Line Without a Hook: Stardew Valley & Shane story

Chapter 12

As soon as Shane and I stepped into my place, I let out an exasperated sigh. I had enough of the rain today. Although, it was nice not having to water my crops. My recently obtained cat came trotting over to my side. I pet her with the back of my hand and felt the soft fibers against my cool skin.

"Having a rough day?" Shane questioned in response to my sigh, putting the bagged cheese on the kitchen counter. He lowered his hoodie and leaned against the counter, propping himself up with his hand on his chin.

 I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye and focused my attention back to the cat. "I'm going to have to name her. I wonder what..." I thought out loud , picking the cat up and setting her up on the kitchen counter. She investigated the cheese bag and began to paw at it. Shane and I met eyes and he replied with a small smirk. "Looks like we may have found our answer." Shane chortled. I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms over my chest. "Oh yea? Cheese? That's real original."

Shane shook his head. He slowly approached the cat and let her sniff his hand. She nudged against him and started to purr slightly. "I was thinking Goat. Maybe Cheese can be her middle name." The cat jumped on Shane's shoulder and took him off guard. He tensed up at first, then I noticed his stature softened. 

"You have a soft spot for animals, don't you?" I snickered, coming closer to his side. The cat, now named Goat, continued to purr. I reached up and gave a small pat on Goat's head. Shane's focus was primarily on Goat. The purr's almost seemed healing. Not only for him, but for myself included. 

As we stood in silence, I felt Shane's attention slowly shift. My pets on Goat's back became slower, as I noticed Shane was now staring at me. My arm returned to my side and Goat jumped down from Shane's shoulder back onto the counter. 

"I may have a soft spot for other things, too." He trailed off at the end of his sentence. My heart began to palpitate. His focus returned back to Goat as she scurried closer to the fireplace that was crackling loudly. 

"Like what?" I explored his statement. His head quickly shot up. I don't think he was expecting me to further question him. "You're mischievous, you know that?" Shane uttered. A smile crept upon my face as I reached for his hands. I took them into mine. A bold move on my behalf. He felt oddly warm despite the damp, cool weather outside. Once again our eyes met and I felt a rush of warmth throughout my body. I looked up at his face and studied it, looking for any response on his behalf. However, all I could see was a shell of a human.

"Jesus Christ, you're freezing." Shane whispered, separating from my hands. He sauntered over to the fireplace and motioned me to follow him. I did another exasperated sigh and followed suit. I felt as if he was avoiding a moment that was blossoming. Was he scared of any type of human contact? I felt shot down as silence fell between us.

"Why are you so cold?" I asked, this time avoiding eye contact with him. "I'm not. I actually run warm." Shane stated plainly. I glared in his direction. "No, Shane. Why are you so cold to those around you? I don't get it."

His feet shifted as he began to appear uncomfortable. "Do you have any beer?" 

I continued to glare at him. "There you go again, avoiding questions that seem to be unbearable for you." Silence continued to spread the room. All that was heard was the rain pounding on the roof and the fireplace crackling. 

Shane eventually pushed himself past me and went into the kitchen. He investigated it and must have seen my multiple opened bottles of wine I had stashed. "Hmm. Looks like I'm not the only one with an apparent drinking problem."

I was taken back, and marched over to the door. "Out. Now." I opened the door and motioned him to leave. Shane's eyebrows raised. He stood with an open fridge, not budging an inch. "Shane, I said you need to leave. Now."

"Fine. Gladly." He spat coldly, kicking the fridge door shut. I jumped at the sudden loud noise and moved out of Shane's exiting path. On his way out, he stopped in front of me and studied my face for a moment. I shrugged my shoulders and questioned, "What?"

"Don't do anything stupid that you'll regret, Emma." Shane said without any emotion in his voice. However, in that moment, I saw a hint of concern in his face. Shane concerned for me? "As if you cared." I said, slamming the door in his face. 

I truly did not know what to think. Or feel. What am I supposed to feel with someone that shuts themselves out from you? I had just wished he would open up about what made him so harsh. 

I sat myself on the couch and started at the fire in front of me. Goat had made her way up on my lap. Goat was the healing I needed, or so I thought. Urges began to build up inside me that were self destructive. It seemed like the only way to release the pressure in my chest was to do what I knew best. 

After standing up from the couch, I made my way into the kitchen. Staring at the bottles of wine in front of me, I took 2 of them out and placed them on the counter. I noticed the cheese was still sitting there. I stared at it for a moment. Part of me wanted to throw it at the wall and let it crumble to the ground. Shane gave me so much anger that I didn't know how to take it out. Hurt myself? Drink? Throw things?

I decided to drink the wine bottles in front of me. They were a decent size. I picked one of them up and drank right from the bottle. Within seconds the drink was gone. I shivered as the alcohol ran through my body. I could feel it warming inside me, just like how I felt when Shane and I held hands. I took the second bottle and chugged it down.

I went back to my couch and decided to lie down. Eventually I felt the alcohol slowly make itself to my head as the ceiling began to spin. The spinning sensation felt similar, as to that which Shane makes me feel when he is around. He makes me feel drunk. Drunk in love. 

God dammit, Shane.