile. Then, the two of them walked away together toward the mountain. Perfect. I turned to Leah, whose face was tense. I flicked my hair over my shoulder. "You'd better not be having second thoughts."
"I'm not." She said shortly, arms crossed. "I'm not sure I agree with your methods, Haley. But I agree that we need to intervene. So I'll do it."
"Good. Then go home. You've got a phone call to make."
Author's Note: Ah, who doesn't loved a good cliff hanger? ;)
Just wanted to mention that I have another 24 hour charity stream coming up in a few weeks, but I don't want to clog up the last few chapters of this fic with news of it so I'll only mention it now. I'll be announcing it properly on my Instagram - I'm Nyannygiri on there for those interested.
Thanks as always for reading and see you soon! ~Nyannygiri