Meet Me @ The Roost (Animal Crossing: New Leaf)

"Pardon me!"

*YAWN*

Digby stretched and blinked, finding himself slightly dozed off yet again. He appreciated doing work for the Happy Home Showcase, but needless to say, it doesn't bring in crowds most of the time.

"What time is it?" Digby said to himself.

Looking down, he shifted his sleeve to find his watch. It was only 8:37 p.m., meaning he had another hour and 23 minutes until he could clock out and go home. He sighed, looking up at the stars. Standing in front of the showcase had its perks, of course. But, very few people actually came around to it these days. The mayor was the only one who would actively come and browse the houses, and she definitely didn't come this late at night. It was no secret Digby felt pretty lonely while on his shift. He'd see the passing civilians during the day and at night, all he had were the stars above.

His eyelids felt heavy again. He rested against the gate to the showcase. He yawned again, dreading the fact he barely slept at all the previous night. The work took a toll on him, but he didn't want anyone else to be saddled with it. He partially dozed off again, when all of a sudden-

*RING RING RING*

Digby was jerked forward in shock. He dug into his pocket to grab his phone. He looked at the screen and saw who was calling him: Lottie. He pressed 'Accept'.

"Hey, Lottie," Digby stifled a yawn while speaking.
"Digs, where are you?" Lottie responded.
"Uhh... the showcase?"

Lottie went quiet for a few seconds.

"Did you forget again?"
"Forget?"
"Forget about our date at The Roost."

Lottie, normally sweet and bubbly, seemed to be getting more and more frustrated while talking. Digby, on the other hand, smacked himself in the face. He did forget.

"I'm so sorry, I got caught up with-"
"Don't explain yourself. I don't wanna hear it, Digby. This is the third time you've canceled on me."
"I'll make it, I'll just-"
"FORGET ABOUT IT!" she shouted.

Lottie hung up, abruptly.

"Oh, no..." Digby said to himself.

He looked behind himself, at the showcase and bit his lip. He was on the verge of tears. Then, still gripping on his phone, he started to run through Main Street in the direction towards The Roost. He couldn't disappoint anyone, anyone at all. He knew he had to high-tail it. But, in the middle of his sprint, something white appeared right in front of him.

*SLAM*

He flew backwards, pain shooting through his body. He had no clue what he ran into. A sign? A pole? Or, even worse, a person? He rubbed his head as he stood up again. Through what little he could see as his vision was clearing, he knew for a fact that it was definitely a person.

"Pardon me! I'm so sorry! Are you ok?"

Silence for a few seconds.

"It's all cool, dude."

Digby stopped in his tracks. He knew that voice. He knew that voice really well. He blinked several times. Sure enough, he saw K.K. Slider right in front of him, dusting himself off.

"K.K. Slider?"
"Oh? So, you've heard of me?"
"Heard of you? You're... one of the most popular musicians around."

K.K. chuckled.

"Popularity... It sure is a blessing and a burden."

Digby, still attempting to put himself together, was still dumbfounded that he ran into this hugely popular musician and figure. He felt awful, starstruck, and queasy all at the same time.

"Listen, I'm still really sorr-"

Right then, he noticed K.K.'s guitar case on the ground.

"Oh no! Is your guitar alright?! I'm so s-"
"Relax, little dude."

K.K. put his paw on Digby's shoulder. Digby refrained from going completely red in his face.

"This case is really sturdy, it keeps my guitar protected no matter what," K.K. said as he went over to open it.

Digby was never quite in sync with his romantic preferences. He had his fair share crushes on girls when he was younger. But, as he grew up, he found he had crushes on guys as well as gals. He just didn't know what he wanted. He couldn't turn down a date from anyone, especially someone like Lottie. However, his biggest crush was, no doubt, K.K. Slider. K.K. was as big of a celebrity crush as possible. He had plenty of adoring fans worldwide. Plenty of people would say they have crushes on him. Digby's crush was embarrassing, but it was true to some degree. However, he knew it was ridiculous to believe it would actually be real.

K.K. unhooked and opened his case, pulling out his guitar and strummed some notes.

"Seems good to me," he said, looking it over.
"That's good," Digby replied.

Digby awkwardly walked closer to K.K., scratching his head.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, why are you in this little town and not anywhere else?" he asked.
"Sit with me, and I'll tell you," K.K. said as he picked up his guitar case and moved to the nearby bench.

Digby followed and sat next to K.K., still feeling really queasy. K.K. closed his eyes, guitar in hand.

"You know my songs, right?" he said.
"Yea, yea I do."
"Do you have a favorite song of mine?" K.K. whispered.
"Oh... uhhh, yea I do. But it depends..."
"Depends?" K.K. looked over.
"Whether it's day or night," Digby grinned, awkwardly.
"Ah, I see. And those are?" K.K. smiled.
"Well... during the day, it's March. And at night, it's... Stale Cupcakes."
"Say no more."

K.K. took only a second to start playing the notes. Like he knew it like the back of his hand. Digby blushed, looking up at the stars. He couldn't believe this was happening.

"To put it simply, I'm retiring from public attention for a while," K.K. finally said.
"Retiring?" Digby looked over at him.
"Like I said, a blessing and a burden. I appreciate all the fans and all the support. But, I needed a break. I wanted to go back to my roots. Playing in a small town and finding the people that really matter to me."

Finding the people that really matter, Digby thought he was only talking about true supporters. K.K. may have meant more than that.

"What's your name, bud?" K.K. asked.
"Uh, Digby. Nice to meet you,"
"Digby... I'll remember that, I promise."

K.K. put his guitar in his case and pulled out a Polaroid camera from his bag.

"Mind if I take a pic of you?" K.K. asked.
"A picture? Of me?"
"Yea, I like to keep pictures of my friends."

Friends?! Digby's mind was up in flames, but he could do was nod and smile. K.K. snapped a photo and let it feed out of the camera, pulling it out and shaking it.

"You know, I made some friends in strange ways, Digby. But tonight was the strangest by far," K.K. said as he pulled out a pen and wrote down Digby's name on the Polaroid.
"No problem?" Digby shrugged.

K.K. chuckled as he grabbed his stuff.

"I'm gonna head out. I'll see you again, Digby," he said.
"See you... K.K.,"

Digby watched as K.K. walk off into the night until he was gone. He pinched himself. Feeling the sharp pain, he knew that everything that happened was real. He looked down at his phone, realizing he absolutely forgot what happened beforehand. But, in a strange way, he felt fine. He knew he would make it up to Lottie in some way. In the meantime, he smiled and blushed. Meeting K.K. Slider was certainly an experience he didn't expect to happen this night.

He looked up at the stars once more.