The Runaway: A Stardew Valley Story

Boss Lady

Haley

Warm afternoon sunlight assaults my vision. I blink until the crinkled paper before me comes into focus. Fine print fills the center surrounded by the embossed logo for Zuzu City College.

"Congratulations, Alex, on your acceptance into the Zuzu City College undergraduate program..."

"What the fuck?! Alex, no way!"

Without a second thought, I twist my body until my chest can collide with his. Alex loses balance, and for a single moment in time, we're weightless together. He makes a grunt of pain when his back slams into the ground, but his arms never leave their protective circle around my waist.

"You got in!" I shout and try to squeeze my friend tighter only to realize how close we are and that I am now lying on top of a guy.

"Coach thinks I can be a starter by next season, but I'll show him." Alex's chest rumbles beneath me with each word. Instead of making movements to sit up or untangle us from this position, Alex's hands drift to my lower back and hold me steady as I prop myself up to gaze down at him. There's a warmth to his cheeks, and I realize that I can't remember the last time the doofus got a sunburn. His golden skin has long ago grown used to long hours of practice in the summer.

Is he blushing?

Am I blushing?

"So when do you leave?"

Alex clears his throat and moves to sit up. With one question, I've broken the most perfect moment in all of history. My face is definitely burning now, and I can't raise my eyes from my lap when we finally untangle. The absence of extra body heat leaves me suddenly cold and empty even in the sunshine.

"Classes start at the end of August, but gridball players move in at the end of June for practice."

"That's so soon." My voice is somehow flat even though my hands are shaking.

Without Alex here, what's the point in this small town? There's nowhere to shop, nothing to eat, and no one to talk to. I might actually implode if I have to acknowledge my sister's existence.

"I know," Alex takes a shaky breath, "and the thought of saying goodbye to you hurts worse than anything since losing Mom."

I can't believe my ears.

"You're going to miss me that much?"

Alex snorts, "Of course, I will."

I can't let myself fall into hope. I can't assume he feels the same. This is Alex. We're just friends.

"But you'll meet so many new people?"

Copper-colored bangs shift across dark bushy eyebrows as Alex shakes his head. "No one can understand me like you do. That's why— That's why..." The words die on Alex's lips.

"That's why, what?" I prod after several moments of silence.

In one long exhale, Alex mumbles, "I want you to apply and join me in the spring."

I inhale sharply. "But Alex..."

"Come on, Haley," the boy interrupts. "We both know the only reason you didn't apply anywhere senior year is because I couldn't get in back then. Your scores are perfect, and your parents will be happy to pay for something other than shopping for once. ZCC has a photojournalism program, and you can have that fashion magazine you've always wanted." He's looking at me with the most sincere brown eyes the world has ever seen. They plead with me and tug my heart from my chest. "If you won't do it for me, do it for yourself."

My mouth goes dry as I try to swallow.

I have to tell him, I realize. He has to know the truth before things get awkward later on. He has to know that I would do it. I would do anything that he asked. I would follow him to the city because I love him. I love Alex. I love him so much that when I saw him the day his mother died, a part of me died too. I love him so much that the wide, toothed smile he wore the night of his senior championship victory is seared into my memory forever. Every time our hands brush, every time we hug I feel like I'm on fire. I'm so in love with Alex, and that's why I can't go with him.

I can't go because I will always be in his way. Alex is going to be a gridball star. Girls will throw themselves at his feet. How long will they tolerate his small-town best friend hanging around? How long could I stand to watch him fall for some sorority girl with a chemistry degree and hair bleached in a salon, not the sink? I would hold him back, and it would break me.

"Alex," I start with my chest aching and my voice ripped to shreds, "I can't go with you because it wouldn't be fair."

With big watery eyes, Alex chokes, "But why?"

"Because I like you, like like-like you," I manage through the pounding in my chest, "and I know you never—"

"HOLY FUCKING YABBA!" The words burst from Alex like an explosion. "I HAD NO IDEA!"

Hot tears of embarrassment line my cheeks as I try to push on, "I know you don't feel that same, and that's why I can't—"

"Haley."

I speak louder and faster, "Why I can't come with you. I would just—"

"Haley!"

Still, ignoring Alex, "—hold you back from meeting someone—"

"HALEY!" Alex is grabbing me by the arms, and trying to make me look, but I'm an ugly crier. I'll be damned if I let him see my full face. This is hard enough to say as it is!

"—Who is better suited for—"

Something warm and soft brushes my lips. Every thought in my head disappears instantly as I'm overwhelmed with the contours of Alex's cheekbones. He pulls away and the warm feeling leaves my lips with a soft but audible pop. I blink once, twice, and three times before what just happens finally clicks.

"Did you just kiss me?"

"You wouldn't shut up!"

"Why would you kiss me after I said all of that? Do you have any idea how big of a fuckboy you're being right now?"

Alex closes his eyes and groans. "Yabba, Haley! I'm in love with you, okay? I've only been trying to tell you since senior prom!"

I blink again. "You... what?"

Alex risks a peak in my direction. "I really like you, and I think that it's more than like at this point. I love watching you take pictures and brush your hair. You get that little dimple on your left cheek when you talk about boy bands, and I think it's my favorite thing in the whole world. You're the only person I can talk to about Mom, and I feel like I'm missing something when you're not around. Even when you're being the biggest brat and bossing me around everywhere, I still want you."

"Don't call me that!" I snap.

Alex smirks in response. His eyes glance between my lips and my eyes. I can hardly breathe. The words Alex is saying only make sense every other word.

"But... but you, you don't mind when I'm bossy?"

With cheeks blazing, Alex looks upward as if praying to Yabba and whispers, "I've even had to take a cold shower after a day of you barking orders."

I try to keep breathing normally. "Oh, I, uh, I'm sorry."

Alex brushes a thumb against my hand. "Don't be sorry, Haley. Say you'll come with me."

I don't think. I just say, "Okay."

Happy Friday : )

I am much closer to having another chapter finished for next week than I was last week. Still, I did not write nearly what I had intended, so I cannot guarantee next week's post. I will post a message on my profile if there won't be a chapter. 

It's safe to assume we will be moving to biweekly posts by the end of the month.