Shane found himself becoming unusually and increasingly excited since the night he talked to Jas and Marnie about Denne. He even decided not to have a drink from the now refilled beer stash he kept under his bed.
It was now Tuesday and the Joja worker had to find a good time to tell the farmer she was invited to the home he sleeps at. As he looked at himself in the mirror after having brushed his teeth, he ran his hand along his jaw to feel the stubble that overstayed its welcome. I'll get rid of you eventually, he thought to himself. And maybe you, too, he mentally added when he caught a glimpse of the dark areas under his eyes. Then he looked for any other imperfections on the rest of his face. And you, and you, aaaand you...
"Shane!" He heard his goddaughter call out when he left the bathroom and reached for his Joja cap. The little girl ran up to him and gave him the usual morning squeeze on days he left the house for work. "G'morning!" She squealed in delight when he picked her up and nuzzled her cheek.
"Morning, Jas." Shane replied with a smile. "Don't forget to be good to Penny and Vincent, yeah?" He reminded Jas once he set her down on her feet.
"Uh-huh! And don't forget to tell Denden about dinner tomorrow!" She began with a nod and then reminded him of his own duty.
"Of course. I'll make sure she knows by the end of today. I'll see you later. You too, Aunt Marnie." He opened the door, waved goodbye to Jas and called out to his aunt, who was caring for the animals outside in front of the large barn she kept next to her house.
Marnie waved Shane off with a large grin as she watched him walk into Pelican Town. She couldn't recall the last time she'd seen her nephew leave for work without grumbling under his breath or dragging his feet along the ground, much less with a smile on his face.
Denne made a mental note to come back to the farm at about 5:40PM that morning as she filled Parsnip's food and drink bowls right outside her cabin. She pet the spotted cat as it rubbed itself against the legs of the overalls she wore. "Good kitty! You be good to the animals outside now, okay? Unless they're trying to steal my crops, obviously." The farmer said with a giggle. "Then you can go as crazy as you want on them."
She made sure to have a pair of soft, cotton shorts and a loose-fitting t-shirt set out on her bed so she wouldn't be digging into her drawer and making herself late for the Spring Dance rehearsals.
After waving Parsnip goodbye, Denne headed out through the bus stop and into Pelican Town. She let out a sigh of relief at how lucky she was to not suffer any negative effects from the alcohol she'd drank with Shane just the night before. He's not such a bad guy, She began thinking to herself. He just needs some help...
She was too occupied with her thoughts about Shane to realize she was just seconds from bumping into someone when she reached the center of town. She heard light laughter once her head collided into something firm, yet soft.
"Oh! I'm so sorry." She took a few steps back, apologizing on instinct. She then looked up to see Sam and Abigail, the former being the person she'd bumped into just now. Sam only looked at her in shock for a second before giving her his usual friendly grin while the latter paused her walk in confusion.
"You're good, farm girl!" The blonde reassured her, giving her a small pat on the head and looking her over to make sure everything was alright. "Oh, it's Denne!" Abigail's voice commented from his other side. "What's up? We haven't seen you in a bit." She greeted the farmer with a small wave. The two were now standing in front of Denne and she looked around to see they were all a few steps away from Pierre's.
"Oh, hi, you two." She greeted with a nod in return. "I've been pretty good, I think. Mostly just working on the farm and fishing." She answered, thinking of what she'd been doing since arriving in town. "Getting closer to having a kitchen!" She added with a smile.
"Your place doesn't even have a kitchen yet?" Sam asked, incredulous as both his and Abigail's faces turned from interested to concerned.
"Nope." Denne only replied with a nervous laugh. "I've been saving up, though, so it will soon. Maybe by the end of this week."
"I'll make sure it will, no maybes about it!" Abigail suddenly spoke up, determined. "We can try having Seb convince his mom to work on it for you, have her give you a discount."
"Yeah, who knows what you've been missing out on while saving up for something that should have been there from the start?" Sam joined in, a similar look in his eyes. "I'm sure my mom wouldn't have minded making you something if you brought this up earlier!"
"I...what?" The farmer could only look at the two in shock, waiting for some kind of prank announcement or a doubtful comment. After a moment, she shook her head in disbelief. "You'd really do that? Or try to, at least?"
"Of course!" Abigail started with a grin. "Robin's really nice and I'm sure she wouldn't mind helping a new person out! She knows it's rough to start new from the ground up, being a carpenter and all."
"You're right about that part at least." Denne nodded in understanding. "Either way, I really appreciate you for even thinking of helping me with that. I'll definitely pay her extra for the coop I'll have her build eventually."
"Chickens!" Sam chimed with an excited gasp. "You gotta show 'em to us when they're at your farm! Vinny would love to come see the...fluffy lil'..things.."
The farmer looked at the two in confusion when his sentence fell short and both he and Abigail's now worried gazes lifted from her face to just above her head.
"What's up? Is there some dangerous bug flying around me?" The pinkette asked, raising her right hand to swat whatever they were looking at. She froze in fear when she felt her wrist being grabbed and pulled behind her, the rest of her body haphazardly spinning around with it.
She stumbled on one of her legs and nearly fell from the sudden spin, but was quickly stabilized when she felt two strong hands grabbing her shoulders and helping her regain her balance. She shook her head and looked to see Shane, a worried look on his face.
"Something like that." Sam mumbled quietly, earning him a quick ear pull from Abigail. He let out a small, whiny "Ow!" As she shushed him angrily.
"I am so sorry about that." Shane started, completely ignoring the presence of the other two. "I didn't think you were that easy to push around. Hope I didn't scare you too much." He quickly shoved his free hand into his pocket while the other held his Joja cap at his side.
"Oh, good morning, Shane." She greeted on instinct with initially wide eyes as she caught her breath. She then gave him her usual friendly smile. "It caught me off guard, but you're fine. Did you need something from me?" She placed her right hand on her chest as she felt her cheeks slightly warm up at his earlier comment.
"I, uh..." He started, nearly revealing his intention until he finally noticed the piercing gazes of the drummer and guitarist she'd been talking to moments ago as his eyes darted towards them and then back at the farmer.
He figured that putting up his usual serious, somewhat annoyed face as he spoke would work in his favor. He cleared his throat in an attempt to seem intimidating. He did not need them coming up with any rumors.
"I need to talk to you when I'm off work. Alone."
"What?" Denne questioned, her eyebrows furrowing at his sudden change in tone and expression. "Did something bad happen? Do you-"
"Don't worry about that." The Joja worker cut her off as he shook his head. "Do you think you'll be free by 5? Or maybe-"
"How about I walk with you to work and you tell me everything along the way?" Now it was Shane's turn to be cut off. "You're kind of scaring me." She added quietly, her hand now clutching her shirt.
"I-you'd do that?" His eyes grew in shock. Denne managed to nod but found her wrist once again getting grabbed and pulled in his direction before she could get a word out of her mouth.
"Great. Let's go." Was all Shane said as he quickly dragged her away from Sam and Abigail.
The farmer made sure to at least wave goodbye with her free hand to the two as they grew further, staring at each other in deep confusion.
"So, what is it?" Denne asked, looking around after a few steps to make sure they were out of earshot.
Shane let go of her and stuffed his hand back into his pocket as they walked in the direction of Pelican Town's Joja Mart.
"Marnie wants to feed you-I mean, she wants you to come over for dinner tomorrow. I can pick you up after work and we'll head there. If you want to come, I mean." He explained, returning to the less annoyed tone he'd began talking to her in recent days.
The farmer raised a brow at this other shift in tone and let out a sigh of relief.
"That was it?" She asked with a giggle.
Shane looked at her in confusion. Did she want more? Was she expecting better from him? Did she somehow figure out that this was the most excited he's been for anything in months? Years, even? Was he not hiding it well enough?
"You made it sound like this was some important emergency. I got all worried for no reason!" She laughed as she looked at him.
"Trust me, it is. Jas wants to help m-her, Jas wants to help her make something for you." He stumbled on his words, feeling a warmth starting in his chest once her laughter hit his ears. "And we-they need to know what you like to eat. To make a good impression and all that. Maybe get you to buy her animals."
His last comment earned him another laugh which he found absolutely adorable. The warmth in his chest was surely spreading to his cheeks at this point. As much as he wanted to glance at the town's recent and angelic addition, he turned his face away from her in fear of her noticing.
"Are you sure that's only a maybe?" Denne asked in a playful tone. "In any case, I'm sure whatever they make will be delicious! Maybe I'll skip brunch tomorrow to appreciate it even more."
"Don't." Shane spoke, the stern voice from last night's pond visit making a reappearance. "Starving yourself and paying off doctor bills won't get you that house upgrade any quicker. I'm sure Marnie would wanna help-"
"Nonono, that's fine!" The farmer quickly interjected at the mention of help. "I'm already getting enough and I don't need everyone thinking I can't handle the farm."
"Whatever you say." Shane sighed. "You're sure you don't want anything specific tomorrow? No food allergies or anything?"
"One hundred percent. It'll be fine." Denne nodded quickly and stopped in her tracks when she noticed how close they'd gotten to their destination.
"H-hey, I'll let you go on from here, okay?" She started after Shane stopped as well to look at her with a puzzled face. "I gotta get back to Sam and Abigail. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
And before he had the chance to say goodbye or ask any questions, Denne turned on her heel and briskly walked back in the direction they came from.
I honestly didn't know if I wanted to give up on the story or leave it as a temporary hiatus since I began playing other games a few months back, but I got a sweet review that encouraged me to keep going on with it for now! I feel like I'm making Shane too nice or making him fall in love too quickly, so I may start rewriting the past chapters to make him a bit colder. I'll let you guys know when I do, though! Thank you for reading! Any ideas and gentle criticisms are greatly appreciated!