Intoxicated (Stardew Valley)

Chapter Eight

MUSIC BLASTED EVERYWHERE and bodies were swaying to the beat, mine included.

Sam—who was playing the bass guitar—seemed a little nervous, and the pink blossoming his cheeks was evident. But as the music continued, as Abigail played the drums and Sebastian on the keyboard, Sam let the flow of music consume him.

I was standing next to Penny in the slightly crowded front and hollered, "Woo! Go, Sam!"

Even in the dark night, I saw Sam's pearly white teeth through his smile and he continued to strum on his guitar.

As the electric beats continued, I broke through the crowd and found Emily with Shane. Once they saw me, the former broke into a grin and the latter attempted to do the same.

I approached the two. "Come on, Shane! This is a concert. At least pretend to look happy," I said, giving him a pointed look.

"That's what I've been telling him this whole time!" Emily huffed out, punching Shane on the shoulder slightly.

"Concerts aren't usually my thing... Emily forced me to come here," he said defensively. He then sighed and gave me a weak smile. "There. Are you happy?"

I nodded and started dancing once again to the beat. Emily joined in and our bodies moved as one. We were laughing and yelling at the top of our lungs. All the worries I had left my body. It was just me and the music.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Shane looking at both Emily and me as if wanting to join us. I was tempted to take his hand and dance with him, but I didn't. Instead, he just watched us dance the night away.

If Shane wanted to sulk, then I would let him.

Soon, Sam ended the song with a high note and took a bow, breathing heavily from the adrenaline. There was a brief pause as he made eye contact with me. Then the whole crowd broke into applause and shouts.

"I love those electric sounds!" screamed Emily, bouncing up and down.

"Great job, guys!" Leah said.

"I really enjoyed that bass part," Shane said from beside me. He said it so it was barely a whisper.

"You should go compliment them yourself, not whisper it," I teased, an amused look etched on my face.

Shane shook his head. "I'd rather not." I shrugged in response, disappointed.

On the stage, Sam spoke into the microphone with a giant smile on his face, "Thanks, everyone! But you should be really thanking Mae! Without her help, we would've never decided what kind of music to make in the first place!"

All heads turned to me and they all cheered. Someone picked me up and I found myself crowd surfing. "No problem, guys!"

I was put back down at the front of the crowd and Penny turned to me. "Wow, so you're like, an honorary member of the band, then?"

I peered up at Sam and he gave me a thumbs up. Without breaking eye contact I said, "I guess so."

Once the crowd started to dissolve, I searched for Emily and Shane. I ended up finding Emily buying the band's latest album, but she told me she didn't know where Shane went. For a while, I searched for the familiar purple hair and blue sweater, but I was left with nothing.

In the end, I slumped up against the wall and sighed as the night took in. Shane was not here. It was as if he disappeared.

After everything we've been through, Shane always found a way to leave me disappointed.

⋆

The bus arrived back to Pelican Town and the rain was pouring. All the little animals were gone, and it was only the sound of the raindrops and my feet padding against the wet grass. I was drenched in water, but I didn't care at this point.