Hell's Book of Random One-shots

The Cute One in the Band - Sebastian - Stardew Valley

Though it wasn't my usual kind of thing, I had to admit that my best friend signing us up for a battle of the bands was perhaps not the worst thing to happen in my life.

Until the stage fright took over, then I was screwed beyond help.

We were just a small, out of our garage band and she had thought it wise to just sign us up, with barely any practice and hardly any experience to our name.

I'd been hesitant but up for it once she had talked me into it, convincing me that it was no big deal and just a bit of fun and it worked, until we were given our slot and had forty minutes to prepare.

Meaning I had forty minutes to try and stop my nerves from overdosing me with adrenaline and making me look like a human of jelly, all shakes, wobbles and unable to keep my form.

In the vain hope that it'd help somehow, I had stepped outside onto the balcony of the venue to get some fresh air, the cold breeze smacking me in the face and blowing my hair about the second I stepped out.

That and the smell of cigarette smoke, which didn't help at all.

I grimaced and wafted my hand in front of my face, walking to the balcony railing to lean against it.

"Sorry about that."

I looked to my right to see one of the competitors, leaning against the railing with his arms crossed, the offending object hanging loosely from the fingers of one hand.

"It's okay," I shrugged a little, "the wind is working against you."

He let out a small hum in response and nodded slowly, taking another drag.

I vaguely recognised my unexpected company, if I remembered correctly then he had been called Sebastian or something of the like by his blond friend with the wild hair.

It would be a lie to say that I hadn't taken notice of him and his little group, they definitely stood out amongst the other attendees.

What with the spiky blond, the purple and the overhanging hair that I couldn't decipher between black, dark purple or dark blue.

Not that it mattered in the long run, even with half of his face covered I noticed just how cute he was.

This was a minor disadvantage because I immediately jumped to my usual stance when it came to crushes: Don't talk to them, there's no way they'd be interested in even saying 'hi' to you.

This also, unfortunately, meant that while my bestie band mate was wandering around flirting up a storm, I kept to my own corner with a book when the bands weren't playing.

"Just go and say hey to him," she sighed, "they're really nice, Sam is hilarious."

I'd nodded and said I would, then continued on my ignoring quest.

To be fair to me, I had succeeded pretty well until fate aligned our strings to this exact moment.

So now I have a decision to make.

Do I bite the bullet and say something?

Do I continue to ignore him and stand in awkward silence until he goes inside?

Do I go back inside?

"So, are you local?" I asked, my leg bouncing as I tried to push away the nerves.

It seemed my subconscious made up its mind without my input.

"Pelican Town, about a thirty minute drive," he shrugged lightly, looking at me from the corner of his eye.

"Oh yeah, I know that place, my grandad owns a farm there."

"Huh, small world."

"Isn't it? Though I haven't seen him in a while."

"Doubt you're missing much."

I could only nod slowly in response, my conversation topics already dying out.

The silence continued between us, though it wasn't as uncomfortable as I expected it to be, we both simply leaned against the railing and stared out into the horizon without exchanging any further words.

Once he'd reached the end of his cigarette, he stubbed it out on the rubber top of the railing and pushed himself away, sliding his hands into the pockets of his jacket.

As he turned away, we made eye contact and the corner of his lips turned up just a little into a smile.

"Good luck, I'll be rooting for you."

He dipped his head before stepping inside.

I could only trail him with my eyes, smiling like an idiot as my heart fluttered.