Emo boy [Stardew Valley]

Chapter 11 - Pouring rain and alcohol

It's summer, yesterday we celebrated the Luau. I spent most of my time with Sam, since Sebastian was still busy avoiding me. Shane has stopped glaring at me angrily, and doesn't tell me to leave anymore, but we still haven't been able to talk much since his birthday. Not because either of us was avoiding one another, but because I've been trying to focus on working on my farm, and Sam has been helping me out with that.

We've gotten a lot closer the past few weeks. Somehow it makes sense for that to happen. Before I joined their group, Sam and Sebastian were best friends, but Abigail held onto Seb more and more, until Sam was more of a third wheel. We both feel left out by them. We've spent a lot of time discussing these things and decided not to dwell on it too much. If Abigail and Sebastian are busy leaving us out of their hangout sessions, then Sam and I will do the same.

Of course I'm still upset. It's been three weeks and Sebastian still hasn't talked to me. He hasn't mentioned the hug or anything. I wish I could know what's going on his mind right now, but I know that I'm probably not one of those things.

"Your chickens are out now, remember to let them back in their coop before you go to sleep, Samsam", Sam says.
I nod at him. His help has made my job a lot easier. I usually get everything done twice as fast as usually, and even have time to hang out at the saloon afterwards. It's also just nice to have some company.

So here I am, at the saloon like almost every evening. It's always the same. Sam tries to teach me how to play pool, I fail miserably, he gets a little tipsy and starts singing extremely loud and I sit there, watching him. The other two haven't been to the saloon for a while, but today it's different.

Sam and I are in the middle of a pool game when the door of the building opens. A boy with long dark hair and a black hoodie walks in. I decide to ignore him and continue as if I didn't notice his arrival. Sebastian looks up and sees Sam and me playing a game together. He heads towards us and sits down on the couch without saying a word.

Sam sees his friend and his smile fades. He looks at me, trying to get me to tell him what to do. I simply roll my eyes at him. Sam pouts, but gets the hint and ignores Sebastian with me. It seems as though my technique is working, because after a while, I somehow manage to forget that Sebastian is sitting right behind us. I look around the saloon and check who else is there.

Something confuses me.
"Oh, Shane isn't here today?". Sam turns around and looks towards the fireplace. "I guess you're right... oh well." He simply brushes it off and waits for me to continue playing, but I don't. "It's weird. Shane is here everyday. Do you think something happened?"
I ask him, genuinely worried. He shrugs his shoulders "Why would we care?".

I walk over to Sam and press my cue stick into his hand, then walk outside. I probably shouldn't leave Sam to fend for himself when Sebastian is still in the same room, knowing full well that we're purposely ignoring him, but I have to. I feel like there's something going on. Shane is always at the saloon during these hours, even if it's just for a short period of time.  I'm worried something might've happened to him.

It's raining. I wrap my jacket around me and head towards Marnie's farm, hoping that Shane is just peacefully asleep at home. When I arrive there, I am greeted by Jas, who informs me that Shane left the house about two hours ago and hasn't returned since. I grin and thank her, trying not to make her worry. She closes the door and I look around, trying to figure out where to look for Shane.

My guts are telling me that something happened, and I can't shake this heavy feeling of pressure off my chest. I take a deep breath in and run along the river next to the cliffs. The longer I run, the more it starts to rain. After a while, I see the lump of a body spread across the floor, right underneath the pouring rain. I quickly run closer, and almost trip on a collection of empty beer cans.

I kneel down fast and check Shane's pulse. He seems to just be passed out. I sigh and try to catch my breath. I glance at Shane's face which is almost buried inside the dirt, his soaking wet hair covering his eyes. I shake his shoulders gently in hopes it will wake him up. He simply lets out a groan but stays asleep. My shaking gets rougher and more aggressive.

I notice him opening his eyes and quickly pull his upper body up, attempting to make him sit normally, but he falls back into my arms, almost making me fall over. "Shane, please, you're heavy!"
He groans again, but lets out no words whatsoever. I slap his face multiple times.
"Shane, please reply to me. Wake up!"
He opens his eyes again and looks at me sleepily "Sami?" He says, then rubs his eyes. He carefully tries to sit up straight.

"Why are you here? Please let me be", he responds, avoiding eye contact. I pout at him "I was worried about you! Usually you're at the saloon during these hours." "Why can't you just.. let me do it?", he says. I look at him confused. "Do what?". He grabs an empty can of beer and throws it down the cliff. "Why can't you let me roll off? Like this can."

I hesitate to reply for a bit "You can't leave Jas like this. You're like a father to her". He sighs "You're right, Jas...ugh god I'm a horrible selfish person. Now I feel even worse..." It's taking a while for him to finish his sentences. The amount of alcohol he consumed the last two hours left him with an uncontrollable amount of hiccups and burps.

I shake my head and put my hand on his shoulder "You're not selfish. Honestly, I kind of understand why you'd be feeling this way, but there's always a way to get better." I grin at him. "What way? I doubt there's one for me.", he replies. "There is! Everyone has that special thing that completely turns their life around at some point. You will find yours if you hold on tight for just a little longer".

He glances at me. The ghost of a smile tracing his face. "You're very optimistic. It annoyed me at first, but right now, it's making me feel at ease." I smile at him. He suddenly coughs and his body gets shaky "Sami... I've already inconvenienced you enough, but I think you need to bring me to the hospital", he suddenly says. My eyes grow larger in shock "Hospital? Uh, yes! Get on my back!".

Shane tries to convince me to just help him walk there, but I keep insisting that he should get on my back. It probably wasn't the best decision. Shane is heavier than I had anticipated, but after a while, I get used to it. My only goal is to bring him to the hospital as quickly as possible so nothing bad will happen to him.

We arrive there faster than I thought, and Harvey, the local doctor, treats him right away. I wait outside Shane's room. Harvey suddenly comes out and I walk towards him. "How is he doing?" I ask him, he looks at me. "He should be feeling better by tomorrow morning. Thank you for bringing him here."
I sigh out in relief "I was so worried about him. I thought he would get hurt."

Harvey grins, but I can tell he's upset "I'm worried about Shane as well, mainly about his mental health. I'm going to recommend him to a counselor in Zuzu City. I truly hope he'll accept my offer."
Then Harvey heads back into a supply closet. I stare at the door leading to Shane's hospital room for a few seconds, then head back outside.

It's still raining, but I'm okay with that. The rain always calms me down after a stressful day. It's still not too late, I might go down to the beach for some late night fishing. Maybe that will help me take my mind off things. I run back home to grab my fishing rod and then head to the beach. I've been walking with my head faced downwards, I haven't been noticing anything in front of me, but after arriving at the beach and walking across the large docks, I look ahead and see a dark silhouette of a person sitting at the very edge.

A dark person I both love and despise at the same time.