Shane(Stardew Valley) x Reader shots

Imagine XIV

Your P.O.V.

     Another day, another highly-taxable $7.50 an hour. At 10 hours a day, it wouldn't be so bad if Joja Mart didn't feel entitled to over half of it. You had been working at Joja Mart ever since they'd recruited at your highschool. And, boy, was that a mistake. They'd spoken of career opportunities, great coworkers, great managers, customizable work-spaces, unique resume experience, and so much else. They hadn't mentioned that to make it a career, you have to know people. That to have personable relations or be able to change your work space without repercussions, you had to receive one of those impossible promotions. And they hadn't mentioned that once you got in, there was no getting out.

     You were fried, to say the least. You were sure that your hair was starting to fall out more quickly and - was that one grey?! Joja was taking its toll and there really wasn't much that you could do. You trudged onward, looking forward to retirement - if that existed, and looking forward to getting home at 8:30 and being able to rest. 

     So, as you were recalling, this was just another day with crummy pay. You were walking to the restroom. There were actual schedules of when people could leave their desk to go to the restroom and only the number of people who could go in the same restroom without a line could leave at the same time. You hadn't been able to sleep the night before because of all of the noise and lights of the big city. You knew you should be used to it but for some reason it still got to you, some nights more than others. Suffice to say, you had your head down and you weren't waking as straight as you otherwise could have been and ran smack-dab into someone in a raggedy hoodie who reeked of booze. You looked up and started to apologise profusely to this tall, pale stranger with purple hair and 5 o'clock shadow. Well, 9o'clock shadow. When was the last time this guy shaved? He glared at you and you shied away from him and continued on to the restroom.

     Weeks passed without incident until another restroom break. Ever since that incident, you made sure to pay attention no matter how tired you were. Still, someone managed to run directly into you, knocking you off into a side hallway. You looked up at the person in a disgruntled and crabby way and were taken aback. It was the same man,

"H-hello?" You whispered, unsure of what was going on.

"I'm Shane," He replied. "Neither of us can be gone long, or they'll know but.. I'm sorry for how I glared at you and I - this is dumb. Well, I wish I had more time to explain. Here's my number. Please call me after work. I really look forward to hearing from you," And as soon as he had been there, he was gone. You looked down and to your surprise there was a crumpled and beer-stained paper in your hand with seven digits on it. You were frozen. What had just happened? You knew you hadn't imagined it because the paper was there in your hand. What had just happened? You were struggling to think anything else when an alarm started blaring and a disembodied voice boomed over the system,

"WORK SPACE 6975C IS EMPTY. WORK SPACE 6975C RISKS TERMINATION IF IT IS NOT FILLED WITHIN 30 SECONDS. COUNTDOWN BEGINS NOW.

30

29

28," You shoved the paper into your pocket and rushed to your work space. You arrived at the 15 second mark and a manager was standing there, waiting for you. You gulped,

"Where were you, 6975C?"

"Forgive me, I have indigestion,"

"If it happens again, you will be terminated." You nodded,

"Yes, sir. I understand, sir,"

"Get back to work immediately,"

     When you returned home you immediately started to undress for a shower. As you did so, a crumpled paper fell from your pocket and the memories of why you had nearly been terminated came flooding back to you. You set the paper on the sink and quickly took a hot shower. As you dried your hair and slipped into your pajamas, you began to punch the numbers into the phone. It rang twice before you heard a familiar, gravelly voice come through from the other end,