Shane X Female Reader - Stardew Valley

Chapter 10: The Storm Hits

You woke up Tuesday morning to a loud clap of thunder and a bright flash of light. The rain danced on your roof in rhythmic beats as you stepped out of bed. It had lightly rained all of the day before, but the storm must have intensified overnight. You got dressed, grabbed your umbrella, and ran out to the chicken coop to check on the baby chicks. They were bouncing around jubilantly, excited to be in the warm coop and not in the rain. After refilling their food and water, you ventured back into the house. You didn't need to take care of the crops, the rain did that for you. Thank Yoba, you were tired and didn't want to be in the freezing rain any longer.

You got back inside and put away your wet things. You looked at your wall calendar to see what you needed to do today. Under Spring 17, there was pretty much nothing besides a few house chores. You looked ahead to the next few days to see if there was anything else to get a head start on when you came across Saturday, Spring 20. It was Shane's birthday. You had completely forgotten and decided you needed to get him a gift. Even if he wanted nothing to do with you, it was rude to not give someone a gift on their birthday. Plus, it would give you another chance to hopefully see him.

What to get Shane, on the other hand, was a dilemma. You knew he would love beer and pizza, but you had already given him that. Plus, it was his birthday, so you felt you should get him something a little bit bigger and better. You sat down at your small kitchen table to think it over when your bright red telephone suddenly rang. You ran over to grab it and picked it up quickly.

"(Y/N)? Hello?" Marnie's frantic voice echoed sharply through the phone.

"Marnie?" You asked, surprised to hear from the kind rancher. You wondered why she was calling and a wave of worry started to wash over you. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, hi (Y/N)!" She sounded slightly relieved to hear your voice. "Is Shane there?"

"Shane?" You asked, surprised. Your stomach twisted saying his name. "No, he's not here." You looked around. "At least I don't think he's here, why?"

She sighed deeply as she answered your query. "Well, he was gone when I woke up this morning. I assumed he had just headed to work, but about an hour later his boss, Morris, called the Ranch to ask where he was." You could tell she was on the verge of tears with worry for her nephew. "I thought he might be with you or you might know where he is..." her voice trailed off. "But it's okay, I'll just keep looking. Have a wonderful day, (Y/N)!" She started to hang up but you quickly responded to keep her on the line.

"Wait!" You knew you had to find Shane, you were really worried about him. "Could I help you look for him?"

"Oh, (Y/N). I couldn't ask you for that. It's storming so badly outside." This prompted you to peer out the window, where the sky had gotten even darker since you had been inside. "Stay home where you'll be nice and dry."

"I really want to help you, Marnie." You replied, trying your best to compromise with the kind rancher. "How about this: call down to the Saloon and see if Shane's there or if anyone has seen him. If you don't hear anything from him in a couple hours, please let me help you go out and look for him."

"If you insist." She replied. "Thank you, (Y/N). I'll call you back if I hear anything." She hung up quickly.

Your stomach churned as you thought about the missing case of Shane. You reassured yourself that he was probably just at the Saloon, skipping work, but something in the back of your mind wasn't convinced of it.

You grabbed some lunch and went over to your living area to try and relax. You sat on the couch, which still reminded you of Shane, and turned on the TV. You decided to watch the local cooking show, Queen of Sauce. Cooking shows were easy to watch and that was exactly what you needed at the moment. You couldn't help but look back at your bright red telephone every few minutes, hoping to see it ring with good news from Marnie, or better yet, Shane himself.