Chapter 8-Muffins

After I sang for Sam and Sebastian. I stayed for awhile and we practiced a few songs, trying to find the right groove now that there was an extra person. I had also agreed to start working on some new lyrics which was daunting but it made me pretty excited too. After we finished I said my goodbyes and walked home to feed Star. I had a glass of hot cocoa in front of the fire before snuggling into bed, Star curled up next to me. For the first night in a long time, I didn't dream.

The next morning I woke up smiling, I felt full of energy and ready for whatever the day threw at me. First on my to-do list was to check in on my garden and see if anything was ready to harvest. I threw my hair into a ponytail, gave Star a scratch behind the ears, and headed outside to do my work. I started watering and checking on my crops, and I noticed that my strawberries were ready to harvest! Strawberries were one of my favorite things growing up so seeing them growing there made me nostalgic for my grandfather. I hoped he was proud of how I was doing so far. I popped a strawberry in my mouth and almost started tearing up from its familiar, sweet taste. I was bending over to pull out a stray weed when I heard a rustling coming up the path to my house. Without thinking I ran to hide in some of the thicker weeds I hadn't pulled yet and began watching to see who was there. To my surprise, I saw a boy with black hair and a hoodie, holding a basket in his arms. Sebastian.

I kept watching to see if he would knock or call out for me or something. It felt too awkward to come out now. What kind of explanation could I even give for hiding in the weeds? So I just sat and watched. Sebastian walked up to my door and held up his hand like he was going to knock, before hesitating and putting it back down. He then looked around and sat the basket he was holding down on my doorstep. He began to walk away when he noticed Star. He bent down and pet her, giving her the gentlest smile I had seen him give, his eyes softer than I thought possible, before walking back down the path towards his house. I stayed in the weeds for another heartbeat before standing up fully and going to see what was in the basket. I unfolded the cloth covering the top and saw the most delicious looking chocolate muffins ever! They were huge and filled with chunks of chocolate. My mouth started watering just looking at them, I loved chocolate but hadn't been able to have any ever since I moved into town. I searched the basket, but there was no note, so if I hadn't been here to watch, I never would have known who had left it. I smile and sit on my porch, biting into one of the muffins, it's so good! Moist and packed with flavor, I can even taste a hint of espresso. He has a secret talent if he made these.

After my delicious snack I finished up my work before heading to the community center to drop a few things off that I had seen the junimo wanted to help restore it. It was going to take a long time to get it all done but I'm pretty determined. I want to help this town flourish.

I tried to fish again, I was never very good and it seems even harder to fish here in the valley. I don't know if it's my fishing rod or if the fish here are more elusive but, wow. I couldn't catch shit. I mean, I caught literal garbage and some algae but the fish just kept slipping away. Frustrated, tired, and in need of a drink, I headed over to the saloon. When I got there everyone was excitedly talking. I ordered a gin and tonic before heading over to my trio of friends and sitting next to Abigail.

"Hey Abby…so what is everyone yapping about over there?" Abigail rolled her eyes before answering me.

"Oh, they're all just talking about the annual flower dance that is happening in two days. It's a whole thing. All of the guys and girls pair up and do a dance to honor our ancestors and ask for a good harvest for the year. Some people get really into it, but I just like to go for the music. A few villagers even bet on who will be dancing with who. That part is always funny to me though since it's not like we have a lot of variety." She finished her explanation by taking a long drink of her beer.

"Wow, that seems…intricate? I mean, who do you usually dance with?"

"I usually have Seb dance with me. His mom always makes him go and it's a lot less awkward to dance with him since we're friends. Plus Sam always makes a point of asking Penny." She smirked after her last sentence.

"Oooh, so Sam and Penny?" I asked, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

"Sam has been chasing her for years, I don't know if she's oblivious or intentionally ignoring it but either way, they haven't made it anywhere. Plus he hasn't asked her this year yet, but I have no idea what that's about."

I was about to reply when Sam yelled at us from across the pool table saying that he was feeling left out. I was glad for the interruption because I'm not sure how to feel about Sam and Penny. She seems really nice and with the way that Sam was acting towards me, I couldn't be sure of his intentions. I got up from the couch and made my way over to the pool table.

"Sooo, who are you both taking to this flower dance?" I asked, taking a sip of my drink and looking between Sam and Sebastian. Sebastian just looked down and shrugged, looking uncomfortable. I hope I didn't make him feel bad. I hate how much my curiosity and mouth get me in trouble sometimes. Sam was also suspiciously silent.

"Sam? How about you?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Uh well, I was wondering what you thought I should do." He was looking intently down his pool cue, looking like he was lining up a shot, but his face was bright red.

"What I think? You should probably ask Penny, she's nice, cute, and you guys would probably do well together. I, for one, am happy that I get to just sit and watch all of you. Then once you guys are done we can all go and get nice and drunk." I said the last part with a smile and a wink at Sebastian.

"Yeah, Penny is really sweet and a great partner. Asking her could be a good idea. But you really just want to watch, you don't want to dance?"

"Ha! No, I may be able to keep a rhythm when it comes to music but I really can't dance for shit and I'm really not a fan of publicly showing that fact off." Thankfully this is when Abigail decided to step in. She bounced up next to Sebastian and nudged him with her elbow.

"So Seb, looks like it will be the usual pairs this year. We'll have to put on a good show with Maeve watching." Sebastian mumbled something unintelligible back at her, but it sounded like a lot of curse words.

"Speaking of good things." I say, trying to change the subject that I accidentally made awkward, "I got some really good muffins delivered to my door today. I don't know who left them but they're the best things I've eaten in a long time. Mystery muffins." I took a long drink from my glass, not looking at Sebastian.

"Ooh, muffins?! Can I have some?" Sam asked, giving me puppy eyes.

"You wish. These are all mine, I am going to have every bite for myself. Some things are too good to share." I smirked while Sam pouted over his beer.

"Mystery muffins huh? I wonder who made them. You help everyone in town so the list of potential bakers is pretty long. Maybe you have a secret admirer." Abigail said, giving me a suggestive smile and wiggling her eyebrows. I chuckled back at her.

"Well if that's the case then they're doing a good job, food is a great way to my heart." I said, finally looking at Sebastian. He was watching me silently with a little smile on his face. I smiled back at him before quickly taking another drink.

When the night was over and it was time to head home, I decided to take the scenic route instead of going through town. I said bye to Sam and Abigail before making my way back home with Sebastian since his house was on the way through the mountains. We walked silently next to each other, our elbows occasionally brushing against one another.

"So." Sebastian said quietly."You really liked those muffins huh?" I looked up to see him looking at the ground, a soft look in his eyes and a small smile on his lips. Seeing this made me smile too.

"Yeah. I did. They were my favorite kind and I could even taste a hint of espresso that enhanced the chocolate. Genius." I laughed lightly. "I wish whoever made them knew how thankful I was." I was trying to be tactful. I didn't want him to know that I saw him but I also wanted him to know how much the gift meant to me.

"I'm sure they know. You're a very grateful person." I smiled at him before nudging him with my shoulder. That is when we found ourselves at his front door.

"Bye Sebastian, I'll see you later!" I said with a little wave.

"Goodnight Maeve." He said smiling. It was the last thing I saw before I turned around and kept walking home. Even though I couldn't see, I could feel the warmth of his gaze as he watched me walk farther away.