The Runaway: A Stardew Valley Story

Six O'Clock

I have nothing to wear. I only own the yellow shirt and overalls I came into town with and the grey combo Sebastian bought me in the city. I can't wear that on a date. Is this a date?

I'm going to be sick.

"I should just not go," I sigh as I let my weight drop onto the squeaky spring mattress. "I'll tell Sam that I worked in the garden too long. I got faint in the sun."

"You did get faint," Sebastian reminds me. There's something like annoyance in his tone. "You don't drink enough for two people. It's summer now, and you aren't used to these conditions." My friend presses a glass of water into my hands despite my angle being completely wrong for drinking.

"Sebastian!" I groan. "You're ignoring the problem."

"So are you."

"Sam asked me to go on a date, and I have nothing to wear! What am I supposed to do?"

Sebastian grows quiet. "Is it really that important to you?"

Rolling over to watch my friend, I notice that Sebastian is eyeing the wall on the other end of the room. "I think so," I reply in a matched volume. "I've never been asked on a date before."

"Not even by..."

I shake my head. "They were all arranged for us. My mother just told me where to be and what to wear."

Sebastian drops his head with a groan. "Fuck, Junox. I'm sorry." With that, Sebastian starts to head for the door. "You better have two more glasses of water before I get back, and eat some of the salted crackers I brought too."

"What? Where are you going?"

The door slams shut.

Hours later I find myself standing in front of a blue house with overgrown bushes beneath the windows and little yellow blooms dotting the lawn. It's very different from the well-kept lawn of the Jones or even Mayor Lewis. A light ocean breeze ruffles the billowy dress Sebastian bought me to wear. It's not something either of us particularly liked, but my friend said that it was all Emily was willing to sell at the moment "that didn't look like a rainbow threw up all over it." I tried to pay him back just like I tried to pay him back for the clinic visit last night, but Sebastian simply refused.

I need to find something else that I can do for him, I realize just before a loud clammer erupts from beyond the front door of 1 Willow Lane.

"Mo-om! Make Vinny stop being such a baby! It's six already, and Juni will be here any minute!"

"Nuh-uh! Sammy's being mean!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Boys!"

Silence follows for several moments, and I decide to break the tension by finally knocking on the door. My knuckles hurt as they bang against heavy wood. I know Sam heard me because the sound of shushing follows. Vincent whines at his brother for being bossy and is still whining even as the door opens with a creak.

"Junimo!" Is Sam blushing? "Wow, you look great! That color suits you."

As Sam welcomes me inside, I wonder if he's just being polite. The dusty colored swirls of the dress would not look good on anyone in my head. Gussy would skin me alive if he knew I was wearing this, let alone on a date. Sebastian just worked so hard to help me out. I couldn't refuse.

"Thank you," I whisper, and I realize that my own cheeks are warm.

"Come on inside, dear," Sam's mother says with a smile. "I made Sam's favorite casserole for dinner. It'll be ready soon. Sammy can show you around for a bit."

"I wanna help! Me too!"

"Let's give your brother some space, Vincent. I need your help in the kitchen."

"I can show you my room if you're okay with that?" Sam has a hand extended toward me.

My hand doesn't move to accept Sam's immediately. The tension grows awkward before I realize that it doesn't want to respond at all. Sweat breaks out across my back. Why am I afraid of Sam so suddenly? It's just his hand!

A cough from my left breaks the spiral of my fear. "Sam knows better than to close the door with a lady in the room. He may be an adult, but he lives under my house and follows my rules. You're welcome to make yourself at home."

Sam's hand is warm and damp when I take it. That means he's just as nervous as I am, right? So his heart is beating as fast as mine?

"I'd love to see your room."

"Awesome! You can meet Coco!"

"You have a pet?"

"Even better than a pet!"

Coco, it turns out, is the name of Sam's guitar. She's bright red and very loud.