Shane sighed, sitting back in his seat.
As much as he hates to admit it to himself, he appreciates Marnie for worrying over him and trying to help him make friends. He also hates disappointing the few people who don't mind his existence in Pelican Town, but he accepted the fact that he's a lost cause long ago. Everyone normally steered clear of him, and he knew Denne would eventually have to get the memo and start doing the same.
He then leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table and digging his head into his hands. He just met the girl! He knows Marnie's right about there being enough time to change her impression of him, but he can't think of doing anything besides giving up. He's gotten so used to pushing others away for the past few years, nothing could possibly convince him to go about it any differently this time around.
He flinched when he heard footsteps coming closer towards his direction and then, the chair across from him being moved.
Was it Denne? Did she decide to come back inside and sit near him again, despite the awful way he had been treating her both times he talked to her today? Was Yoba finally giving him a second chance? Not that he believed, but he might have if there was any redemption for him now.
"Denne?" He called out hopefully, looking up from his head, only to get a small giggle in return.
"Shane, Shane, Shane." There across from him, sat Emily, a small plate of extra pepper poppers in front of her.
Emily was the only other person besides Marnie and Jas that actually treated Shane as if he was part of the community. She always greeted him whenever there was a chance and her calming personality was tolerable enough for him to confide in her often. The two became close friends over time.
"Oh. Hey." He sighed once more. He couldn't believe he had actually hoped she was the farmer he barely knew just moments ago.
"I saw everything, Shane." She began with a sympathetic smile, gently pushing the plate of poppers close to him.
"That's not embarrassing at all." Shane accepted her offer, popping one into his mouth with a roll of his eyes.
"For the record, I got to know her a bit these past few days. I think she makes for a very sweet friend." Emily spoke, getting comfortable in her chair.
"...And you're telling me this because...?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he chewed.
The barmaid let out a soft, concerning laugh as her gaze shifted from his eyes to the table.
Oh no.
"Well, you know how I can 'sense things', right? Feel the energies surrounding everyone and such?"
Denne opened her door to knocking the next morning to see Marnie, a hopeful look on her face.
"Oh, good morning! Marnie, right?" She greeted with a smile.
"You got it, Miss Denne!" The rancher grinned. "I was wondering..." She began, looking down at the wooden porch.
Denne then looked down as well to see a small black-spotted white cat by Marnie's feet, a fully grown parsnip sitting in front of them.
Wasn't she growing some on her farm?
She quickly looked towards her finished field of parsnips behind the visitors and frowned, noticing an empty patch of soil.
Marnie let out a small laugh before the farmer could complain.
"Oh, no, don't start fretting!" She began, placing a hand on her chest. "I actually came to tell you something and happened to spot this spunky little one fending off a crow! Seems like she rescued one of your crops from the darn thing's clutches."
The cat let out a proud meow, standing up to nudge the parsnip towards Denne's feet. It then walked in a circle around her and gave her leg a nuzzle, purring happily.
"Aww, thank you so much!" The pinkette gasped and cautiously picked up the cat. "You are such a good little kitty!"
Marnie watched with a smile. "I was wondering if you'd like to keep her, as I'm pretty sure she's a stray. I've got enough animals on my ranch and I don't think a cat would be such a good idea to keep near the chickens." She let out a worried laugh. "Poor Shane would go crazy trying to keep it from eating them!"
"I'd love to keep her!" Denne grinned, running her fingers through the cat's fur. "I think Parsnip would be a fitting name for my little savior."
The ranched nodded and remembered the actual reason for her visit. "Oh, speaking of Shane..."
This caught Denne's attention and she looked over, curious.
"Has he been good to you?" Marnie asked, her eyebrows furrowing together to give her a concerned look.
"Oh, Shane?" The farmer started, remembering the events of yesterday. "As far as I know, he's just being his usual self. Why do you ask?"
Marnie sighed, now looking away from Denne. "Well, he's my nephew."
Denne's eyes widened at this.
"He's a grumpy little guy, but I promise he doesn't have a bad bone in his body. I figured that he could use a friend or two so I wanted to tell you to not be afraid of him, okay, Miss Denne?" Marnie asked, looking at her with hope in her eyes.
"He's gone through some things that may have caused him to lash out or push people away and I don't really understand it myself, but I just want you to treat him nicely all the same. I'm sure that no matter how upset he gets, he could never lay a hand on a sweet young lady like you." She then looked at the farmer. "But you let me know if he ever does, okay? Or if he ever says anything too scary. I promise I'll never let him live it down, Miss Denne!" She smiled confidently.
Denne took a moment to think and then nodded. "You're asking me this like I wasn't already planning on being nice to the guy. He's a bit scary, but I'll do my best, Marnie."
The rancher clasped her hands together happily. "You have no idea how much I appreciate ya for this, Miss Denne! If you ever need anything, make sure I'm the first to know, okay? I'll do whatever I possibly can for ya!"
And with that, Denne was left on her front porch with cat in hand.
"Well, that's a decent setback on the upgrades..." She mumbled as she petted Parsnip and gently let her onto the floor.
"Let's go buy you some cat things!"
Shane woke up that morning, going through the events that took place last night in his head for a while before finally deciding to get ready for work.
You see, Emily's voice rang in his ears. I knew something was up when she first knocked on my door. She already felt so...familiar to me. Like I'd been friends with her for years!
He quickly downed the usual cup of coffee that Marnie sets out for him every morning. He then looked around the room, confused to see Jas sitting alone and eating a plate of pancakes at the table. Marnie wasn't in the building. He was somewhat relieved he didn't have to see her after yesterday's chat.
"Do you know where Aunt Marnie went?"
"She went to the farm that pretty lady lives in," Jas answered, looking up to see Shane grabbing his Joja cap and sweater. "She said she was gonna talk with her for a bit and then come back."
She then stuck her fork into one of the pancakes and waved it up towards him. He obliged, opening his mouth.
The little girl laughed at the sight of his enlarged cheeks as he stuffed the whole pancake in his mouth and tried to eat it quickly.
"I think she's really nice! She gave me a flower the other day. She's my friend now!" She smiled, letting her legs dangle back and forth in front of her chair.
"Thought I told you not to talk to strangers, Jas."
"But she has pretty pink cake hair!" She whined. "And Auntie said I don't have to be scared of her, cause she's gonna buy Auntie's animals someday and make the farm pretty. And the lady said me and Vincent could come over and play when I want!"
"Of course Aunt Marnie said that." Shane mumbled, making his way to the door.
"You don't like her?" Jas asked, eyebrows furrowing. "Maybe you just didn't meet her yet. You'll see!"
"Maybe." He looked down at her after she hopped out of her seat to follow him. "I'll see you after work, okay, Jas?"
"Okay, Shane! Have a good day at work!" She gave him a tight squeeze and waved goodbye as he left the building.
After heading into Pelican Town and walking past the door to Pierre's, he heard the door open accompanied by a soft cooing.
"You're going to love your yummy-wummy cat food, aren't you, Parsnip?"
Shane turned his head towards the small shop to see Denne coddling a happily purring cat, a bag of cat food, bowls, and small toys in one of her hands.
"Yes you are! A good crop knight deserves the be-" It was then that she looked up and saw him observing her. "Oh, hi, Shane. Sorry if I was being loud."
"You're fine." He responded. It took everything in him to not automatically dismiss her and resume walking to work once he remembered his agreement with Marnie.
The two stood across from each other for a moment in silence, which was then broken by a meow.
"Oh, um..." Denne shuffled her belongings around to make sure she could hold up Parsnip to show him. She placed her bags on the ground and held onto Parsnip with both hands. Maybe he liked cats. "Marnie found her and she's mine now, I guess."
"Parsnip?" He questioned.
"She saved one of mine from a crow." She explained, smiling sheepishly as she gently placed the cat on one of her shoulders. She noticed the Joja cap in his hand and his sweater and let out a small, concerning "Oh."
Shane gave her a confused look, to which she scratched the side of her face with a strange look and slightly turned away.
"I hope working there isn't too bad." She mumbled, making sure to keep Parsnip steady.
"It's Joja." He shrugged.
"That's the worrying part. I worked there too at one point." She was now looking at the blue building across the small bridge with a somber face.
The thing is, I could feel a lot of your energy surrounding hers, Shane. It was almost suffocating, like your energies fought hers and won.
But maybe that's just the both of you having similar energy. I have a feeling that the two of you have a lot in common!
Shane hoped that the smile Emily wore on her face as she said those words meant that he and Denne at least had good things in common. If they even actually did have things in common. There was no way that someone like Denne would have anything in common with someone like him. He would never have thought that they both worked for the same crappy, money-hungry corporation that couldn't possibly care less for its workers.
He snapped out of his thoughts when Denne suddenly looked at him once again and gave him a smile that looked almost...forced?
"Well, don't let me go and get you fired, hm? I'll let you get going. Good luck, Shane." The farmer then picked up her bags and turned around to leave before Shane could finish mentally arranging his question to her.
"Oh. Thanks." Was all he could say as he stood still for a moment to watch her leave.
The grip on his work cap tightened as Shane then shook his head, realizing he'd be getting an earful from Morris if he didn't get to the building in time.
He didn't think he'd be spending most of his shift thinking of questions to ask the farmer the next time she decided to talk to him, or thinking about Emily's words from the night before, or even remembering Denne's features. But that's precisely what he did as he spent the next couple of hours stocking up the shelves and begrudgingly directing customers to items at Joja. He also wondered why she even bothered to look at him that day when she could have just gone on with hers and not wasted her time on a person like him.
Shane ended up becoming so distracted that the next time he looked at his watch, it was already 4:59PM.
