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You had made a cake, put a candle in the center, and stared at it, trying to find the will to light it. All you had to do was strike the match, but you stayed frozen.
Someone was knocking at the door, calling your name. Yet you stayed seated, a lump pushing into your throat.
"Hey, you weren't answering the door, so-." Alex stopped when he saw you. "You… you ok? Do you need me to get Harvey?" He kneeled next to you, waiting for a response.
"If you want," you mumbled.
"Yeah, I'll be right back! Just, uh. Just wait here!"
You thought he'd only been gone for a minute or so, but as Harvey checked your pulse and blood pressure, you began to realize it'd been closer to half an hour.
What you also realized was that Harvey and Alex were accompanied by a… few others.
Haley and Emily were across the table from you, Abigail, Maru, Penny, and Leah hovered nearby. Sam and Sebastian were anxiously making jokes with Shane and Elliott, the four of them always cracking a smile, but never laughing.
Why were they all here?
"Your pulse and blood pressure are a little high, but not dangerously so. No fever. Have you been feeling sick at all?" Harvey asked, sitting in a chair next to Emily.
"N-no, I think I'm just… feeling a little out of it today. You know, maybe pushed myself too much." You could see Alex relax out of the corner of your eye, and Harvey hummed.
"That would definitely cause some issues. I would strongly recommend taking it easy tomorrow."
"I can't really do that," you laughed. "Animals to feed, crops to water-"
"I can take care of the chickens." Shane interrupted.
"I can water your crops!" Emily said. Leah nodding, a smile appearing on her face.
"I'll take care of the barn animals, I'll probably need help." Alex said.
You listened to your friends announce what tasks they would do, wanting to intervene but not feeling able to.
"We can come by around seven tomorrow, get everything going. I'll make lunch for everyone, if it's alright for me to use your kitchen." You looked at Penny, and then at everyone else, before nodding.
"That's fine, yeah."
"Then it's settled. We'll let you get some rest-"
"Wait," you said, cutting Harvey off. "Um. I made this cake, and well, I won't be able to finish it on my own, so if any of you would want some…" you trailed off, embarrassed.
"Cake sounds so good. Plates up here?" Alex crossed the room to your cabinets, opening a few random ones.
"Top right."
After everyone was done eating, you decided to clean up, saying you didn't want to get stiff, making up a lie about how you liked your dishes washed.
"So like, was the cake for a special occasion or something?" Haley asked, putting the rest of the plates on the counter.
You wanted to pretend you hadn't heard Haley's question, to never answer, to never admit to your friends why you had baked a cake and cried about it.
Instead, you shifted your gaze to a spot on the floor.
"When… when Grandpa was alive, he would encourage me to do my best. Mom and Dad were always busy, so it was usually just me and his letters." You took a shaky breath. "Halfway through highschool I… I got addicted to some bad stuff. Dropped out, never went to college. Mom and Dad were angry, never wanted to find out why. Just wanted me to stop. Grandpa… was the only one who visited me in the hospital after my first overdose."
You were shaking at this point. "He was there after that, and the time after that. When he died, I lost my only friend… my biggest supporter. I made the cake because today I'm officially five years clean, but-" your voice cracked. "He's not here to be proud of me."
There was a heavy silence, eventually broken by Sebastian's voice. "He's not, but we are."
"It's not easy to stop that kind of stuff, I know I have days where it's all I can think about." Shane added.
You turned, only to find yourself in Maru's arms. "We're all really proud of you." She pulled back, her eyes glistening. You were barely out of the hug when Penny grabbed onto you, surprising you with a strong, bone-crunching bear hug.
"I'm so happy you're here."
Every single one of them enveloped you in a hug eventually, letting you cry on their shoulders, telling you how proud they were.
The next day, you found a card tucked under your door, telling you to go to the Stardrop Saloon at five PM.
When you arrived, you found every person in Pelican Town smiling at you, a banner signed by every single one of them, telling you how proud they were.