Line Without a Hook: Stardew Valley & Shane story

Chapter 6

Saturday came around faster than expected and I still had yet to buy Shane a birthday gift. I felt my face heat up at the thought of him. Just because I disliked him, doesn't mean I wasn't infatuated. Something was drawing me to him and I couldn't shake the feeling. It felt like he needed more help than I did, and I wanted to be there to help him. No matter how many times he pushed me away.

I paced around the cottage, thinking what I could possibly get Shane at a time like this. It was already 4:30 pm and I knew that most of the town would be at the Saloon soon. I grabbed a light cardigan and made my way to town. I decided to go to the Saloon early and see if Emily had any ideas.

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"You want to what?!" Emily squealed throughout the saloon. The hairs on my neck stood up as I motioned her to stay quiet. "Emily! Please." I said sternly, feeling my face become hot. Emily looked at me apologetic, but I could tell she really wasn't sorry. She beamed a smile and came closer to my face. "I know EXACTLY what you should give him!"

Emily ran to the fridge and took out a plate of food. She placed it in front of me as I examined it. It was a plate full of fried food. I made a questionable face and looked at Emily. "What is this?" I asked, peaking underneath the wrap surrounding it. "Pepper Poppers! Fried peppers filled with cheese. Shane orders this often actually. You should be eating them and offer some to him when he is here. It will be the perfect way to create conversation!" She squealed again. I crossed my arms and looked down at my feet. Was I really going to reel Shane in like this? It almost felt like a crime to be doing so. He might even hate me more for trying to become his friend.

As if on que, the saloon door opened and in walked Shane. His hands were shoved in his sweatshirt pockets as he slumped over to his corner by the fireplace. My heart began to race as he walked past me. My hands went cold from the nervousness I felt and all my blood rushed to my head. Immediately, I waved Emily over.

"Emily, can I please have some wine? Any type is fine, thanks." I wanted to get drunk as soon as possible so I could forget any interaction that was coming up. It was likely going to be horrible and embarrassing. "Anything for you, miss." Emily sang, grabbing a wine glass. I glanced to my right and saw Shane standing with his head down. He already had a beer glass and was looking intensely at it.

I drank about 3 glasses of wine before ordering the Pepper Poppers from earlier. I was feeling the effects of the alcohol as reality became distorted. Emily placed the plate in front of me and winked. I did a sheepish smile and opened the food. The smell wafted through the air and I was fairly certain Shane noticed them. My gaze traveled over to Shane and I saw him staring at me. My palms became sweaty as I realized he was looking at me.

"Want some?" I offered, looking away quickly. Silence filled the air between us. Was he just going to ignore me and walk away? I begged internally for him to respond.

"Sure." Shane said scuffling over. I purposely had placed a barstool next to mine in hopes that he would sit next to me. I looked back at Shane and I was right. Shane sat down next to me. However he did scoot it a little bit in the other direction before sitting. But hey, that's progress. He grabbed a popper and immediately began eating it. As he was eating, I noticed the smell of beer radiating off of him. This wine was making my senses a little more heightened than usual. A nauseous feeling sat in my stomach. I wasn't sure if it was because I was a lightweight or I hated the smell of beer. Regardless, I did an uneasy sigh and began to eat a popper slowly.

Shane looked me over and produced a puzzled face. "It looks like you're going to hurl. Have you eaten anything?" He reached for another popper as I slowly munched on mine. "I'm fine." That was all I was able to muster out. My stomach began to slowly feel better with each bite I took. I must've just been hungry. I looked back at the plate and realized he had eaten about 3/4 of the poppers. I was a little happy at the site of this. It means he must have been enjoying himself.

"Do you like Pepper Poppers then?" I asked, grabbing another. He looked at me with a deadpan face. "No." He said with a mouthful of food. I rolled my eyes and took a bite. "Okay, mister sarcastic." I then saw something. Something I never thought I would see. A small smile formed upon Shane's lips. It was brief, however I now knew it was capable of being brought out.

Emily came wandering over to us and filled my wine glass. "Need another beer, Shane?" She asked, starting to grab his glass. He nodded his head in reply. "How many beers is that tonight?" I said in a teasing tone. He shot me an annoyed glance. "Does it matter?" "No, just seeing if you caught up to me." I giggled. The giggles suddenly turned into a fit of laughter. Shane studied my face and raised an eyebrow. "You're drunk." "So are you!"

I decided that I wanted to leave Shane hanging. Maybe leaving him hanging would keep the mystery between us and leave him wanting more. I stood up from my seat and began to walk toward the pool table. As soon as I stepped one foot forward my face met the floorboard. "Oh..." I croaked, rolling on my back. I looked up at the ceiling and saw it spinning. I didn't realize how drunk I was until I tried to get up. My body was not able to move. It felt like I was becoming one with the floor. Maybe being on the floor wasn't the worst thing in the world.

I felt someone kick my leg and my head shot up. It was Shane. "Are you alive?" He asked, kicking my leg again. I burst out a laugh and placed my head back on the floor. I could not produce any words. My brain was not allowing any to escape. To my surprise, Shane extended an arm out for me to take. My face became hot and I focused my gaze upon his concerned face. Shane appeared outwardly worried. Who knows how he actually felt. He probably was annoyed by my presence still and was going to throw me back down if I took his arm. I swatted his arm out of the way and sat up. "I can get up myself." I mustered out. He took a step back and drank his beer. "Fine. Help yourself." He stated coldly.

I managed to stand up and stumbled back to the bar stool. I was way too drunk to go home myself. I met Emily's eyes as I stood up. "Emily... are you able to take me home?" I whispered. She looked at me with concern in her eyes. "I'm sorry Em, I need to be here for Gus. Maybe Shane can take you home?" Shane's head shot up and immediately shook his head. "I don't think that is an option, Emily."

"It's fine, I can actually walk myself home, thank you very much." I confidently stated, waddling over to the saloon door. I pushed the door open and fell on my face again. I was quite shit-faced. This time I let my body lay there in the entry way without a care. I knew I wasn't able to get myself home. Reality started to drift as my eyes closed. Swirls of light danced in my vision before blacking out.