Emo boy [Stardew Valley]

Chapter 8 - The sting of a needle

My coop is finally done. The first thing I decide to do is visit Marnie's once more to adopt three little chickens. I most likely will be busy on the farm the entire day, I have a lot to do before this year's Egg Festival. My crops desperately need some fertilizer, I need to axe down a pretty big part of the forest, all that until the end of today. Marnie woke up extra early to help me carry my new feathery friends to their home, but she's not the only one up so early.

As I enter her house, I see Shane standing around in the kitchen. Eating a quick breakfast before he has to go to work. He looks at me, showing no reaction "You better take good care of them, kid", he warns me. I look at him surprised and nod my head. Should I feel threatened? I've never had Shane approach me first. Maybe he's just in a good mood today, who knows? I surely don't. He leaves without another word.

Marnie chuckles "Please don't mind him. He's always been sort of a loner. He means well, though". I smile "I'm sure he does, but most other townspeople here would disagree". Marnie sighs "It's a shame, really. He doesn't deserve all this suffering, yet he doesn't do anything to change it. This has been going on for years. Some people have attempted to help him, but gave up because he wouldn't even give them the chance. Sometimes, I really don't know how to help him anymore." She frowns and carefully grabs the last chicken, then gestures me to lead the way to my farm.

We carefully place them down in my coop and they immediately start wandering around and making themselves comfortable. "I hope little Mittens won't try to scare them away", Marnie jokingly says. I laugh. I'm sure she won't. So far, Mittens has been the calmest and friendliest creature in this entire town, maybe besides Sam.

I wonder what he's up to right now. Maybe he's gonna meet up with Sebastian later. I'm sure that would make him happy. I don't exactly have time to think about this, though. I'm going to wave Marnie goodbye and then start with my chores.

It's been a couple hours, I'm almost done with all the axing. Before I can finish cutting down the last tree, I hear someone call out my name "Mini Sam! Where are ya?!" I only know one person who would ever give me such an incredibly weird nickname. I quickly turn around and see Sam, Sebastian and Abigail walk towards the forest.

I lay down my axe and run in their direction "Hey guys! What are you doing here?", I ask. "We didn't have much planned for today, so we thought we could help you out on the farm!" I sigh relieved "I'd appreciate that a lot. I'll quickly axe down this tree and then I'll give you guys some stuff to help me with". Sam nods at me and they all sit down on the steps to my cabin.

I'm somewhat surprised. I never would've expected anyone to voluntarily help me out with my work. Back in the city, no one would help anyone. If it didn't benefit them in some way, they wouldn't do it. Everyone was selfish like that. It makes me happy to know that I've already made some friends here in Pelican Town who are willing to help me out.

I decide to let Sebastian and Abigail fertilize and water my crops, while Sam and I go ahead and feed the chickens. He plays around with them a bit and asks if he can hold one. Even though he's somewhat struggling, it's still cute to watch him. I peek outside the small window in the coop and notice Abigail teasingly playing around with Sebastian, whilst he's just somewhat standing there.

My smile fades and I look at Sam. "I'm not sure if I'm close to you guys enough for me to know this, but I've been curious for a while, what exactly are Seb and Abby?", Sam looks at me and hesitates to answer for a second "They're pretty close, but their relationship is... complicated."

I nod. I guess that means they do like each other. I should've known. I glance at them once more and suddenly feel a stingy pain inside my chest, then my stomach gets sick. It's bearable, but I still don't know what caused this suddenly. Did Sam's answer affect me that much? Why would it. I don't care if Sebastian and Abigail are dating. They look good together.

Suddenly the stinging gets worse. I tightly grab the left side of my chest and squeeze my eyes shut. Sam notices that I'm obviously in pain and puts his hand on my shoulder to hold me up "Are you okay?? Sam Sam? Should we go get Harvey?" I slightly brush his hand away and wave mine at him "No, it's okay.. I've been having these symptoms for years, especially while I was still living in the city. I got used to them.", Sam pouts at me.

I take a deep breath in and try to ignore the pain, but whenever I look back at Sebastian, it seems like it triggers it to get worse again. What is going on? I notice that they've finished taking care of my crops so I quickly head outside. Sebastian notices me coming out of the coop and quickly frees his arm from Abigail, then looks away. She waves at me "we're all finished!" I'm still holding onto my chest. "Good job. Thank you guys.. I have to lay down a bit."

I head into my cabin without saying another word. I hear footsteps following me, but I ignore them. Sam enters my house with me and follows me to my bed, then helps me sit down. "I'm not gonna leave you alone like this! You're in so much pain.. there has to be something we can do. What exactly is wrong?", Sam asks. He seems to be extremely worried.

"My chest hurts. It feels like something is stabbing through my heart with a needle.", I quietly respond "Damn, you're already experiencing your first heartache?", Sam chuckles nervously then quickly stops and clears his throat "sorry", he says. I shake my head "it's okay, you might be right." Sam's eyes grow bigger "what?".

I ignore the statement I just made and grab some pepper poppers I have left in the fridge. I got the recipe from Marnie yesterday. I hand him a plate "Here. Try some of this." He still seems somewhat confused about what I've just said and hesitantly takes a bite, but then his smile quickly returns and he does his little dance that he always does when he's enjoying something

"mmmh, dude! Thats so good! Now I get why Shane likes this stuff so much!" I tilt my head to the side and raise my brow "he does?", I ask him curiously. Sam nods "yes! But Marnie hasn't had the time to make this for him in a while. He probably misses it. He'd be sooo jealous right now if he were to see this!"

So Sam does know a little bit about Shane. I don't know where exactly he got this information from, but it made me remember something. A couple days ago, when I was chatting with Marnie, she mentioned Shane's birthday coming up in a couple days. I feel like none of the townsfolk will remember, or at least they won't feel brave enough to approach Shane and wish him a happy birthday, but I feel like he's secretly hoping for someone to visit.

I've just gotten an idea. I gasp excitedly and give Sam a tight hug "Thank you, thank you, thank you!", I say and happily jump around in the kitchen. His mouth is still full and he watches me in confusion. "You're welcome?". I'm so emerged in my jumping, I haven't even noticed Sebastian entering the house. I jump and jump, until I suddenly land right in front of him, just a few centimeters separating us.

I accidentally trip a little, but before I fall over, Seb quickly grabs my arm and catches me. I'm now in his embrace. I look up at him. His purple eyes seem a little bit brighter and less lifeless than they usually are, but other than that, he's showing no reaction. I quickly push myself away and look to the ground "I'm.. sorry", I stutter nervously.

Sam looks at me "Dude, no need to blush. You didn't embarrass yourself or anything. If you'd fallen, I would've laughed, but Sebastian saved you from that!", Sam laughs. I glance at Seb, he seems to have a slight grin on his face but it's hidden behind his long black hair. "I'm still sorry. I've been causing you guys so much trouble today.", I say and rub my arm.

"Don't worry, we're used to it!", Abigail suddenly appears from behind Sebastian and leans onto him "Anyway, we should get going! I heard Robin's making dinner for all of us!"
They all head towards the door, then Sam turns around to look at me "Are you coming?", he says. Hoping I'd say yes. I hesitate for a second but then shake my head "I still need to rest. You guys go without me." Sam pouts, even Sebastian seems somewhat upset. "Alright then, come on guys!", Abigail says and trots ahead, followed by the other two.

What is wrong with me today?
I've been experiencing so many mood swings ever since my friends arrived.

Why does my heart hurt?