Emo boy [Stardew Valley]

Chapter 31 - Flames of hope

It's been a couple days now and we've completed almost all the community center requests, except for the different minerals. Since we all decided to look for them together, we had to split into groups so each one of us could head down into the mines with at least one experienced fighter in our group. The first group, consisting of Shane, Emily and Marlon will be searching for crystals on the first few levels. Haley, Sebastian and Abby will be heading to the middle levels, whilst Sam, Lance and I will be visiting the ones at the very bottom. We didn't have much say when forming the groups, and obviously Seb was quite upset to be with two people he can't stand at the moment, but I'm hoping he'll do good and perhaps even accept Abby's apology.

"I've heard fire quartz reflects sunlight super well", Sam states excitedly.

"Well, it's a crystal, so...", I answer.

I watch him as he turns every little rock and pebble he can find around, to hopefully reveal a beautiful shimmering crystal. He doesn't know anything about minerals, but his pure excitement and interest is truly motivating. When I notice a sparkle in the ground I kneel down to dig it up.

"Not a fire quartz unfortunately but it does look like a carnelian."

Lance appears behind me and glances down at my find. He nods reassuringly and watches me as I absent-mindedly get up. While doing that, I hit my head on the tunnel ceiling, but instead of having sharp rocks scratch my scalp, I feel the warmth of someone's palm on my head.

"Be careful, dear. We don't want you to ruin that beautiful hair of yours", Lance says.

I thank him quickly before running over to Sam to present my Carnelian to him. It's not on the list of things the Junimo's asked for, but it's stunning regardless. Plus, I'm sure Emily would love to use it for one of her accessories. My best friend takes it into his hands carefully and admires it. His eyes shining brightly. While talking to Lance, Sam sneakily puts the Carnelian in his pocket. I know he most likely just forgot to give it back, but something is telling me he'd love to keep it. I know Emily has lots of crystals on her shelf already, and surely she's finding a lot more right now. Sam would benefit more from it. I think it would be his very first crystal, and I want for that to be special. This way, he'll remember today and he'll remember our friendship whenever he looks at it.

"Come here for a second", Lance shouts.

The both of us run over to our minecart to examine our finds.

"I think we've got everything, but I'd like to stay longer and look for a diamond", he says.

I look at him curiously, "what do you need that for?"

He smirks back at me, "to gift to a certain woman. I want to make sure she remembers me."

His gaze doesn't leave my eyes and I can't help but look away nervously. I'm scared I'm misinterpreting his intentions, which is why rejecting him would be awkward right now. What if he doesn't mean it like that? He'd think I'm super arrogant for rejecting a man who has absolutely zero romantic interest in me. I don't know what to do. Suddenly, Lance gently grabs my left hand.

"A woman always remembers her first ring. I want for it to be irreplaceable."

Sam, who's been nervously listening to our conversation, removes Lance's hand from mine.

"Yo, stop it. I don't know what makes you think you've got the right to say these things to her but she's not yours, like at all."

Before I can feel a sense of relief, Lance scoffs.

"How come the other guy doesn't even have the guts to give his woman a ring? Ain't that the bare minimum?"

I want to speak. I want to protect Sebastian, but I feel stuck. My tongue feels tied. We're stuck deep down in the mines, and if I say one wrong word he could easily trap us down here. I don't know if he'd do that. I don't know him at all, which is another reason why I can't believe he'd be flirting with me. Why? He doesn't know me one bit. Why would he think I'd give my heart to him when I just learned to memorize his name.