Tales of the Alternate Universe
Chapter Sixteen: Junktown
Miss Teana Hanks folded the fancy-looking garments that the red-haired girl had tossed onto the old apple farmer's bed, after getting them off her body in order to get herself dressed in something more appropriated to move around the country. Miss Hanks had happened to bump into Finn, Flanna, and Jake while they were walking away from the market. After greeting them with great enthusiasm, Tea Hanks gladly suggested to take the Hacksworth girl back into the market and do some shopping with her.
Although Flanna was a little embarrassed about it, the nice elderly woman bought her a radiant tank top dress —nothing too really expensive or superb. In fact she couldn't remember the last time in which she had worn something as simple as that humble orange dress. Not that any of those details really mattered though, Flanna was delighted with her new dress. She had eagerly run out of the store to stamp it on Finn's face and show him how much she had liked it while Tea Hanks happily paid for it.
The old baker sighed after finishing her work with the young girl's former clothes and stared at her, wondering what was she supposed to do with them. "Flanna, dear... Do you want me to pack these up and send them to Miss Bonnie? Since you will be staying with her, I think that it would be easier to take them there, instead of having you carrying them around the whole day."
"Nah, you can keep 'em!" Flanna said as she adjusted the crossed shoulder straps of her new outfit on her back. "I'm sure that you'd get some money for them at the market!"
"Some money?! Dear, these clothes would probably make me the richest woman in all of Junktown!" Miss Tea exclaimed in awe.
"Great, they're yours!" Flanna replied as she stared at herself in the mirror "Oh! And you can keep my shoes as well! I've waited a long time to feel the freshness of the grass beneath my bare feet, I won't ever use those things again."
"Goodness help me! Are you serious, dear?!" the old lady was on the verge of fainting.
"Yep!" The red-haired girl finished working on the upper part of her dress and proceeded to stretch her skirt down so that it would cover her knees a little. "How do I look?" she asked with a grin.
Miss Teana smiled softly at her as she walked to her side. "Well, I think that we should let the gentlemen give you the answer, but before that, let me take care of your hair…" she pulled a brush out of one of her drawers and instructed Flanna to sit down on her bed. "You can't go running around with those long locks covering your face, can you? I'm sure it'd be terribly annoying!"
And so, with a great motherly care that Flanna hadn't felt in years, Miss Tea Hanks gladly began to brush the long strands of fiery-like hair that rested upon the girl's naked shoulders. The old lady fixed Flanna's hair into a hung down pony tail, which she later braided onto her head so that it would let her back uncovered. Once that was done, Miss Tea Hanks pulled out a pair of thick locks from the girl's forehead and let them fall freely on both sides of her face.
"There you go… look at the mirror and tell me what you think!" the apple lover said sweetly before she could notice some silent sobs that were coming from the young girl beside her "Oh, what is it? You don't like it?"
"I-I love it…it's just that…mom…" Flanna sobbed, rubbing her forearm against her watery eyes.
Miss Tea Hanks didn't need to hear more to understand what kind of thoughts were crossing the poor girl's mind in that moment. She tenderly pulled Flanna into her arms and tried to comfort her, hoping that a creamy slice of apple pie and the company of the Mertens boy would help her drive away the hurtful memories of the long gone Mrs. Hacksworth.
"Hush…hush…how are ya feelin' now?"
"Better, I think…"
"Should we let Mr. Gibb and Finn see your new look now?" Tea Hanks suggested.
Flanna seemed to display some enthusiasm after listening to the old lady and grinned. "Yeah. Let's go!"
x+x+x+x+x
Finn's face flushed while he fought to avoid dropping his jaw in amazement. Before his wide-opened eyes the simplicity of Flanna's new dress had only intensified the brightness of her physical beauty, leaving the poor boy stunned with just a simple glance.
"What are ya waiting for, lad?" Mr. Gibb exclaimed impatiently, giving a strong push to Finn's back, which caused him to stumble towards Flanna. "Tell her all those things that you were telling me earlier!"
"T-things? What things?!" Finn mumbled, trying to escape from that embarrassing situation.
The pig breeder rolled his eyes and said. "You know, the things that you were saying while we were waiting at the living room! You said that she was bright, that she was beautiful…and that she made you feel confused; like you couldn't breathe— And I don't know what other sorts of sappy stuff were you going say after that!" Mr. Gibb scratched his head. "Perhaps you were going to say that she was hot or something–..."
"OKAY…! We have to go!" Finn interrupted as he pulled Flanna out of Miss Tea Hanks' house. "Thanks for everything! We'll never forget it! See ya! Good-bye!"
"But Finn… I thought we were going to stay for lunch!" the girl protested.
"Woof!" Jake barked, following them out.
"Jake's right, what about the pies?" Flanna complained with a smirk.
"Later!" the blonde boy replied, trying to hide his embarrassment. "I have work to do, you know!"
The farm boy dragged Flanna away from Tea Hanks' apple farm, leading her towards his house while he tried to come up with more made-up excuses that would keep her from protesting again. As they got closer to the Mertens' property, the small trio distinguished the sound of flying pans, pots and dishes, a baby's crying, and a furious Mrs. Mertens who was yelling to her husband.
"Oh no… it's that time of the year again…" Finn whispered, covering his face in embarrassment.
"That time of the year?" Flanna asked with a puzzled look. "Finn, what's wrong with your parents?"
"Nothing. Every year dad locks himself up with one of the bottles of apple cider that Miss Tea Hanks gives to every family during the holidays. He drinks the whole night, then he wakes up at midday with a hangover, and then mom yells at him for not taking care of his morning chores…"
"Oh my…" the girl said in concern as they approached Finn's house.
"And what else did you do today besides spending the whole night drinking like the peasant you are?!" Mrs. Mertens yelled furiously as she chased an annoyed Mr. Mertens, who just wanted to cover his face from the blinding sun. "You gotta milk the cow! Collect the eggs from the chicken coop! And sweep the barn! 'Cause I'm not doing it for you, ya hear me?!"
The blonde woman returned to her baby's side at the front porch and yelled one last order before slamming the door. "And you better get everything done before I serve dinner, otherwise you'll sleep with the mule tonight!"
"Ugh…impatient woman…" Mr. Mertens muttered after taking a seat under a nearby tree's shade. He noticed Finn and Flanna watching the whole scene from afar, then he quickly sent his son to do his job by pointing the barn with his thumb, and then the old farmer fell asleep.
"Right…" Finn sighed in resignation. "And I always end up doing the hard work…"
"I can help if you want." Flanna suggested, shrugging her shoulders happily.
"A city girl like you?" the blonde boy grinned mischievously. "I don't know… Maybe you won't be able to handle it!"
"You think so?" the red-haired girl growled in annoyance, letting her fist clear any possible doubts that Finn might have about her capacities as it punched his arm.
"Auw…! Hey you, that hurt a lot! Dang it…!" the boy moaned, rubbing his throbbing limb.
"Yeah… I was missing that too…" Flanna chuckled as in the old days.
x+x+x+x+x
After having some fun time trying to teach Flanna how to milk a cow, (not that milking the cow had been as funny as watching the city gal trying figure out from where did the milk come from, and laughing at her shocked reaction afterwards) the two teenagers walked inside the chicken coop, holding a couple of baskets to start gathering the eggs.
"So Flanna, where's the horse that was following you at the market this morning?" Finn suddenly asked.
"I gave it to Mr. Gibb, he was needing it more than I did…" Flanna answered.
"Boy, are you trying to get rid of all the things that came with you from the city?" he inquired, feeling somewhat confused. Flanna had done the same thing with her fancy riding suit just hours ago.
The red-haired girl was reluctant about answering that question and turned her sight away from Finn. She stretched her hand towards another nest, and just when her fingers grazed one of the many eggs that were lying in there, a crack appeared on it. Flanna drew her hand back in surprise, noticing that tiny yellow creatures were popping out of their shells like popcorn grains.
"Look! Finn look! The little chickens are being born!" the girl cried in excitement, causing the farm boy to laugh in amusement.
"Chickens are not born, Flanna!" he chuckled, grabbing one of the little birds on his hand to show it to her. "Chickens hatch!"
"And how the heck was I supposed to know that?" the girl frowned, folding her arms in resignation.
After working for awhile; Finn, Jake and Flanna decided to sit down so that they could take a small break while they played with the newborn chickens. There were about twelve or fourteen birdies, and all of them were chirping happily over Finn and Flanna's lap.
"Woof! Woof!" the golden bulldog barked, trying to make the chickens play with him.
"C'mon, go chase that chubby dog! He needs some exercise!" Flanna said, pushing the tiny creatures down. However, they immediately jumped back onto her lap. "Hey, why won't they go away?"
"That's because we were the first thing that they saw when they hatched, and now they think we're their mom and dad." Finn faced her and grinned, "We are parents now!"
"We…?" the girl blushed.
"Yeah—oh boy… What did I just say?" the farm boy flushed, feeling embarrassed as well.
"Bouw?" Jake stared at the two confused teenagers, tilting his head.
x+x+x+x+x
By the time that they had finished helping Mr. Mertens with the farm work, dusk had already fallen upon the fields. Finn turned his eyes towards the sky and smiled at the shinning stars as they lit a brilliant idea in his brain.
"Come," he said, taking Flanna's hand in his. "I want to show you something cool!"
The boy led her to the old oak tree that they both had used once to climb towards his window. However, this time Finn encouraged Flanna to climb higher, letting them reach the rooftop. Once up there, the farm boy extended his arm towards Flanna, helping her to get her feet off the tree and reach the wooden housetop instead. The two teenagers walked away from the edge, taking care that none of them would lose their balance and have a terrible accident. Then Finn decided to make a sudden stop at a specific spot and asked Flanna to sit beside him, pulling her hand down.
"What's so cool about your roof, Mertens?" the red-haired girl inquired, arching an eyebrow.
"Nothing really…" Finn answered confidently. "It just provides a mathematical view of the summer night sky!"
Flanna raised her gaze towards the sparkling skies in awe. "Wow… How could I forget about this?" she whispered in awe.
"Aren't there any stars at the city?"
"Dunno… Back there I'd never dare to climb roofs or stare out of my window..." she rolled her green eyes down, ignoring the stars, which had suddenly become too insignificant for her as she sighed bitterly. Why did Finn have to remind her about the city every time?
"Ummm… Did I say something bad?" Finn asked nervously.
"No, it's nothing…" she replied coldly, causing Finn to feel even more uneasy.
Flanna shut her eyes tightly, fighting to keep all her memories of the city out of her mind. She had lived the worst moments of her life there, felling depressed and alone all the time. The only things that would manage to draw a smile on her dull features were her blurry memories of Junktown and Finn's letters. Now that she was finally back in that haven, all Flanna wanted was to keep herself away from everything related to the city and enjoy Finn's company for as long as she could.
"Hey, I…" the red-haired girl whispered, looking back at him. Flanna noticed the distress that she had just caused Finn without really wanting to. Perhaps she could try something to repair the damage. "Hey, Finn…!"
Finn turned back at her, expecting to get an angry glare or a punch on his arm again, but what he saw was definitively something that he would have never expected. His cheeks flushed for the fifth time in the day. Flanna was untying her long beautiful hair while her green eyes stared into his blue ones shyly. The next thing he felt were her fingers, pulling his flesh hand towards her.
"F-Flanna?!"
"I just…" her faced blushed. "I want you to stroke my hair…"
"Huh?" Finn was completely stunned and confused. He could only feel his face getting hotter and hotter. "M-me?"
"Yeah, who else? Jake?" Flanna replied quietly. "Don't you remember what you told me once? About how much you liked my hair, and how you used to pull it in class just to feel it in your hands because you would've never dared to ask me for it?" she laid his hand on her head. "Go on, I really need to feel some comfort now…please…"
The boy gulped in embarrassment, everything she had said was true, but he was feeling too shy to do it. However, he had felt the sadness in her voice, how could he deny her anything when she had spoken to him so sweetly? Finn pushed himself closer to her and began to run his fingers down her long red hair, while Flanna stared at him with a grateful smile. The sensation was pleasant for both; Flanna relaxed, closing her eyes while Finn did the same. His hand kept roaming up and down her russet locks without imagining that a distracted stroke would lead him to graze her cheek. His blue eyes were suddenly opened back to reality, feeling how Flanna winced away from his touch.
"Don't worry this is just a small wound that hasn't healed yet, it wasn't you…" the girl smiled nervously, trying to get him back to her hair, but Finn freed his hand from hers and held her cheek to examine the wound —the one that her cousin had caused her just a night ago.
"Why are you always getting hurt, Flanna…?" the farm boy asked worriedly, knowing by the look in Flanna's eyes that her injury wasn't caused by accident.
"C'mon Finn, we both know that it has always been like this for me…" the girl sighed in exhaustion. "'Flanna Hacksworth can't step out of her house without getting hurt.' Isn't that what everyone used to say? It's probably just a stupid curse that I was born with. Forget about it, okay?" she pleaded.
"But…" Finn's concern kept growing while the distance between his and Flanna's face diminished. "That's so unfair... Someone should be there to protect you and defend you… Someone should watch over you…and take care of your wounds… Someone should always be there to heal them…"
Flanna stared into his deep blue eyes, searching for an answer within them. "Would you be that someone… for me?"
"Yeah…" Finn replied, the distance between them vanishing completely. "Whatevs…"
Their lips met, letting their owners taste the sweetness of the long-repressed affection that they had held towards each other since they first met. Soon, the farm boy discovered how annoying noses could be as his bumped against her's awkwardly, impeding them to focus on savoring each other's humid touch. The evident lack of experience on the two young lovers didn't last any longer. It was Flanna the one who helped it vanish away, holding Finn's cheeks as she tilted her head, allowing him to merge deeper into her —his old childhood rival—, seeking to linger through that precious moment for as long as he could. Who would have thought that kissing the Hacksworth girl could be something so beautiful?
She had never been his dream, he used to despise her. But now, now he wanted her more than ever. Perhaps they had always been meant for each other, perhaps he had always loved her... Just that he never got to express himself right. Now was his chance to show Flanna how strong his feelings for her were. This and many other confusing thoughts led them to continue exploring new ways to please each other for what seemed to be a sweet passionate eternity. It was when Finn's lungs began to beg for air, that he was forced to move away from Flanna, trying to be as gentle as possible, as he gave an end to their first real kiss, letting the red-haired girl feel loved and wanted afterwards.
Losing the warmth of his face buried into hers, Flanna quickly took cover from the cold of the night on Finn's chest, a swarm of jolting sensations striking them both. The breeze caused their sweating bodies to shudder, and their muffled gasps for air filled the ever-lasting silence that had fallen upon them. Only after the crickets had begun to play their song in the dead of the night, the red-haired girl finally dared to speak.
"I wish I could stay with you forever… I won't be able to stand it when my father realizes that I'm not there and comes to get me…"
"What d-do you mean?" Finn mumbled in astonishment. "Flanna…! Did you runaway from the city?! W-why would you do that?"
"Because…!" her anger melted away. "I don't really want to talk about that, okay? Just promise me that we'll enjoy the time that we have left together…"
Mertens was reluctant; there wasn't much that he could do about Flanna's troubling situation, but to embrace her and keep his promise of watching over her. "Don't worry, I will…" the farm boy promised.
And so, after discovering what a kiss truly was, Finn and Flanna let themselves share another one, lying beneath the starry skies of Junktown...
Update: Grammar checked and corrected.