Chapter Text
The bus ride through Stardew Valley felt like it took forever. Emery had been staring out the window for what felt like 10 hours at best, watching what seemed like the same set of trees they had passed by a million times. The entire ride was as if it were a carousel, going around in circles over and over until she began to feel a bit sick. She didn’t know what she expected from this fucking bus ride, all she knew was that she wanted to get away from Zuzu City. She turned back to her phone despite there being little to no service this far out from the city and in the middle of the woods, choosing to play a game the rest of the ride.
“Miss, your stop is Pelican Town, isn’t it?” The blonde, curly headed bus driver asked extremely loud, waking Emery up from a sleep that she hadn’t even known that she had fallen into, “It’s a small town, but it’s good, pretty peaceful.”
She nodded, grabbing the backpack and suitcase that she had brought along with when her step dad, Will, suddenly headed onto the bus. He said something to the bus driver before helping Emery with a few of the other bags she had brought with. As soon as she stepped off the bus, she was greeted with a bear hug from her mom, who had anxiously been waiting for her arrival.
“Jeez, mom.” She chuckled nervously as she returned the hug, briefly smiling to herself at the feeling of finally receiving a hug from her mom.
It was an action that she hadn’t realized she desperately needed, given the last 24 hours of her life.
An unfamiliar, grey haired man with a rather outdated hat, was standing behind them just a few feet away. A warm, comforting crinkled smile etched on his wrinkled face.
“Em, this is Mayor Lewis. Lewis, this is my daughter Emery.” Her mom, Sabrina, introduced the two to each other, the mayor holding out a hand for her to shake, which she kindly accepted.
William huffed as he brought out her other suitcases, and Emery made a mental note to thank him later on.
“You’ve been all the talk around here lately. The townsfolk have been wondering about you.” Lewis beamed, “We don’t get many new faces moving here."
Emery faltered, a nervous smile on her face, “That’s…uhh.”
“Don’t worry, everyone is pretty friendly.” The mayor waved a dismissive hand, chuckling, “C’mon, we’ll show you where you’ll be staying.”
Her mom motioned for her to follow them, helping her husband with hauling her daughter’s belongings. Her mom and the mayor continued walking ahead of Emery, talking about a woman named Robin who had done work on the house that she’d be staying in.
It wasn’t a long walk since the town was a bit small. A couple of people smiled and waved as they passed through town square. She looked around, wondering how many people actually lived in the town. Everyone seemed to know everyone judging by the way they openly greeted each other by name.
As they came to the house, Lewis beamed over the finished look. It certainly wasn’t super brand new, but the paint job that was done on the outside made it at least somewhat look the part. The porch was new and stained a walnut color. Lewis went ahead and waved excitedly for the rest of them to follow him. The inside was extremely cozy for a bit of a small house, yet it was a little bigger than the apartment she had previously inhabited with her ex.
The living room had a couch and a large sized flatscreen TV— thanks to her dad. As she walked to the kitchen, she saw a small table with two chairs sitting across from each other next to the window. A few groceries sat on the counter and above the fridge, telling her that her mom made sure to stock up before she arrived.
“Robin helped build some of the furniture, she’s supposed to be around—“ Sabrina let out a shriek as she was interrupted by Robin jumping from around the corner of the short hallway.
“You’re too easy to scare,” Robin belly laughed, causing Emery’s mom to roll her eyes.
Lewis sighed, ignoring the two, “Your mom picked out your furniture. Robin does some really fine work, best one around.”
Emery smiled at Robin as she bid good evening and left. She began looking around the house a little more. Her mother followed behind, until they came to her bedroom. William and Lewis could be heard having a ‘man’ conversation about furniture in the living room.
Emery plopped on her bed with a sigh, smoothing out the lilac colored comforter beneath her. Her mom sat beside her, the same gentle smile on her face that she had always given Emery when she was little.
“It’s a small town compared to the city, but you’ll get used to it. You can help out with the farm here if you want to, it’ll keep you plenty occupied.” Sabrina spoke cautiously, not wanting to bring up anything that involved the city.
“Yeah, sounds fine, I guess.”
“Come have dinner with us this evening, if you aren’t too tired after settling in.”
“I’ll do that, I don’t feel like cooking.” Emery looked down at her hands, fiddling with her nails.
Her mom spoke in a quiet tone, “You can talk to me. There’s nothing to worry about now that you’re here.”
“Mom, I’m fine.” Emery reassured, an obvious lie on her part, “Just a bit tired after the ride here.”
Her mother nodded as she stood up, patting Emery’s head, “Get some rest, hun. See you this evening.”
She smiled at her mom as she took her leave. It left her in what seemed like near deafening silence. Birds chirped outside her bedroom window, along with a few squirrels running back and forth from their own homes. Different noises came from nature outside, yet it all seemed so quiet to her. It was incredibly different from the city. There was constant noise— people, buses, cars, etc. Yet here, it almost seemed too quiet. It was ethereal compared to what she was used to. She eventually laid down, watching through her bedroom window as a lone squirrel ran down the tree. Her eyelids became heavy, eventually feeling as if they weighed more and more each time she blinked. Her mom’s words about dinner and Lewis’s own echoed through her head, but she forgot about them as soon as she remembered, quietly succumbing to sleep.
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽ ☆ ☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
Emery woke up to it being nearly pitch black in her house. The spring hours were certainly different compared to the city, where there was constant light and noise coming from different buildings and areas throughout the day and night. She felt around her left and ride side, eagerly trying to find her phone, which she eventually figured that she was laying on it. After checking the time and turning her flashlight on, she found the switch for the lamp next to her bed along with the rest of the house lights. She finally saw the text that her mom sent almost two hours ago.
Mom: saw you were still sleeping so I left dinner in your fridge, Will cooked it tonight. :)
There were a bunch of other unread messages and missed calls, but she knew who they were from, so she chose not to look at them.
After eating and brushing her teeth, she saw that it was 9:30, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep for a few more hours. She hadn’t fully gotten to see the town yet, so she figured a stroll around wouldn’t hurt. Hoping no one would be out at this time and thinking she was a big weirdo for being out so late, she threw on a hoodie and stepped outside. It was a bit chilly out, being spring and all. The air smelled earthy, along with the faint scent of fried food which she guessed came from the saloon just down the road. Emery shoved her hands in her hoodie and began walking north, following the river near her house. The spring peepers that could be heard in the distance and the sound of the water flowing down the river was soothing. The moonlight illuminated a small waterfall that came into view the further along she got. After about 20 minutes heading up the mountain, she reached a lake. There were lights from what looked like a pretty big house quite a ways away and the only other house was all the way across the lake. She walked along the shore, picking up rocks here and there before tossing them into the water. A giant rock sat at the edge of the trees, and a narrow dirt trail not far from it. She leaned against the rock, taking her phone out and finally checking her messages. A couple text messages from her best friend in the city popped up.
Tracy: had to block your ex
he’s been trying to ask around about where you went, think he asked your dad too.
Emery sighed, her fingers tapping away at a quick “thank you” message back to her friend.
After eventually landing on her ex’s contact name, she scrolled to the bottom of the contact, her thumb hovering over the ‘block number’ button before pressing it.
She was oblivious to the faint rustling of the trees and crunching of sticks coming from the trail next to her. It wasn’t until the sound got a bit louder when she finally realized someone or something was getting significantly close. She nearly shrieked when a tall man in a black hoodie emerged from the trail.
His voice was deep when he spoke, eyes squinting at her, “Abby?” His expression turned to be what she assumed was surprise when he realized it wasn’t whoever this Abby was. “Oh… uhh, sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s fine.” Emery muttered as she shifted against the rock, discomfort settling in when she realized she was alone with a man who she didn’t even know.
He stood there for a few seconds before whipping out a lighter and a cigarette from his pockets. She glanced from the corner of her eyes as the lighter lit up his facial features better than the moonlight did. His jawline was sharp, hair messy and black, the paint on his fingernails matching his hair, rings adorning a few of his fingers, and a small cute nose stud on his left nostril glittered in the moonlight. She quickly averted her gaze before she thought he would notice. It was bad enough she was out in the middle of the night. The last thing she needed was him thinking she was more of a creep than he probably already did.
An awkward silence settled in, and just as she was debating on taking her leave, he spoke up, “You’re the new girl, huh?” He breathed out smoke, trying not to blow it in her direction.
“I suppose.” Emery answered calmly, taking out her phone and glancing at the time.
“I'm Sebastian,” He stated, “My mom is Robin, though I heard you met her already.”
“Oh, um, yeah, I have. She didn’t mention you, though.”
Sebastian chuckled dryly before mumbling, “Figures, probably too proud of the house you’re living in.” He flicked his cigarette, ashing it a little, “Your name?”
“Emery.” She debated on finding a reason to leave, wanting nothing more than to leave to avoid the small talk.
He hummed, putting out his cigarette on the sand beneath him before he gestured to her, “Can you, uh, hand me that can by your feet?”
Emery looked down at her feet, noticing an empty aluminum can that had a few cigarette butts at the bottom. Sebastian walked a bit closer, but tried to maintain his distance enough to not completely weird her out. He tossed the trash into the can before handing it back to her so she could put it back on the ground. He caught a good look at her as she was admiring the stars above them. Although he couldn’t fully make out her features since the only light out was a half of a moon, he saw that she was quite pretty. The cute hoodie and black leggings she wore hugged her body comfortably, shivering against the chill of the night.
“You have anywhere in the whole world to move to, yet you chose to move to this shitty little town?” He asked a little teasingly, trying to lighten the awkward mood a little.
The question caught her off guard, making her giggle a bit, “Yeah, I guess so.”
He nodded, kicking a lonely rock into the water, “It’s an alright place, I suppose. Did the mayor force you to say hi to everyone?”
“No, thank God.” She mumbled, making Sebastian huff out an almost silent laugh.
Another silence fell between the two again before Emery spoke up again, “I should get going. See you around, Sebastian.” She said sheepishly before pushing herself off of the rock and walking passed him.
Sebastian silently watched as she walked by, sighing out of relief when she was a good enough distance to not hear him. He leaned against the rock that the pretty stranger had previously been on. He had completely forgotten about the person he was actually supposed to meet there when his phone started vibrating. Abigail’s name and contact photo lit up the screen as he pulled it out of his pocket, not forgetting about the girl he had just met.
“Where the hell did you run off to? It’s movie night, and Sam won’t quit bitching about his goddamn virgin.” Abby exclaimed from the other side of the phone.
He sighed in annoyance before chuckling, “Why do you think I left? I’ve had to listen to him cry around every day.” He thought about Emery, “I’ll be back in a bit, I ran into someone and got to talking.”
“Well hurry your ass up or I’m going home and letting this man wallow in self pity.” Abby hung up, and just before she did he could hear her telling Sam to ‘get over it’ and ‘it’s his fault for being a dick.’ Sebastian snickered to himself, looking up at the sky one last time before mentally preparing for another hangout he was being dragged into.
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽ ☆ ☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
The afternoon rolled around way too quickly for Emery’s liking. She had stayed up till almost 4 AM watching movies on her phone, unable to sleep and regretting the nap she had taken that evening. It took a while to convince herself to get up for the day, but she was finally pushed to it when her mom called and asked her to run a few errands for her. Something about seeds from Pierre’s and fetching something from Robin to do something at the farm.
Emery looked at herself in the body mirror, smoothing out the floral blue and white short sundress as she turned around. She sighed, shaking her head before sulking her way out of the house. As she passed the bridge and got more near town square, she was grateful none of the people who stopped to talk to her. Everyone only politely asked how she was before continuing on their way.
Upon entering Pierre’s shop, she was greeted by an older man with glasses and chestnut colored hair, “Hello! You must be Emery, I’m Pierre. Your mom called and said you’d be by to pick up a few things.”
She nodded, taking note of a “Help Wanted” sign on the board by the door.
She gestured at it, “What’s that about?”
“Just looking for another cashier. It’s gotten busier since your mom moved here. Are you interested?” Pierre asked, adjusting his glasses, “I asked my daughter to help out, but… she said she’d rather not.”
“Yeah, it’ll be nice to have something to do.” Emery shrugged, grabbing each of the packets of seeds her mom had mentioned in a list she texted her.
“Great! You can start next week.” Pierre smiled, quickly ringing up each item as she walked to the counter and set them down.
She walked out of Pierre’s with a plastic bag full of items right as a black haired man walked in, clearly on the phone with someone and in a rush. She checked her messages to see where exactly Robin’s house was, another text message from her mom popped up.
Mom: 24 Mountain Rd, first and only house you’ll come across. There’s a shortcut you can take from there to the farm whenever you’re done.
As she walked further on the dirt road up the mountain, she began to recognize a few things from the night before. It turned out to be the house she saw through the woods while walking by the lake, reminding her of the cute guy she met there. She forgot about him again just as quickly as she remembered, in awe over how big the house was up close. It was bigger than most of the houses in town, but she supposed that it’d be expected of someone like Robin.
Upon entering, Emery was greeted by Robin, who previously looked to be bored, sitting behind the till.
There was a long hallway to her right as she walked to the counter.
“Guessing you’re here for the blueprints, hm?” Robin asked before walking over to one of the large cabinets, digging around in it before she pulled out a couple sheets of paper. She quickly rolled them up, snapping a rubber band around both. “Your mom already paid for them. Oh, have you met everyone in town yet? I suppose not since it’s only your second d—“ She was cut off by the sound of the bell above the front door, signaling that someone else had walked in.
Emery turned around to see the same man from the night before, and boy, was he fucking gorgeous. She finally got a good look at him now in regular lighting compared to last night. He was a bit pale and the aura that emitted from him was much more intimidating in broad daylight. His eyes were round and onyx, half lidded in boredom and the dark circles underneath his eyes gave away at the tiredness. The soft looking, black tussles on his head were messy, wisping his eyebrows. Small black hoop earrings sat on each of his earlobes along with black studs next to them, a little black helix piercing sat atop his left ear. They went well with the silver chain that dangled around his neck. Tattoos decorated his arms, wrapping around muscular biceps. It was surprising to see that he worked out, judging by the black baggy hoodie he wore that seemed to hide his figure the night before. He looked a bit older than her, maybe in his mid 20’s.
She finally realized she was staring much longer than she intended when he shot her a small smirk.
As she whipped her head back around, his eyes swiftly raked over the back of her body, taking in every curve of her and the brunette waves of hair that cascaded down her back.
Robin spoke up, completely unaware of what was even happening. “Sebby! You’re finally stopping by to visit?” She beamed, “Oh, Emery, this is my son Sebastian.”
Sebastian spoke up while he walked to the hallway, choosing to ignore the embarrassing nickname his mom called him by, “We met last night.”
She took it as a sign that he was completely out of the room when Robin chuckled, “He’s never really been a people person. I apologize ahead of time if he ever comes off as rude, I’m sure he’ll warm up to you soon.”
“It’s okay, I should really get going.” Emery waved as she shoved the blueprints in the plastic bag she carried.
Once she arrived at the farm, she walked inside to see her mom and William sitting at the dining table, looking over a few pieces of paper scattered about. Her mom looked up, grinning when she saw her with everything she asked for.
She motioned for her to sit down with them, forgetting about the papers in front of her. “Pierre called about the new job you got!” Her mom exclaimed.
“Word sure does travel fast.” Emery sighed as she sat down next to her mom, resting her chin in her hands.
“Small town. Have you made any friends yet?”
“I’m not 5, mom.” She laughed nervously," I did meet Robin’s son, Sebastian.”
“Oh, that boy. I noticed he’s always with Abigail, Victor, and Sam at the saloon on Fridays. Don’t see him much other than that.” Her mom shrugged it off, “Speaking of the saloon, you should come out with us there on Friday. It’ll help you get acquainted with more of the folk.”
Emery nodded, although she honestly didn’t want to go.
It could be a good thing, it sounded much better than sitting at home and sulking in utter loneliness.
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽ ☆ ☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
Sebastian laid in bed, arm draped over his eyes as he gave up on tossing and turning in bed. The pretty girl at his mom’s shop seemed to plague his mind, and it was getting to be quite annoying considering he had a project to work on tomorrow. Not to mention, Abby announced that she was going over to play video games with Sam in the morning, not caring that Sebastian had work to do.
They both had a bad habit of getting pretty loud when it came to games, cursing at each other and forgetting that Sebastian worked from home.
He huffed once he saw it was 1 AM, mindlessly scrolling through his phone when a message from Ysabelle popped up— a hot blonde that he had recently met on a random motorcycle ride to Ridgeside Village. She was gorgeous, and seemed to know that she was. Her eyes captivated him the most, well, second to the slutty little dress she wore that night. They were a shade of light pink, twinkling in the shitty lighting of the bar. She had briefly mentioned that she was into ballet before moving back to Ridgeside.
Ysabelle: wyd cutie
Seb: not shit. can’t sleep
what’s up?
Ysabelle: just wishing you were here again
Attached to it was a picture of her thin lower half in bed, scantily in only a pair of lacy underwear and covering her tits with her arm, making him curse to himself.
He pondered in his head for a couple minutes, weighing his options. His eyes weren’t burning from exhaustion in the least bit yet, and he could always work out in his room to try to get there, or even go for a walk.
Ah, hell, if he couldn’t sleep, he might as well get laid, right?
He scurried to get dressed, grabbing the keys for his motorcycle, before silently heading out of his room. Sam must’ve been sleeping by now judging by the silence from his room. Why he was being cautiously quiet, he wasn’t sure, because Sam could sleep through an entire earthquake if it came down to it. As soon as he got to the shed at the back of the house that housed his motorcycle, he unlocked it.
The motorcycle roared to life as soon as he revved the engine, not caring if it woke anyone up or not. He tucked his head into the helmet before heading off into the night.