Isolated (Stardew Valley)

Chapter Eight

DAYS TRICKLED BY and soon spring transformed into summer. The cool breeze was replaced with humid heat, the ocean water glistened to a swampy green, and bright assortment of flowers bloomed in the lush bushes.

The sun hung loosely over the top of the thick and vibrant trees, watching as the people of town glowed under its warm rays and dipped their hands in the fresh waters. The change in weather seemed to brighten those around; the children would skip in their steps as they walked, the birds chirped to lovely melodies, and even grouchy George would go out with his wheelchair to bask under the sun.

Maintaining a farm, however, meant working under the scorching heat with the only relief being the water vapour from the nearby pond.

"I didn't ask you to take your shirt off, you know," I said pointedly to Alex as together, we hauled a heavy boulder out of a dirt path. This helped clear the path that led to the south end of town.

Ales wiped sweat off his brow. The sun shone on his toned body like it was illuminating a warrior on display, as if highlighting every muscled line and hard curve he had to offer. It was with this image, I thought, that he truly looked like he could be a model. A fit one. "Please, this is a sight that you would like to see." He gestured down to his body.

My eyes trailed down naturally and I had to curse myself mentally. I shook my head and huffed out, "I only needed help with the farm, not asking you to walk a runway here!" If he wasn't so intent on becoming a professional athlete, he'd find great success in the city, with a body and face like that.

He laughed and thankfully put his green shirt back on. The fabric clung to his body, damp from the sweat. "Are your punk friends still not talking to you?"

"No," I admitted as I grabbed a shovel lying on the ground, ramming it forcefully into the earth. Alex winced at the impact.

"At least you have me now, am I right? I say that I keep good company."

I looked towards him to see him grinning proudly. In the light, his eyes were a bright green. They looked like the shimmering emeralds that I'd see stand out in the dark pits of mines. "I don't know. Maybe if you keep helping me out, we'll see about that." His laugh filled the air and with a gesture that seemed like a salute, he was off for the day. I watched as his figure disappeared down the trail that led to town.

The truth was, Alex was great company. If you looked past his mask of pride and boastfulness, there was a great person underneath. Maybe it was the fact that we both shared growing up parentless and being raised by grandparents, that we had connected together. We never sat down and talked about it, no. We both just had this agreement between us, like we both knew each other's hidden depths. It was a truce created out of understanding.

I felt that he genuinely was my friend in town, that he was more than just this jock that threw balls in the air, more than just the conceited person that constantly pestered people in his spare time. And oddly, it was a good feeling to know that there was someone I could rely on.

But, somewhere in the back of my mind, something was telling me that I only treated him as such because my other friends had abandoned me. I tried not to think about that.

It was not difficult to see that the trio started to ignore me after the festival. Sam stopped sending his daily letters of utter nonsense, Abigail stopped coming by the farm to practice her swordsmanship, and I couldn't tell if Sebastian was part of the act or not. He'd been ignoring me from day one—or trying to, really.