I'll Save You [Edits Underway]

Otto

-Italian-

-Friday, Spring 12 Year One-

~Marnie~

You know, I'm pretty much a pro at taking care of children. I have one adult and one little girl to watch over and I have managed to keep them in line.

At least that's what I thought.

Shane has been experiencing....negative emotions...for quite some time. He was never one to play with the other kids and has always been antisocial. Now, he mostly goes to work, drinks, and sleeps. He's an adult, so I can't really stop him from drinking, but I always hint that he should stop.

Today, he woke up at the time he usually does. He walked in on me cooking in the kitchen. He tried to leave, but I cleared my throat and stopped him. He turned around and faked a smile.

"Yeah Marnie?" Shane said, clearly wanting to leave.

"Where are you going?" I ask, leaning on the counter.

"I'm heading out to work." He said in his usual bored tone.

"After that?" I raise an eyebrow. Shane swallowed.

"I'm going to the Saloon like I always do." He mumbled. I sigh.

"Shane you can't go there and drink your feelings away every night." I say sternly. "It's not healthy."

"Yeah well you can't stop me." Shane huffed, glaring at me. I stepped forward.

"I can try." I counter. "I'm telling you that if you keep doing this, some day you'll make a mistake you regret."

"I'm an adult Marnie, I can control myself." Shane growled, starting to look a bit more angry.

"Shane I swear I will lock you in your room for your own safety!" I say, raising my voice to almost a shout.

"You've done nothing but chastise me on everything I do ever since I got here!! Just leave me alone!" Shane stormed out before I could respond. I was left in the kitchen alone.

Then, Jas entered the kitchen looking nervous.

"Is Uncle Shane alright?" She asked quietly. I sigh and walk over to her, immediately giving her a hug.

"Honestly?

I have no idea.

That's what scares me."

-Shane-

I walked angrily away from Marnie's Ranch. My thoughts ran all over the place.

Who did she think she was? Bossing me around like I was a child!

I felt someone tap me on the shoulder and I spun around, ticked off expression on my face.

"What?!" I snarl. I froze when I saw that it was Hel, looking slightly frightened. My eyes widened, immediately regretting my action.

"Oh geez I'm sorry Hel I didn't mean to scare you...." I stammer. Hel placed a gentle hand on my shoulder.

'It is alright Shane.' She signed, giving me a soft smile. 'Why are you so angry?'

"I'm not angry." I mumble, glancing down at the grass. Hel lifts my chin up so I'm looking at her.

'Yes you are.' Hel looked sadly at me. 'Please just tell me what is wrong.'

"Nothing is wrong." I insisted, crossing my arms. Hel was starting to look frustrated.

'You can tell me anything Shane. You know that, right?' She signed, stepping closer to me. I take a defiant step back.

"Look Hel, nothing is wrong and I'm not angry." I say, glaring at her. "I am perfectly fine. I am just walking on my way to work." Hel suddenly let out an angry grunt.

'I can tell tones Shane. I listen a lot more than most people do.' Hel signed, narrowing her eyes at me. 'Unlike you, who seems to ignore it  when I ask you a question and call you out on your bulls**t'

Hel froze after signing the swear word. 

We stood in silence for a few moments before she shakily lifted her hands again.

'I am sorry.' Hel stepped back, blushing. 'I did not mean to swear.'

"It's okay...you have every right to be angry." I felt my face get red. I was angry at myself now. "Behaving like a child who didn't get candy and was denying he was mad is an all time low." The corner's of Hel's mouth turned up at bit.

'You do not need to tell me why you are angry Shane.' Hel signed slowly. 'I am sorry for pushing you for an answer.'

"It's alright...maybe I'll tell you later when I've cooled down a bit more. You probably have work to do on the farm anyway." I look at her hopefully. "See you at the Egg Festival. tomorrow?" Hel smiled fully and nodded.

'Of course Shane.' She signed. 'I am excited to experience my first Egg Festival ever. See you tomorrow.' She waved goodbye and walked off.

Once she was gone, I groaned and ran a hand through my hair.

"You okay Shane?"

I turned around the other way to see Demetrius standing by the river, looking worriedly at me.

"Please tell me you didn't hear any of that." I sighed.

"I heard and saw everything." He raised an eyebrow. "I was trying to test the pH of the water in this area when I saw you behaving like a child."

"That's exactly what I said." I chuckled halfheartedly. Demetrius' expression softened.

"If you want a girl to like you, you need to be more open with your feelings." He explained, packing up some test tubes into a little bag. I felt my face heat up. I opened my mouth to retort, but I was cut off.

"Oh don't deny it Shane I saw the way you looked at her." He smirked as he walked up to me. "It's the expression Robin said I had when I looked at her."

"Look, I don't know why I even like her." I grumble. "It's not like she'll ever like me back."

"Hey, anything's possible." Demetrius shrugged. "Don't get your hopes down without even trying. See you later Shane." He pat me on the shoulder before walking away.

Now, maybe I should have been thinking about what he said in that moment or maybe I should have been wondering how Hel was feeling.

All I could think was: "What the hell was Demetrius doing up so early testing the pH of a river?"