When the Stars Fall (Stardew Valley Fanfic)

Caught in a Net

"You aren't here to see Abigail?"

Sebastian most certainly wasn't there to see Abigail, nor did he want to see her, though he knew in the back of his mind that she did want to see him. The knowledge that she did want to see him was something Sebastian wanted to erase from his head; the levels of discomfort she tended to invoke when she was around wasn't something he wanted to deal with. Abigail, after all, didn't understand personal space nor could she take no for an answer.

"Someday maybe," Abigail always said something like that after he'd said no.

In Sebastian's mind, there was never a someday. "I'm trying to fix the internet for Ardyce."

He watched Caroline look over at Abigail's room, her arms crossed, the expression on her face one he couldn't read. Sebastian remembered a time when he couldn't easily read Abigail's expression, let alone didn't realize she held feelings for him while he thought they were simply into the same things, nor did Sebastian mind helping the newbie to gaming and cave exploring out.

"Sebastian..." Caroline continued looking over at Abigail's room, but her tone of voice, while he couldn't pick up exactly what the meaning behind the tone was, Sebastian did know wasn't a positive one. "You do know that we keep the internet in Abigail's room because that is a central location and not out in the shop as Pierre doesn't' want it out in the General Store for everyone to see. Right?"

"I've company."

"That doesn't mean she won't try something. You do know that?"

Sebastian flinched, taking in her words. "That doesn't mean she won't try something."

His eyes drifted to the floor, not wanting to admit that she was right.

Abigail, though, didn't respect his boundaries.

It started slow enough, slow enough that he at first thought it one of her weird jokes, yet didn't notice Abigail wasn't doing the same thing to Sam. Sebastian told her no so many times and she responded with her "someday maybe" line before he got a clue, she was serious. Sebastian wasn't sure if that was after Abigail's behavior escalated or after he realized everyone, including Sam thought something was going on between them.

For all he knew, he realized after one of the times someone told him about some of the things she said and did when he wasn't around that set alarm bells off.

"Hold on a second," Sam swallowed. "What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing," Sebastian muttered, keeping his eyes towards the ground.

It was a lie though as things were going on. After all, there was no denying the fact Abigail started pushing a bit after he said no, forcing him to say no multiple times before she'd finally put forth her, "Someday maybe" line. Constantly she was trying something, never actually succeeding, but Sebastian put up with it because Abigail and Sam were his only friends, though he slowly started wondering if she wasn't more of an acquaintance than a friend, albeit that seemed more than his relationships with others in the small town.

"Nothing?" Caroline shook his head. "What Robin told me she walked in on wasn't nothing Sebastian, but if she hadn't walked in when she did..."

"It would have ended the same as always. Nothing happening," Sebastian muttered. He fidgeted, rubbing the bottle of water at the back of his neck knowing Ardyce was there.

Caroline's tone of voice became sharp, reminding Sebastian of the tone of voice his mother used when something alarmed her. "So, Robin was right in thinking that happened before."

"Seb, what is she talking about?" Sam's tone of voice also indicated a level of alarm.

Instead of responding, Sebastian knocked on the door of Abigail's room, wanting to get the whole thing over with. "Abigail."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Pierre come in, looking rather irritated, yet this wasn't anything new as Abigail knew how to irritate her father, running around saying things like he wasn't her biological father. "Caroline, I don't want him near our daughter."

Sebastian froze at such a statement, having wanted to say through Abigail's door that he knew she'd changed the password to the internet on purpose, but nothing came out. He heard Pierre say something about him---Sebastian—being a negative influence on Abigail and him not wanting Sebastian around, when the door to Abigail's room opened and he saw her smiling at him. "You came."

At that moment, she reached out to touch him and Sebastian instinctively moved backward, his back hitting the wall. Caroline said something to Abigail about going into the kitchen before telling Pierre they would be moving the internet router from Abigail's room into the store. There was also something about stepping out into the General Store. Someone said they were going to touch him and guide him away from there, but he then heard Sam say, "Seb, what did Abbigail do?"

"Nothing, I told you."

"You wouldn't have reacted that way if it was just nothing."

"Nothing." Sebastian's mind barely registered the fact it was Ardyce speaking to him that time and not Seb. Things never got passed, say, her kissing him or her getting a bit too touchy before he'd always told her off, and she'd always say, "someday maybe." Even that day that was all that happened, but his mother happened to walk in, but Abigail hadn't been back since then. Yet, at that very moment, Sebastian realized he didn't want Ardyce to hear those things.

The door of the general store opened, and someone came in, but then the stranger said. "Oh. How convenient. We were just about to head up the mountain to bring you in for further questioning in the disappearance of your sister."

Sebastian looked up, seeing a police officer there. He wasn't sure if the said officer was there in his room the night before. Whether this was the case or not, he froze. He barely registered the fact someone protested the fact they shouldn't be taking him in like that and he barely registered that he got into the police car; Sebastian wasn't sure how he reacted to any of it, beyond the fact he knew Ardyce had been there to witness that.

He leaned forward, twisting his fingers into his hair. "Why? Why do I have to be more concerned with impressing a girl than finding my sister? What's wrong with me. Oh yeah, I know what's wrong with me, but that doesn't excuse any of it."