Emo boy [Stardew Valley]

Chapter 22 - Protect Pelican Town

A sudden flash of fear rushes through my body when I see Abby in the forest ahead of us. She got so frustrated when Sebastian tried to end things with her and threw him out. Has she calmed down by now? I look at Sebastian, trying to figure out what to do next. He quietly suggests we should simply turn back around and take a different route back to the house, but I refuse.

I need to know how Abby is currently feeling and I want to confront her about how terrified she's been making me feel. I don't want to back down and make her think she's won against me. I take a deep breath in, and then walk towards her. Sebastian follows me skeptically. I carefully knock twice against the tree stem.

Abigail opens her eyes quickly and glances down. "Oh, it's you", she says annoyed. She's playing with the ends of her hair, occasionally tearing a few split ones in half. "What do you want", she asks us. "Could you come down for a second?", I try to stay as calm as possible. "Why would I? Want to get slapped again?", she asks me sarcastically. "No. I want to face you, and confront you. Something I failed to do back at the Saloon.", I explain.

She looks at me with a completely neutral expression, then sighs before jumping down and elegantly landing on her feet, kneeled down. It seems as though she's used to climbing tall trees and such. She stands up straight and looks me in the eyes with no hesitation or fear whatsoever. I can't help but choke back at first, but having Sebastian next to me is making me feel more confident.

"Look, Abby. I'm sorry that Seb and I ruined your plan so suddenly. I'm sure it was a shock to you, but that's not an excuse for you to hit and insult me, or to scream at Seb and manipulate him into staying with you. You didn't deal with the situation well, and I will never forgive you for that." She scoffs at me. "you think I care about your forgiveness? I have other things to worry about. You can keep your little boyfriend."

"What other things are you worried about then? So much that you can't even gather the courage to apologize properly?", I try to stay as persistent as possible. I want her to apologize, but to be quite honest, I also really want to know her side of the story. I want to know what gives her the right to be so unbelievably ruthless. "And why would I tell you that?", she asks me in a provoking tone.

"Because maybe I'll be able to forgive you. I don't care whether or not you want my forgiveness, but I want to be able to. So please, at least tell me why you felt the urge to mistreat us so badly. I swear on everything I own that I won't tell anybody." She raises one of her brows and subtly bites the inside of her cheek, all while keeping her arms crossed.

"Tsk. You've always been so annoying... But what do I have to lose? I guess. My dad has been bothering me because he will have to close his shop soon, meaning that I need to find a stable job as soon as possible. My future was set, before you decided to trip all over Sebastian." "Wait... Pierre's needs to close? But why? I thought his business was doing great. He owns the only supermarket in town, after all."

Suddenly Sebastian interrupts me: "Uh, Sami. I think you're forgetting about Joja Mart." My eyes widen in realization. Joja is a huge corporation with a wide range of locations. One of those being just across the bridge in town. A lot of people refuse to shop there and try to keep up the sense of community by shopping at Pierre's but some, especially those with less money, shop at Joja's instead. Perhaps Pierre's prices are starting to get unaffordable.

"Exactly. Joja has been threatening to take over dad's store for ages but it's just now starting to actually affect us. My dad doesn't want me to leave Pelican Town without an actual fail-safe plan, which I had, up until recently...", Abby explains. Her expression softens up a bit and I notice the sadness in her eyes. I can't help but feel bad. "I'm sorry, Abby... I'm sure your dad will be able to keep his job somehow.", I try to make her feel a bit better, but I'm not sure how.

"Yeah, well... Joja's gonna try and take over the old community center in just a little while, so... who cares at this point.", she states. Suddenly, a realization finds its way into my head and a sudden wave of panic rushes through my body. I zone out, and my legs begin to shake and weaken. I fall to the ground, shortly followed by Sebastian who sat down to hold me up straight. "Are you alright, Sami?", he asks me concerned. "Jeez, why does this keep happening. Your little tradition or something?", Abby asks sarcastically, but I can tell that even she feels mildly worried but unsure of what to do.

Seb tells her to shut up and places his hands underneath my jaw to make me look at him. I can feel myself slowly come back to my senses, and immediately rub my pounding head. "I'm sorry, I'm okay. I just... thought of something, all of the sudden.", I try to calm them down, but I can tell that neither of them are buying any of it. "You just blacked out, as if we're just gonna believe that", Abby exclaims.

I carefully get up again and hold onto Sebastian's arm to keep myself balanced. "I think it's best we head home now. Sorry to bother you, Abby", Seb tells her sarcastically. It's obvious he's not planning on forgiving her any time soon, and I don't blame him.

We arrive at home, and I make my way to my bed right away. Instead of lying down, I stay seated upright. The thought that popped into my head still hasn't left me alone. Sebastian is lighting a few candles to make for a less headache-inducing lighting, and then hands me a cold glass of water. "Please drink. I don't want anything to happen to you."

My shaky hand reaches for the glass, and I hold onto it. Taking smaller sips bit by bit. "I promise you I'm alright, but aren't you worried at all?", I ask him. He looks at me confused. "About what? Abby?" "No, not exactly... about the whole Joja situation." He ponders for a bit but ends up shrugging his shoulders at me.

Does he not realize this would have an effect on all of us? Pelican Town will have to change entirely, every single part of our town. Including my farm. "Sebastian, you do realize that Joja isn't just some small independent store like Pierre's, right? They have such a huge impact on the economy.", I try to explain to him. "Are you trying to flex because you used to work there?", he asks me teasingly.

It's clear he doesn't think this is as big of a deal as it actually is. He refuses to think about what Joja is capable of. "That's not it at all! If we lose just one of our buildings to them, we're bound to lose everything. It's already terrible enough that they have one store in town.", I tell him. He looks at me, still confused. "But who cares? It's just the old community center. It's been abandoned and run-down for over a decade."

I sigh and cover my face with my hands in frustration. "Seb it's not going to be JUST the old community center. They won't be satisfied with just that. They'll take over the store, the museum, all the public buildings and eventually my farm. OUR farm, Seb. All the memories I made with my grandpa will be gone, and so will all the memories you have of this town. It will never be the same again, Sebby. Please try to understand me."

"I understand that you're worried but that's not going to happen, Sami. They won't get away with that.", he tries to reassure me, but it's not helping. Joja is ruthless. I worked there long enough to know that. They don't care about the feelings of irrelevant folks like us. They care about potential. They care about growth. But only for their own sake.

I can't help but feel as though I'm watching my home turn into the place I tried so hard to escape. A place I would never want to return to. And everybody else is just letting it all happen? I notice my eyes starting to swell up and a few tears make their way down my cheeks and onto my silky blanket.

"Sebastian, I don't want to lose our home", I whisper to him. He leans in closer and pulls me into his embrace, then places his hand on the top of my head and gently strokes it.

"You're not going to, I promise. We'll protect Pelican Town, and I'll protect you."