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Roselyn's Point of View

 Beads of sweat dripped down my brow as I swung my pick axe overhead and into the rock before me. I had just cleared a plot of land and reflected on how much work I had done but with so little to show for it. It was a little disheartening. I wiped my brow with the back of my sleeve and plopped down onto the ground. The sun was unforgiving and I scooted back until my bag hit a tree, it's arms extending, offering me a lush green salvation of shade. I closed my eyes.

 I had just moved into my grandpa’s old house, residing in the outskirts of town. I hadn't had a moment to spare yet to greet its dwellers and I wasn't even sure if they knew I had moved in as no one had shown up to greet me. I shrugged, at some point it was inevitable that I would run into someone. I swept my long dark brown hair into a loose ponytail and pushed back the pieces of sweat soaked wisps that clung to my face. Although the farm around me was still an unorganized mess it was nothing in comparison to the unbridled chaos I had walked into the first night. At initial glance, I had thought I stumbled into the wrong spot of the woods, the cabin nearly concealed by thick trees, tall weeds, and rocks that collected in bunches. 

 I sat in the shade for a moment longer before decidedly getting up and heading towards Pierre’s shop. When I went to grandpa’s as a child, Lewis the mayor was the first person I’d go see, but since he was gone seeing his sick sister, I sufficed for the former.

 It didn’t take me long to wind my way to Pierre’s shop, and I was greeted warmly as soon as I stepped foot in the door. Unrecognized, Pierre smiled wide as I approached the counter, “Welcome, is there anything I can help you with today?”

 “Oh, uh, yeah I just moved here from Zuzu City, actually. “ I wasn’t even sure what I needed. “Right now I was wondering what type of seeds you guys had in stock.” Pierre lit up.

 “We have many different varieties! Are you looking to buy for spring or summer? It’s a little late in the spring season so…” he trailed off, looking at me expectantly. 

  “I guess Summer would be a good pick then,” I agreed, knowing I had to clear the rest of the farm anyways and could start the seeds indoors.

  “Great, I’ll put the order in, and…” he looked at his log book, “they should be here in about two weeks!”

  “Oh really? I suppose I’ll grab some parsnip seeds then too if you have any on hand,” I nodded towards the display of them on the counter. 

  Pierre quickly bagged the seeds and took the coin from my outstretched hand, “by the way,” he said. “Who are you staying with in town? I didn’t realize there were any vacancies.”

 “Yeah, I’m staying at my grandfather’s old house just to the west of here” I pointed for emphasis. 

 Pierre gave me the most inquisitive look. “You mean just below Robin’s place?”

 “You mean the carpenters?” I said, not sure what everyone’s names were yet. I only knew Pierre’s from the sign hanging outside of the building. 

 He blanched.

 I just stared, not sure what to say. I had an uncomfortable feeling wave over me so I grabbed my seeds, ready to be out of there. “Thanks for your help,” I offered, already taking steps toward the door. 

 Pierre seemed deep in thought, confusion written on his face.

 Just before I swung the door open, I took one last glance at Pierre and he returned my look with something that almost looked grim. Whatever I had told him had not passed off very well and it sat in the pit of my belly. I hoped the rest of the townspeople weren’t going to be so hard to read.

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Roselyn's Point of View

 Sleep had come quicker than most nights, my desire to be rid of the awkward situation bleeding into my night time routine. The faster I could start the new day, the sooner I could plant new seeds and continue with this new life I’d chosen. After yesterday's hours of pounding away at stone and pulling weeds, I decided to allow myself a slower day. But by the end of it I could hardly tuck myself into my grandpa’s old shamble of a bed before abrupt, harsh knocking preceded a wide opening of the door. In walked Pierre, strutting into my home like he owned the place. In his hand, dangled a key twin to mine, the initials H.R. engraved into the top. My mouth fell open, brow furrowing but before I could get a word out Pierre began talking in policing tone. 

 “You, Miss…” he paused, losing steam for a moment. “What’s your name anyways?” he stared down his nose at me expectantly.

 “What are you doing in my house?!” I countered, sitting up rigidly. 

 “I could ask you the same thing Miss…” he put more emphasis on the last word again.

 “It’s Roberts. You know I-”

 “You know I could have you arrested! This is my property, as of three weeks ago. And I don’t appreciate your loitering.”

 I was once again in shock, I stood up but only briefly before sitting back down, the world suddenly becoming heavy on my back. I was Atlas all of a sudden, and this man was piling on the weight. The entire situation seemed too absurd to even humor, but what was I supposed to do? Kick out the man who I’d be giving most of my business? It’s not like I’d be shopping at fucking Joja, after how they’d treated me all these years.

 “I… I seriously don’t know where you got that key, but look. This property was willed to me. I’m Harold Robert’s granddaughter.” I insisted, shoving away from the bed and taking firm strides to the table in the middle of the room. Shuffling through a few papers, I procured the will and key. The same letters were engraved at the top and with some gusto, I opened it up and pointed to where it said, unequivocally, that the house and farm were willed to me. Pierre glowered, and cleared his throat.

 “While that was legal before, it is not valid now.” Like a sword, he pulled a rolled up paper from his back pocket and pointed to a line within. I squinted, reading-

  Houses under jurisdiction of Pelican Town may sit without proprietors for no longer than 3 years, wherein the property is seized by the local governing body.

 “As you can see, Miss Roberts. While you were the owner, you missed the deadline to be here and claim ownership nearly a month ago. It was sold then- to me. I am the legal owner, and while I knew your grandfather as a great man, I still can’t appreciate his granddaughter assuming she still held this land after not checking on it for three years. A little irresponsible if you ask me,” he huffed out the last part, and rolled the paper back up. My mouth fell open again before pressing into a tight, thin line, but I felt too in shock to respond. The usual voice in my head that didn’t take shit was oddly quiet. Given that this was a new town where I knew no one, it could be expected. “I’ll give you two days. I expect to return back to my temporary warehouse, without someone living in it.” And with that, he turned on his heel and left the house, letting the door gently click shut behind him, but to my ears, the sound was deafening. 

 Thoughts whirled too fast to process, and robotically, I began to put away the clothes I’d laid out on the floor back into my suitcase. It was a thought that felt out of place, but I was suddenly glad I wore sweats to bed. Not much could be more embarrassing than what had just transpired, but being caught naked would have been the cherry on top of this shit sundae. My face burned as I started putting clothes away faster and with much more force, as though shoving my clothes hard into the suitcase could replace punching Pierre in his smug face. I yelled sharply as my knuckles cracked against the rim of the suitcase, a clasp cutting into my finger. Jumping to my feet, I kicked hard at the suitcase, jamming a toe in the process. I cried out again, and stomped, pulling at my hair for a moment before taking a deep breath and trying to regain my composure. This was not my usual self. I hadn’t acted like this since I was 12. But this was all coming at me way too fast. My job, my old boss, leaving the city, the way I’d quit with such a secure feeling of safety that grandpa’s farm would be waiting for me. But this past week had been a slow descent into self doubt. Each swing of the axe or pick had sent me one step down a spiraling staircase that felt neverending. In the city, if you didn’t get along with someone, no big deal. There was a new person to meet by the end of the block. But here? A town of what, 25 people? Each person I met was a much bigger deal in my life now. And I already had a bad track record, I guess. 

 Exasperated and overwhelmed, I jammed my boots on, not caring about proper attire, and walked out the front door.

 I walked on, or rather stomped, for a full hour. I was angry, in a way that almost felt new. But the idea that Pierre thought he could just take my family’s legacy from me… or that I really had just neglected the land for too long… no. I knew I had to be in the right. There was no way that that law could be correct. Even if it was, there had to be a way for me to overturn it or file some type of waiver. Was it possible they could sell it off without even attempting to contact me first? 

 I continued my trek, going south, until the woods became thicker and the voice in my head became quieter. The trees that loomed around me opened up towards what looked like a shack in the middle of nowhere. I frowned, looking at the building a bit warily. It was so late and a wave of fatigue was rolling in, making me almost believe I was hallucinating. Another feeling of anger surged through my weary bones. “I’m tired of this grandpa!” I shouted into the ether, my fists clenched. I took a slow breath and loosened my grip, leaving nail marks on my palms. This was no way to act, even if yelling helped me sort through my feelings. But before I could truly calm down, the sound of skittering feet came from inside the shack. Paranoia leapt through me as I quickly wielded my sword in front of myself. I squinted through the darkness, staring at what must have been considered the door as an inhuman and shadowy figure took a small step out. 

 “You okie, Pokie?” the voice whispered in broken english. 

 My sword appeared to bring the thing no alarm. I took another step forward. Then the sound of a match swished, light pouring out of the entryway. In my wake stood a mouse. Small frame but at least two feet tall. I cocked my head to the side, more than confused. Maybe I was hallucinating. I shook my head and the mouse inquired again, 

 “Pokie? You come for hat? It late.” 

 I stared at the mouse a second more before finding my voice, “Uh yes, I’m alright, I’m not sure where I am honestly.” I looked around at the trees and foliage. “Maybe I should, uh, get going.” I shrugged with my hands up. 

 The mouse stared right back at me, “It late, pokie, you haus build on mine land? Not allowed. Get monies from federal government for land reservation. No build here.” I gaped at his sudden transition in language. “You build, pokie?” I shook my head again, before snapping my mouth shut.

 “I didn’t! Honestly,” I stammered. I couldn't begin to comprehend how a mouse made that sort of agreement with anyone let alone the feds “I actually… got kicked out of my house, from up north. It used to be owned by Harold Roberts… if you knew him?” I wasn’t sure how I felt about my grandfather even knowing a mouse and not bringing it up at some point during Thanksgiving or other family gatherings. 

 “Oh! Pokie, love Harry. Good man. You stay here.” the mouse announced, and they did a 180 back inside, gesturing for me to follow. I looked around, waiting from someone to jump out and announce the elaborate prank the entire town was in on. But all there was was the rustle of leaves, and the croak of frogs in the distance. Before I could talk myself out of it, I followed the mouse inside.

 While the shack was in total disrepair from the outside, the inside was surprisingly cozy. Everything was small, from the loveseat to the dining set to the fireplace with the soup cauldron hanging inside. Wafts of some type of spicy soup filled my nose and I inhaled deeply which garnered a tiny grin from the mouse. They tottered to the right where a tall closet door was, much taller than any of the others and the mouse fumbled with it before I leaned down a little to pull the knob and loose it from the jam. Inside was a cot, one that might even be my size, and when the mouse pulled it out I realized that it was.

 “Harry stay here some some time.” the mouse told me, and waved their tiny paws, motioning me to pull it open. I followed suit, folding it out and unleashing a plume of dust. The mouse squeaked and rushed to the cauldron to put a lid on the soup and then rapidly flailed about to get the dust moats away from the fire and dinner. They then turned and plucked a pillow from the couch and tossed it to me. I caught it but barely with enough time to catch the blanket they threw my way.

 “Isn’t it a little too late for dinner?” I asked distractedly, looking warily at the old cot, wondering how many screws it didn’t come with.

 “It never too late for din din.”

 “Hm.” I nodded, pretending I followed. 

 “Pokie, get stuffs for move in tomorrow, okie?” I nodded again, and the mouse smiled.

Chapter Text

Abigail's Point of View

    I stretched my arms over my head in an arc, mid yawn. The light streamed in through the window covering the floor in buttery yellow light and I rubbed my eyes while putting two fuzzy sock covered feet onto the ground. I went to get up but a knock sounded on the door and in walked my father, right on into the room without giving me a second to reply. I bristled. So like him to just butt in on my privacy. The ambiance I had felt disappeared and I grimaced at him, “Do you have to just barge in like that?” He only gave me a sidelong glance before saying,

 “I’m your father and this is my house, I can do as I need to.”

 I sighed, looking at my fuzzy socks again. There was no winning with him. 

 “I actually came in for a valid reason,” he remarked. 

 I noticed the dark circles under his eyes and the papers in his back pocket but he didn’t pull them out, only said further, 

 “We have a new visitor in town,” the irritation shone in his eyes, “and I need to ask you for some… assistance. If you have the time.” I knew it wasn’t a question by the authority he spoke with. Father sighed and I waited only furthermore for him to go on. This town saw very little action, and nearly no new residents so the smallest bit of change could drum up an unbearable amount of drama. I suffered to keep my eyes from rolling. As if he could see my annoyance, he shot me a glare before finally finishing his speech. 

 “I need you to go find the farmer's granddaughter, Roselyn,” I blinked, surprised, “she recently tried moving into the old farmhouse and I had to boot her out. I need you to find out if she is still going to pursue getting the farm back because if she is, we’re going to have a much bigger issue on hand. And,” he added, “don’t mention that I’m your father, we want the edge in this situation.”

 Per usual he didn’t ask my opinion on anything, just ordered what he needed done. I glowered at him. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered under my breath, eye roll very apparent this time. I couldn’t believe yet again my father felt the need to boss me around with his patriarchal attitude. 

 He gave me a near sinister look and I glanced away, not caring if it’d fuel his fire further or not. Just because it was his house didn’t mean he owned me too. In fact, I was starting to understand how the new farmer might be feeling at this very moment. Inferior at least. The feeling was more than mutual in any case. Father just had a certain way of needing complete control over everything in his path. “You know what?” I said after a moment of silence, “I will go find the farmer.” Father sighed and slumped back into his seat. 

 “I’m sorry I’m piling so much on you... I’m just really stressed. We just bought the place and there’s already problems.” He rubbed his temples

 I didn’t answer, feeling only slightly guilty. Sometimes we were just not on the same wavelength. I sighed myself, resigning from the conversation. 

~

 The following afternoon I set out to find Roselyn. The night before I had racked through my brain of all the possible places she could be staying, even contemplating something like Linus’ tent, before remembering the tiny abandoned house that resided just below Marnie’s farm. After some more thought and lunch in my system, I readied myself in the mirror and went on my way. 

 It took me an hour and a half to get there and upon near arrival, I could hear the forest floor creaking ominously with every step. The shade above me made it so the forest appeared darker than it really was outside and as I walked closer I noticed it was the rickety house itself making the noise, barely standing up properly. The wood had rotted out in some spots and I wouldn’t have typically given it a second look if beneath the ripped curtains weren’t beautifully ornate hats. Another creaking noise and the door swung open halfway off the hinges as the mouse walked out nonchalant. The absurdity of it staved off my alarm.

 The mouse grinned at my abnormal behaviour “Ah, you come for hat or to snoop?” They pondered for a moment. “Or you come for Pokie?” they offered to my given silence. “Pokie not here, Pokie go to be alcoholic at Stardrop.” The mouse shrugged, their paws outstretched in earnest. 

 I exhaled after realizing I’d been holding my breath, there was a mouse talking to me but I wasn’t sure how to cope with that right now. “Oh, oh, okay.” I gave them a lopsided smile and turned on my heel. I was a little disoriented, did I really just witness a mouse talking to me? I shook my head before remembering my manners but not daring to turn around and voiced over my shoulder, “Thank you!” then continued at a quicker pace. 

 I groaned, then stopped, not wanting to complain even to myself. I needed to head to the saloon then and I continued my trek East, then shortly North thankful that my navigation skills were working alright. As I got closer, I began to feel nervous. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to say to Roselyn, or what I needed to say at all. I suddenly wished I had asked my father more questions and not been so confrontational with him. 

 Standing outside the door to the saloon I took a deep breath, trying to center myself before meeting, and antagonizing, our newest resident. The door flew open and Pam came barreling out, making me yell and nearly fall off the stairs.

 “Aww Abby! Sorry just not-” Pam couldn’t get the words out before she hurled over the side of the stairs. “Oh whoops… I guess…” she pushed past me and continued to vomit and I stared at her mouth agape. This already wasn’t going how I wanted, and there was no way I could center myself after that. It flitted through my mind that now might be a good time to just turn around and go home, but the heaving Pam was kind of in the way anyways so I shuddered and pushed my way inside trying to resolve my determination but failing.

 Once through the door I glanced around, noting all the usual suspects, minus Pam. Everyone’s mood seemed to be jovial, and there was no gaggle of people huddled around any certain table or the bar, so maybe she wasn’t here…

 “Abby! Hey! Come over here and meet the new farmer!” I froze, my shoulders lifting like a cat caught off guard. Slowly, I relaxed my body and turned cautiously to look at this woman that stood next to my best friends, pool cue in hand and looking entirely too comfortable. A pang of resentfulness ate at my heart but I tried to ignore it. I took deliberate steps into the game room, trying to seem as at ease as possible. “This is Ross! We told her all about you, and don’t worry, we already let her know there’s no getting a discount at Pierre’s outta you!” Sam said, laughing and shooting her a wink. Already a nickname, and the jealousy coiled in me surreptitiously. Sebastian seemed dour as usual but when Roselyn handed him the cue for his turn, he gave her a small smile. Betrayal flitted in my stomach and it must have read on my face because Sam shot me a look with widened eyes that I knew meant ‘Hey stay chill right now’ before it melted into his custom grin. “Ross” only gave me a small, tight nod. I realized we both already knew who the other was, and my earlier ideas of what I’d say to her crumbled with my will power to deal with this situation. Sam gently elbowed my rib cage.

 “Uh, hey… Roselyn,” I said, and it made the new girl smile, mouth pulled a little too tight. I took notice when she didn’t correct me to the nickname my friend’s were already using. Sam seemed to notice too, as well as the air that had become a little thicker with tension. 

 “Hey, maybe you guys could-” I cut Sam off.

 “I was actually wondering if I could talk to you. New… uh… new resident stuff, is that okay? Maybe we can talk outside?” I asked. Roselyn shrugged, already relieved of the cue. 

 “Seb, maybe Sam can shoot for me?” she asked, and Sebastian nodded while one of my hands curled into a fist by my side. I didn’t like how much this new girl was already throwing off the dynamic. Not only with my friends, but with my family and our business as well. Turning sharply, I walked outside and trusted that Roselyn would follow with my friend’s eyes on our backs. 

 I headed off towards the picnic table, away from Pam’s expulsion, and chose to remain standing. I started, a little unsure of myself having to be so aggressive about the situation, “Well, you already know I’m Pierre’s daughter.” 

 “That asshole? Yeah, I know,” she commented. I teemed with disbelief, even though I’d been saying the same things myself. But it wasn’t in her right. 

 I looked down for a second then cursed myself for looking so docile already. I pulled my face back to hers, now looking intently into her eyes, they almost took me aback, the brown hues were ablazen and… stunning. It caught me off guard. “I just, I need to talk to you about the property,” I managed to gruff out. “My father will be seeking legal action if you decide to continue getting the warehouses back.”

 “Do you mean the farm?” Roselyn suggested smugly. 

 “No, I mean the warehouses and the land they reside on,” I said, confident in my words. “I know this has been explained to you already, but you gave up the farm based on neglect.” I had chosen my words carefully, but I still felt a pinch of guilt. A guilt that was clearly written across Roselyn’s face. 

 “I really don’t give a shit,” she said, the fire burning even brighter in her eyes. “I will continue to do whatever I want. And that means getting back what is rightfully mine. You know absolutely nothing if you think it was truly neglect that made me lose my dead grandfather’s farm.”

 My face blanked. That seed of guilt built and I cursed myself yet again for letting it get to me. I pushed forward with what I needed to say anyways, “Well you’re not going to fit in around here if you’re going to immediately be a bitch to people,” I huffed. “Even if you get the farm, how in the hell are you going to fit in?” I finished. I had said my peace and she obviously had stated hers. I turned away from the picnic table, away from Roselyn and headed inside. I could hear her footsteps heavy behind me, and as I opened the door and looked back at her face one last time, I couldn’t bear it and immediately shut the door on her. 

 Once inside, I beelined for the couch in the game room, inwardly wishing that I hadn’t even walked back inside… I didn’t know what was worse. The silent judging wonder of half the town on me as I walked back inside or the continued torture of my confrontation with Roselyn. I wished I could just teleport into bed, wrap myself in my blanket, and sleep forever. 

 “Hey… where’s Ross?” Sam asked innocently.

 “Do you mean Roselyn?” I asked, unable to ebb the snark from my voice. Sam looked away in response and I followed suit, jumping a little when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

 “Abby… are you okay?” Sebastian asked, sitting next to me and peering out from under his dark mop of hair. His concern would normally be touching, but I jerked my shoulder away scowling now. 

 “Yeah, honestly, it was nothing. I’m gonna play Prairie King,” I said, and stalked off towards the distraction.

Chapter Text

Ross’ Point of View  

  Our eyes locked for a brief moment, and then-. Did she really just slam the door on me? I stared at where she had been standing in shock, thinking about those blue eyes that froze me to my core. I shuddered at the mere thought and tried not to let it faze me, but it was hard to let go. I thought about going back in for a split second, to pick a fight, to make things right, to do something other than walk away but I turned away anyways just as she had done moments ago and began yet another long walk home. Alone. This town left me feeling empty, I hoped that would change, but right now my best friend was a mouse. My shoulders sagged at the thought. At least it was someone, I figured, picking up the pace as the sun began to settle over the tree line. 

 At some point I broke out into a semi jog, mulling over all these new revelations that had happened over the past few weeks. Quitting my job had been unplanned and I’d seen the farm as a stone I could backstep onto. When I’d e-mailed the mayor, an auto response had informed me of his ill sister, and that he’d be back in a couple weeks. I thought that would be fine, that I could handle it- but given what had just happened? The mayor couldn’t come back soon enough. 

 The next couple days dredged by, walking through life right now was like wading in mud up to my knees. It wasn’t suffocating but I wasn’t happy. The mouse had offered me a job, which was weird, because no one ever came by to buy hats. I wasn’t sure if anyone even knew of the hat shop near the sewage system, but it was a job regardless. Somehow the mouse even paid me, although the room and board felt like it should be payment enough. I sometimes thought about the parsnip seeds, rotting away in the ground. Dying there along with my earlier hopes. I sat now, behind a counter that faced the ocean, dozens of beautiful hats becoming discolored in the bright sun. It felt poignant. I put my head in my hand, elbow propped on the counter and sighed deeply. Behind me the mouse stirred, and little feet pattered up. I didn’t turn around even when the mouse started speaking. 

 “Poke… why long face?” the mouse asked. 

 “Well… I’m grateful to be here but… I’d rather be living in my grandpa’s old house… my house that is. But that damn general store owner took it over.”

 “Pierre.” the mouse said. I glanced back to see the mouse nodding sagely, and I wondered how the mouse knew the name of someone who probably didn’t know they existed. I shirked the thought away and continued.

 “Yeah, that asshole.” I said, thinking of how Abigail had vehemently defended her dad and I rolled my eyes. “I was only like 3 weeks late to claim the property. It was willed to me but… honestly I hadn’t come back in three years so…” I groaned, and pushed my fingers through my hair, trying to tamp down a sudden headache. This whole situation was a weight in my stomach and it sort of felt like I’d never escape it. A little paw patted my shoulder, and I turned around fully to face them. 

 “Poke, you go to mayor, petition for land reclamation. One year grace period. Sorta sorta imminent domain, better use for town for farm maybe, Ferngill Republic allow for popular town vote- warehouse, farm, which better? They decide.” I stared in shock once again at the sudden use of legal jargon. 

 “Are you… some sort of property expert?” I asked, laughing a little at the ridiculousness, but the mouse simply nodded. I trained my face to remain passive, wanting to laugh again but not wanting to offend the being that was pretty much keeping me afloat in Pelican Town. 

The mouse nodded, giving me a wink, “sorta sorta.” 

 I smiled in return. “By the way, if you don’t need me behind the counter anymore, I think I’m going to go walk and think some things through.” The mouse only waved it’s small paws, shooing me away, I obliged. 

~

 The sun continued to display itself above me, the heat surprisingly tolerable on my back. The temperature was pleasant and I walked onward, northbound. Although everything had felt so negative lately, the fresh air had seemingly cleared my head for the first time in over a week. With everything chaotic, I at least had a place to stay in the meanwhile. And the more I thought about it, I was deserving of this place more than I gave myself credit for. My grandfather had said to open the card when I needed to… And I did. Others simply judged without understanding the situation. If only they gave me as much attention and respect as they used to grandpa… but they only thought I was ungrateful. I straightened my back. Eventually I’d prove myself. Right in that moment, I stumbled up near the edge of my grandpa’s property. Ironic. Just by the property line sat a cart I’d never seen before. It looked straight out of a carnaval. My perplexity must have shown because the shopkeeper nodded for me to come over. I hesitated for a second, considering continuing my walk away from the strange cart, but something pulled me in the direction of it anyways. 

Her green hair stood out to me first, then the giant earrings that hung from her lobes. Both were fitting to her. I approached, but she spoke before me, “Welcome to the Traveling Cart,” she said cheerily, spreading her hands open to show what was in her cart. I gave her a half smile.

“I’ve never seen this place before…” I almost stuttered, I had never seen some of the things in her cart either. I stared pointedly at the coffee beans, which I was a sucker for. 

I couldn’t tell if she took my pause offensively but she filled the silence with, “Well I’m glad you stopped by,” she smiled, “By the way, you look like you have some Gotoro features, terracotta skin, green eyes, oh, and that nose, you have the same nose my aunt does, and that’s where she’s from.” Her smile beamed even more. “I’ll have you know, our coffee is from Gotoro and it wins out against Ferngill coffee anyday,” she winked, for the second time someone had that day. 

I shared her smile and replied, “I’m actually from Zuzu City but my mother was a refugee from Gotoro, so I suppose I should be the judge of that coffee then.” She laughed infectiously. I dug around my pockets for some coins.

“I suppose, so here, on the house,” she handed me a small bag of coffee beans, “for the friendly conversation, and the promise you’ll spread the word of my cart.”

 I smiled gently, a little excited at the prospect of having even a pseudo friend in this town… outside of the mouse that is. 

 Not wanting to overstay my welcome, and always a little nervous at first around new people, I gave her a small wave and walked back toward my new home with an even fresher mind. The openness about my race, in a town that I thought might be racist especially towards Gotorans, gave me some peace. And this traveling merchant even had Gotoro family? Maybe this would be a little more multicultural that I’d anticipated. It set my mind at ease, and my heart felt just a tad lighter in my chest. 

~

 I woke up the next day bright and early, the sheets the mouse let me borrow wrangled around myself while the mouse themself shook me awake. 

 “Poke!” they announced, eyes wider than I’d seen them before, “Mayor here! Go! Do job now!” A low level of adrenaline rushed through me and I threw myself from bed, grabbing an outfit out of three and threw it on, rushing to the little window that looked out onto the ocean. I quickly removed the flimsy plyboard from it. 

 “Mr. Lewis!” I said, combing my fingers through my hair in a desperate attempt at some semblance of dignity. 

 “Oh! Young Miss Roselyn! I… didn’t expect you to be here,” he said peering around my head before refocusing on me. 

 “Yes… well, you see-” with this being my primary chance to explain myself, I tried to keep it succinct. That I’d just missed the deadline to reclaim the farm, but that I was dedicated to making it work and wanted to make my grandfather proud. Before launching into the small plan I’d formed on legally and professionally reclaiming the land I felt rightfully belonged to me. Through it all, Mayor Lewis looked at me through thick, furrowed brows, his grey mustache twinging at times over little details I didn’t spare him, such as how rude Pierre had been. It was at the end of all this, prattling on for nearly an eternity, that he simply nodded. 

 “Well, I… hear you out Miss Roselyn, and I welcome your paperwork on my desk any time, preferably at the same time I assume Pierre puts in his petition. I wish I’d been around to mediate this, and we had tried to reach out to you, but it seemed that you and your parents had moved from your old address? But, if what you say is true, there is hope for you and… I wish you well,” he smiled then, “But… honestly I’m weary from traveling. I’d been hoping a new green flat cap would hide the bags under my eyes, I’m not growing to look any younger you know.” This was accompanied with a small chortle as I rushed to fill his order, hearing the slight tapping of clawed feet behind me that sounded just the slightest bit impatient. 

 After getting everything together and giving him his change, I cast my eyes down a little. “I… hope your sister does well, I’m keeping you both in my thoughts.”  Lewis nodded at this, giving me a small, thin smile, his face lined with exhaustion. 

 “Thanks, Ross. I will for you too, keep pushing, okay?” I raised my eyes to meet his, and nodded firmly. Something told me I would already have one vote secured in my favor. 

Chapter Text

Abigail's Point of View

 Prairie King was still on my screen when I heard a knock on the door. Seconds later black hair and dark eyes peeped around the corner and I let out a breath of air as Seb walked into the room, hands in pockets. 

 “Abby, hey, first of all, are you okay? Second of all, what the hell?”

 I blinked. 

 “I want to be your friend right now but you can’t just brush me off like that and not explain anything to me. I see you have attitude with other people, your father, even your guinea pig but rarely ever with me and Sam. I just don’t get it. What is going on up there?” he tapped the side of his head.

 I sucked on the side of my cheek, “It really wasn’t the time or place to explain anything… I’m sorry I left so abruptly but I felt so overwhelmed.” I almost choked up with how much pent up frustration I realized I had. He waited patiently for me to say more. “I’m sorry,” I repeated, “I know it was out of character and what I’m about to tell you needs to stay between us because it involves legal information.” I breathed in, then out, then spilled everything in one go. I told him about my dad buying the property after years of it just sitting there and how the new farmer had swooped in to take it away. I let him know every detail of my father’s arrogance and Ross’ attitude. The only detail I did leave out was how she made me feel when she looked at me, but that was besides the point anyways. The important parts were spoken. It felt good to let some of the information flow freely out of me and off of my shoulders, it felt like water had swept through my veins cleaning out everything negative. 

 Seb gave me the smallest of smiles. “That wasn’t so hard now was it?” he teased. Then he became serious again. “But that was no way to treat Ross. I understand you guys have beef now, but just because your dad is having issues with her doesn’t mean you have to let your emotions get wrapped up into things. Just try to remember, you’ve had your issues with your dad and you know how he can be. I haven’t spent too much time with Ross, in fact just that once, but she seems to be pretty cool and not at all the person your father makes her out to be.” His look was hard but I could see the softness in his eyes.  

 “Yeah… maybe you’re right but she was such a bitch… I mean she was nice to you guys but maybe she’s one of those girls that doesn’t like being friends with other women.”

 “Abby, you don’t like being friends with other women.”

 “And? I was here first, okay? She can’t just barge in and claim not only a chunk of my family's land, but my friends too!” I crossed my arms in front of myself, a little indignant. My veins now burned where the water had been, and I was feeling a little out of sorts. 

 “Okay but I seriously doubt she was trying to personally attack you when she got here, seriously Abby- Abby,” he moved to fill my gaze again, as I’d turned away from him, chewing more furiously on the inside of my cheek.

 “What?! I hear you, okay!”

 “Okay, cool. Well, I’m gonna go now, that okay?” he asked, now walking back around where I was sitting towards the door. He turned back around for a moment, to look me in the eyes. I nodded my head towards the door, eyes widening with emphasis. He shook his head. “Well, I’ll go. But I’m seriously just trying to help you see the other side. I really wanna help, but you don’t need to be taking your frustration out on me and Sam. We’ll be there for you when you want us. Love you, Abby.” He closed the door gently behind himself, and didn’t look back at me when he did. 

 My head hung in shame. I could’ve cut the disappointment that saturated the air with a knife. Disappointment that had radiated from him, but also that swelled inside me. I stood, then let myself fall belly first onto my bed, sighing heavily. My ribcage felt like iron bars, caging and squeezing my lungs, and I couldn’t help the tiny sob that broke past my lips. I bunched my sheets gently in my hands and pitied myself for a while. Eventually though, I rolled back over onto my back, hands daintily resting over my heart and stared upwards in consideration. Seb was right. She probably didn’t even know the property had been sold when she got here, and I honestly hadn’t given her a chance to be civil with me. I pushed myself up to sit on the edge of my bed, and glanced over at my flute case beside me. Now was as good a time as ever to go outside to play it, with dusk just around the corner. I’d play up in the mountains, maybe Sebastian would hear my apology in the music… because I wasn’t ready to say it to him in person.

~

 The grass swayed beneath my feet as I drew my flute out. The water beside me sang a song of its own. I brought the instrument to my lips and began playing an apology to the wind, hoping Sebastian would hear it off in the distance. I had been such a brat in both of our previous conversations and I couldn’t bear us being upset with each other over petty arguments. I kept the serenading up and halfway through my song, the sound of someone walking could be heard behind me. I smiled wide, thankful, then whipped around to hug Seb and gasped. I was toe to toe with none other than Ross. I jumped back at least three feet, the hair at the nape of my neck standing at attention. I bared my teeth. “What are you doing here?” I hissed. She gawked at me, rubbing at her own neck and averted her gaze. 

 “I, uh, I heard you playing. Well, really I came up here to get some peace of mind and go fishing, but I heard music. It honestly sounds really good, not that I’m a great judge of music or anything.” 

 She looked uncomfortable. I let my shoulders relax just a tad, still not letting my guard completely down; coincidence or not it was still an odd occurrence for us to show up at the same spot at the same time. I shrugged at her. “I play sometimes, it’s not a big deal,” I bluffed. She didn’t look particularly convinced but she didn’t try to tell me otherwise. The silence became awkward. 

 “Right… well, it was good regardless.” Ross toed at the dirt, still looking to the ground. She seemed to become deep in thought, staring down at a small tuft of grass.

 “So are you going to fish now?” I asked. Ross continued to study the ground. “Ross?”

 Her head snapped up to stare into my eyes, dark brown pools that I could fall into. I shivered… from the cold. 

 “So, calling me Ross now? When did I become good enough for you?” she asked, and walked over to lean on a nearby fence post, not daring to look at me again. Instead, her gaze focused out at the mountain lake. It looked like she was trying to gain a leg up in the tense quasi rivalry we had. I wasn’t going to let that slip by. Her eyes shifted to me, narrowing. I knew she took my silence as calculation and suddenly I felt heat come to my face. She grinned then, and turned herself so her elbows were propped on the fence and her body faced me. It felt like a cat and mouse game, and I wasn’t sure who was who. That wolfish look on her face told me all I needed to know. I resolved myself to win.

 “Sure, like you haven’t always been enough for me,” the words slipped out in an order I didn’t mean. I suddenly was standing ramrod straight, face heating. “I… I didn’t mean it like that. I meant to say-”

 “Sure Abby!!” Ross almost shouted, pitching forward to bark out a laugh. “Sure that wasn’t what ya meant. You’ve had eyes for me since we met, huh? Not too much for you to look at in this town?”

 “No! Fuck you! I’m not even… I’m not even like that.” I crossed my arms heavily across my chest, losing steam mid sentence. I wanted to leave now.

 As if she could tell, she tucked her fishing pole away and turned. “Okay Abby, whatever you say.” She winked before walking away. 

 “You didn’t even fish…” I said as a last minute retaliation. 

 She didn’t even bother to look back. I scoffed. It really was time to go home I thought, and left just as soon as she was far enough into the distance feeling surprisingly, pleasantly- warm.

Chapter Text

Ross’ Point of View

 After two days, Mayor Lewis had dropped by to deliver the paperwork for me to fill out with an explicit command to bring it by that Friday. So here I was, standing in his office, shifting from side to side, and dreading watching Abigail saunter through the front door. Probably like she owned the place, just like her dad. I rolled my eyes, already exasperated. A reminder creeped into my mind of our awkward? Pleasant? Timid? Conversation we’d had up by the lake in the mountains. I tried to keep my face passive and did my best to concentrate on inspecting the floor lamp I was standing next to, just within the threshold of his home. Mayor Lewis was searching through some drawers, mumbling about finding a big enough binder for such a large legal case. Large by this town’s standards at least. In walked Abigail, her hair lifting and falling gently with the wind made by the door. I watched one dark curl closely as it fluttered back down to her chest, before following the strand back up to her face. I felt my face heat slightly, and I turned away again to look at the lamp.

 “Took you long enough,” I said, feigning a grumpiness I knew I didn’t feel. Bashfully, I pulled some of my dark hair to the front so it slightly hid my face from view, and crossed my arms tightly in front of myself. I found myself in this position often, when Abigail was near.

 She narrowed her eyes in my direction, but took a step inside before spreading her arms out in a placating gesture. “I am sorry, Mr. Lewis, my father needed some help at the store and it took a little longer to load in the new apple shipment that we’d anticipated.”

 “No harm, Abigail,” he said, but didn’t look up as he sorted through a circus of colorful folders, random office supplies, and miscellaneous papers. Finally, he selected one that somehow stood out from the others- what he saw in it, I didn’t know. He looked up at the both of us a little dazed as if he had gotten much too sidetracked into finding this folder. He straightened his cap. “I’ve brought you both here to turn in your paperwork, and you’ve done so kindly, so the next step is for me to take a look over them before they get sent in. Give me some time over the weekend, and I’ll get it mailed out by Monday. They should get it in Zuzu City within two weeks. How long it takes from there, I’m not sure. It all depends on the backlog in the offices there.”

 My mouth fell open, and when I turned to look at Abigail, hers had fallen open too, and so mine snapped shut.

 “I can’t have that! Two weeks? Why so long?” Abigail asked, stress etched into the creases of her brow.

 “Do you not write to anyone in Zuzu? The mail gets picked up from our town only once every couple weeks or so,” he explained.

 Abigail looked beyond frustrated. “Please, there has to be some other way. My father gave me explicit directions to have this there immediately. We must have just missed the deadline for it to go out,” she groaned.

 Lewis gave her an inquisitive look, a look that turned into deep thought, then into a moment of decision. “Well, I guess you could always deliver it yourselves right to the courthouse. It’s a four hour drive though. Well, you probably know that Ross, but I’m not sure how often you’ve left Pelican Town, Abigail.”

 “Only a few times as a kid,” she admitted, and I shot her a surprised look. How could anyone live like that? Forever in a place so small, even with it being so nice. Although, I couldn’t imagine how it would be to have grown up here, let alone what I’d be feeling after living here for a couple years. If I was even able to stay, as hospitable as the mouse was, I couldn’t see myself living with them for longer than a few months. I found myself lost in thought, and reentered consciousness as Mayor Lewis was inquiring whether Abigail had a license.

 “No,” she admitted, “I’ve never learned how to drive, honestly.” I rolled my eyes at this. She was barely an adult! Never left this tiny town, didn’t know how to drive, seemed way in over her head with all this legal stuff. She must’ve caught the eye roll because she turned sharply to me. “If you’re gonna say something, then say it.” I forced down a smirk, and shrugged, keeping my eyes focused forward at Lewis. His brows furrowed in my direction, but sank lower when he looked to Abigail.

 “Abigail, you know you’ll need to have Ross drive my truck and you to the courthouse.” At that, my eyebrows shot up a little but I stayed silent. He must’ve realized neither of us had vehicles, and one of us didn’t even have a license, so it was obvious we’d need some type of transportation. I was just surprised he’d offer his so quickly.

 “There is no way. Seriously. My dad can drive… us. But I’m not riding alone with Roselyn.” I took notice of the vitriol she imbued into my name. It stung more than I’d anticipated, and I crossed my arms in front of my chest but said nothing.

 “The town needs your father here, running the store. And I think I’d like to see you two work this out amongst yourselves. Mediation is a skill being lost in you young folk! Now I will be looking over these papers this weekend, and you can take the truck to Zuzu City on Monday.” he said sternly. Abigail shrank, but the ghost of anger still hung around her. His word felt final, and it turned out Abigail must have thought so too because we both begrudgingly nodded.

~

 Later that Friday night my irritation had not subsided. Although I didn’t typically drink to take away my daily issues, it was looking tempting. After a moment of contemplation, I said fuck it, and set out the door in the direction of the saloon. I deserved a drink after the headache Abigail had so pleasantly given me. I rubbed my temples at the thought.

 Thirty minutes later, I arrived at the saloon door, setting my hand on the knob preparing to open it, but it started turning itself. I backed up immediately and low and behold Sebastian stood there in my way. His eyes widened, just barely, and he shut the door, pulling out a cigarette before letting his eyes slide to mine again. “I know you’re here just to grab a beer like everyone else, but I just want to let you know here and now, Abigail is not in the best of moods… I actually enjoy your presence so I just don’t want to see her ruffle your feathers.” My eyes narrowed just as much as his had widened,

 “I can handle my own, but thanks,” I grumbled, although not quite appreciatively. He shrugged and lit his cigarette. I went inside.

 The first person to greet me was Emily, and she waved to me as a patron, eager to pour my beer. We shared a second of polite words before purple hair got caught in my peripheral vision. Sebastian had given me a fair warning but it still caught me off guard how furious she looked, even looking a little drunk. I turned my head away from Emily as she slid the beer over to me and it nearly fell off the table. My cheeks heated, embarrassed that I let Abigail distract me that badly but thankfully neither of them noticed, except for Sebastian who had coolly reentered the building after his smoke and raised an eyebrow at me. I took a long swig of the beer, then a deep breath. She didn’t intimidate me, and with the alcohol beginning to run through my veins, I actually believed it.

 I willed myself to turn away, and chugged the rest of my beer before ordering another one. Emily gave me a sidelong look, but said nothing as I tipped her too. I grabbed the second beer and pushed away from the counter, already feeling the effects of drinking. It was an invigorating feeling and it fueled my irritation into anger. I did nothing to stop it and just rode with the tide on this one. Abigail… That pissed me off something fierce. They way she sassed others, how she always got her way, the way she’d sneer at me and especially the way she said my name. It all just blew my anger over the top.

 I hadn’t realized I was inching closer and closer to her, my knuckles white from squeezing the beer handle so hard. I was so close I could nearly touch that luscious hair... my thoughts nearly misguided, but I realigned to my anger again. As if she could feel my presence or my stare, she whirled around and hissed at me, drunkenness in her own eyes. It was like pouring water on my head. For the second time that night I jumped back and then cursed myself for hyping it up that I wasn’t intimidated, even if it had just been in my head.

 “What are you doing here,” she growled, grabbing the side of the chair to twist and look into my eyes. It was like she looked clear past them and into my soul. I grimaced as she brought her hand back as if to smack me, but she was just reaching for her drink. Something frilly and pink. I regained my composure. So she did intimidate me… just a little bit, but I didn’t have to show it.

 “I’m here for a drink,” I shrugged, schooling my face into an uninterested look. It took one look from her to know she didn’t believe me. “I mean it,” I reinforced pitifully. It was true for the most part… although if it were a hundred percent true, I would have turned away when Seb had advised me to. My thoughts were drowning as I downed the second beer. Or maybe it was my third and time had lapsed. I shook my head, eyes closed for what felt like a split second. When I opened them again, her red eyes had kept their wavering but persistent stare on me. What was it about this girl that made me so crazy? It dug deeper than the surface details, I knew that much.

 I prepared for another blow of her words to hit me but none came, instead she sniffed and turned her head up and away, as if I didn’t exist.

 I didn’t know what had gotten into me, maybe the fact she wasn’t distracting me with her face anymore, but I grabbed her shoulder. “Don’t look at me like I’m worthless, like I don’t mean anything to you, like I’m not here!” I yelled.

 Her eyes went from disgusted to enraged, “Don’t you fucking touch me”, she slugged my hand off of her, “and don’t you fucking talk to me like that either,” this time when she swung her arm back, I knew the aim was my face, but a hand grabbed it before it could meet me. I winced. Gus had a hold of that hand.

 “Forgive me for grabbing you, young lady, but you can both take this outside. There’s no room in this bar for that kind of behaviour. I expected better from you Abigail.” He managed to keep his voice under control, unlike ours had. I felt a hand grab my arm as Seb took the both of us and headed for the door. It all happened so fast. How drunk was I? Gus appeared at the door as we exited, “and don’t come back until you’re sober… or actually until you can figure yourselves out,” he frowned and slammed the door. Just beyond it, I could hear the townspeople gasping and gossiping and I let the shame seep deep into my bones. I was humiliated. Seb quickly turned and slunked back inside.

 “Sorry guys, but I’m out for this one,” was all he said. Then we were alone.

 I could hear her fuming like a kettle. It was obvious. I rolled my eyes.

 “There you go again! With that eye roll!” she all but shouted, and lurched forward towards me, hands open to shove at me but with this fresh air and the scolding, I’d sobered just enough to catch her by her wrists. I glared down at her, barely, only an inch taller. We stared at each other for a heartbeat, and I noticed that as her face turned red, mine also began to heat up. Without thought, I leaned forward just a hair and she took in a breath before yanking herself out of my grasp. I turned away, that shame in my bones becoming almost painful.

 “I can walk you home.” I all but murmured, and she nodded. We were both pretty quiet, just standing there with the sound of frog song in the forest. I tossed my head in the direction we needed to go, and felt it spin. My first step forward couldn’t have been a sturdy one, but Abigail seemed to pay no mind. Out of the heat and the lights from inside, we both seemed to have grown inward and more ashamed. Two dogs finally let out the gates, but now that we could fight, it turned out to be all bark and no bite. We walked quietly up the brick paths, my shoes scuffing lightly against the raised edges. I was unused to such a quaint walkway, whereas hers were much more used to it, the way she was much more used to this new life I’d decided on. I felt inferior, and tried to remember to pick up my feet. When we finally got to the front of the store I hated seeing, she began pulling her hair to one side, and then running her hands through it in less of a playful way than it was stressed.

 “Thanks for… walking me home I guess.” I nodded. “Maybe… I don’t know Ross. I think we need to… talk things through. Or something. Maybe meet me up at the water fountain tomorrow? It’s near the community center.” I nodded again. “Cool… I’ll bring lunch.” She looked up at me for a moment, and we stared at each other again. I licked my lips absently, and she turned away, without a second word or glance, and walked into the shop. I was left standing in the cool spring air with much to weigh heavy on my mind.

Chapter Text

Ross’ Point of View

 I had never felt this way before… about anyone. It was so infuriating yet intriguing at the same time. I’d been in relationships, and had had romances here and there, but I’d never hated someone while wanting to be fully enveloped by them at the same time. Or is that what I wanted? Maybe I just missed having someone in general. I knew only Lewis and the Mouse in town, neither my preference when it came to anything romantic. Obviously. I was so confused. Abigail confused me. One second we’d be at each other's throats while other moments we’d be nose to nose, eye to eye, within arms reach and begging for affection. Would I be able to make up my mind at all? It sure seemed unlikely these days. Nothing wanted to be stable. Right now would be the worst possible time to get involved with anyone for any sake. Particularly one whose father wanted to rid me of my family’s land... I needed to get my mind right. I needed to get my farm back. And I fully intended to talk some things through with Abigail today at lunch. Wait… was this a date? I palmed my forehead. No way. Get your mind straight, Ross… Or not straight? Ugh. Not important. What was important was my land. And my family’s integrity. 

 I was determined.  

Abigail’s Point of View

 I threw on a dainty little dress and pulled my hair halfway up before leaving. I wasn’t sure why I wanted to dress up a bit, but it was an important… meeting I’d be going to, so I figured why not. It didn’t take me long to walk up to the water fountain, and upon arrival, Ross sat on the edge of the fountain, staring into it as if deep in thought. I watched her for a moment, letting my eyes travel over her. She wore simple clothes per usual but looked completely different today for some reason. I couldn’t tell why and although I was perplexed, I shoved it into the back of my mind along with the thought of how Ross had almost kissed me. Or was that just pretentious thinking? I shoved that away too. 

 I walked closer and set a basket full of Spicy Eel and two slices of chocolate cake next to Ross, spooking her momentarily. Her gaze glided from my face, to my shoes, and then away from me, focusing on the back of her hand that was resting on the fountain edge. “Sorry,” I said with a small smile, blushing from her look. I needed my favorite comfort food to make it through this conversation. To me, there were several layers of… tension. At first, it had been easy to define my feelings. But after the closeness and stillness of the night when she’d had a hold on me. My stomach felt in knots, not nearly matching the expression on my face. 

 “It’s fine,” she said. She seemed grumpy. “So, why did you want to meet?”

 “Isn’t it obvious?” I asked, but by her narrowing eyes I took a mental step back with my tone. “I mean, I just think it might be good to talk over our upcoming trip, right? We’ve had a turbulent relationship since we met and I don’t feel like sitting in a car bickering for a total of eight hours. We can just start with a clean slate? You think we can?”

 I wanted to hold my breath, as I watched Ross mull this over, an oyster rolling sand that cut and bit at her insides. I hoped she’d make a pearl out of this situation. “I guess so,” she said. My heart exhaled, catching me off guard and I smiled for possibly the first time with a genuine feeling towards her. I did hope we’d make this relationship work. This friendship, I quickly amended internally. But I sat a little closer, closer than I’d ever thought we’d sit. 

 “I’m really glad, honestly. I want this to be… as civil as we can make it. I know my dad can be… difficult,” I said, and watched as Ross visibly held her tongue, given the pinched look that crossed her face. I couldn’t help but laugh. Her face lit up, yet inquisitively. “Thanks… It’s different when other people make an ordeal about him. We might argue a lot but… my family is pretty close.” I moved to take out the eel, and out of the corner of my eye, spotted Maru. They were friends right? Maybe this could turn into a little get together rather than an intense discussion about property rights and how we were going to travel. I kind of wanted to keep this going with some semblance of a future friendship, hopefully burgeoning. “Hey, there’s Maru,” I remarked, looking over at Ross with some excitement. But was met with curiosity. 

 “Oh? Okay… I didn’t know her name. You two friends?” 

 I shrank back. “Oh… not really.” 

 “Okay, why, uh, why bring her up?” She looked mildly uncomfortable.

 “Well… I thought you guys might be friends. I haven’t seen you two hang out?” I bluffed, trying to track back to when I’d ever seen them next to each other, let alone in the same room.

 “No. I don’t think we’ve said a word to each other. Do you think every person of color gets together immediately?” she asked, and said it with a chortle but I felt myself shrink further in, feeling some shame. 

 Why did I think they were friends? I felt absolutely ignorant. A small part of me wanted to push back, prove that I wasn’t being… that way. But another part of me thought I might want to just listen. 

 She continued, “You know… I’ve noticed that it’s not a very diverse town. I’m sometimes not sure of the… temperament here. My mom used to say she didn’t feel… entirely welcome sometimes. Being a refugee and all from an Empire we’re at war with.”

 I shrugged, feeling meek. “I mean… if I’m going to be honest…” I lowered my voice, “Some people here…” I clenched my fists, “They… are kind of overt about… disliking Gotorans.” Ross sat back, and looked up in contemplation. “But not me! Or- Or my family!” I hastily added. She tilted her face towards me and gave me a weak smile. 

 “Thanks for being honest. It’s hard sometimes for people to see me as anything but Gotoran. My mom’s had to deal with a lot in her life. The refugee population is a little more dense in Zuzu City. But, I’m hoping this town can prove to me that I can be accepted here. Maybe this can even be a place they retire to.” I nodded, listening intently. I’d never even left this town, and barely thought of Gotoro except when there was some chatter between Jodi and my mom about how her husband was when he was… a prisoner of war. I swallowed even though my throat felt dry. “You look a little uncomfortable,” she said. I shook my head once, but then chose to shrug. 

 “A little… I’m sorry.” It was all I could think to say. Ross shrugged too. And for at least a minute, we sat in that feeling of conflict and confusion, and complex issues neither of us might be up to tackling at that moment, with everything else going on. At least I felt a little more educated… a little less ignorant. “I do hope that you start to feel at home here, Ross. I hate that your coming here is already tumultuous, with all the legal stuff.”

 “So do you think I might get the farm back?” she asked. 

 I raised my eyebrows at her forwardness. “I, I don’t know. I think… we should just leave it up the court and the town, I guess.” Ross nodded, and leaned back again on her hands, while I finished unpacking our lunch.

Chapter Text

Ross’ Point of View

That Monday I went to go and pick up the papers from Mayor Lewis. While in the office I half hoped that Abigail would show up at the same time, but I was met with surprising disappointment when Lewis said she’d already grabbed hers. I would see her soon anyways I reassured myself. Not that it was a big deal.

It didn’t take me long to reach the front door of the shop, and I hesitantly opened the door hoping I wouldn’t have to see Pierre standing at the desk. I peeked inside, no Pierre in sight, and slid my way past the door and towards where I assumed their rooms were. I looked at each door, unsure of who’s to knock on and wished I had told Abigail to just meet me outside.

“I know what you’re here for,” Pierre’s voice sounded behind me, “but that doesn’t mean you need to be peeping around. This is my house, and this area isn’t for public display.” He said it without any venom which shocked me, and before I could even come up with a reply, Abby strutted out her bedroom door and took my elbow, quickly guiding us to and out the door.

“Bye dad!” she shouted behind her, then snickered. It was then I realized her sassiness could actually be quite amusing. I smiled.

~

I looked inside at Lewis’s truck and was suddenly exasperated. It was a manual. I rubbed my hand down my face, but got in regardless. I had only driven a stick shift twice before, luckily both had been trucks, and I racked my brain for the forgotten knowledge. As if Abigail could tell I was a bit lost, her face looked amused while mine was bemused. Not a good way to start things out.

“And you had the audacity to roll your eyes when I said I hadn’t driven!” she exclaimed with some hidden passion, as if she was waiting for a moment to call me out.

“Yeah yeah,” I waved her off, then rolled my eyes with a simper.

I pushed down on the clutch pedal, then started the car, my smirk growing bigger with satisfaction that I still had it. “Easy peasy, this drive is going to be a piece of cake.”

“I wish I had some damn cake,” Abigail said under her breath. My grin only grew.

We both waved to Lewis through the window who, thank Yoba, didn’t realize we had any trouble figuring things out.

~

The drive to Zuzu went by in a breeze, the country roads paved with beauty. Abigail snoozed in the passenger seat, as if she’d stayed up all night playing video games. It was honestly kind of cute, albeit boring during this drive. I half smiled, it was well enough, so that I could attempt to sort out all of these mixed emotions I felt towards someone sleeping next to me. Pulling up to the courthouse, I struggled with the gears for a moment and then set the parking break, leaning my head back with a sigh. Thank Yoba for cruise control. Gently, I nudged Abigail in the ribs, laughing when she grunted back.

“Abby. It’s time to bring the paperwork in.”

“Do it for me,” she croaked.

“That’s illegal. I’m not gonna forge your signature right after signing mine.”

“I believe in you,” she said while covering her face.

“No thanks, now let's go.” I unbuckled her seat belt, gently shaking her shoulder and she groaned back to life, eyes bleary and unaware. She rubbed at her face, placated her mess of dark purple hair, and threw herself from the truck bonelessly. I couldn’t stifle a laugh, and got out after she did, being sure to lock the truck now that we were in the city. When she met me around the back of the truck, I handed her her manila envelope, and we walked inside together. I was glad we’d had our fountain talk, because the whole ordeal was much less awkward than I’d anticipated.

When we came out, it felt like a weight was lifted, and my step may have been even a bit springy. But that went away, when we got in the car, and it wouldn’t turn on. We both tried to keep our cool, silent communication to destress emanating from each of us. We had flagged a security guard to come and help us with jump-starting the truck, but as the attempts to start the car proved futile, our frustration mounted. After several tries, we let the man go, and were then sitting together on the tailgate of the truck, feeling lost.

“Well… we should just try to find a payphone,” Abigail reasoned, and I kept from my signature eye roll.

“And call who? I guess your dad, and then he can get to Mr. Lewis?”

“I have Mr. Lewis’s phone number,” she responded, and pulled out a small address book from her purse.

“You keep an address book?” I asked, and was met with a shrug. “... That looks pretty new. In fact, it looks brand spanking new. Did your mommy make you come to Zuzu with one?” I mocked “mommy” in a babied tone.

“Fuck you,” she retorted, narrowing her eyes at me.

“She did, didn’t she?”

“So what?? It’s helping us now. It’s not bad to be prepared,” she huffed.

“No, you’re right!” I said, putting my hands up in defense but couldn’t help a snicker. She elbowed my ribs, and I doubled in exaggeration, looking to see her crack a small smile. Properly prepared, she even pulled out a little coin purse full of quarters.

“Come on,” she motioned. We walked towards the nearest payphone that was, thankfully, fairly close to the courthouse.

“Mr. Lewis?” she asked into the receiver, sounding entirely unsure, or nervous. “Yeah… yes we’re okay… No… Yeah… Well it won’t start, and we aren’t sure- Oh… okay. Okay. Sure, thanks… oh wait, can I get his number?... Mmhmm… mmhmm… okay, thanks Mayor Lewis! … No, we’re fine… yeah, okay. Thanks again…. Mmkay, bye!” the receiver beeped, and Abby hung up the phone.

“Well?” I asked.

“He said we could leave the truck here, that someone would come to tow it? There’s an auto place like a mile from here, and apparently he knows the man, so we can go and wait for the diagnostics and we don’t have to worry about the bill right now,” she said.

“The diagnostics.”

“Yeah… what?”

“Just your choice of words. It’s not a rocket ship, you know?” Abby rolled her eyes.

“Whatever, he said we take a right on Main, and a left on Cherry Street to get to the mechanic, by the time we get there, the truck should be pulled there.”

After we ran back to put the key in the sun visor, we started our walk. And sure enough, on our way to the mechanic, we saw the truck being pulled along, looking disgruntled as much as a truck could about being dragged down the road. Just a little truck in a big city. The driver honked at us a couple times in acknowledgment, and we waved, gaining on the truck once when it was stopped up in traffic. Eventually, we got to the mechanic only a bit after the truck did, and shortly after, got the bad news. The alternator would need replacing. Ugh. Another shit sundae. If things hadn’t been so messed up lately I would have been surprised, but at this point in our continuum it was expected. In fact, I felt reassured that I had the capacity to calm down and figure out a solution whereas a few weeks ago I’d have been more easily overwhelmed. Abigail looked particularly flooded herself and I knew I had to think on my feet.

“Well, I have money from working at the hat shop, we could use that and stay at a hotel?” I offered. Abigail looked hopeful.

“Where are we going to-”

“There’s a hotel down the road from here, we get stranded travelers rather often around here and that’s where most choose to say,” the mechanic stated, interrupting Abby’s thought. She didn’t seem to mind and only thanked him and I chimed in my agreement.

When we got to said hotel, I looked at the rates posted outside the front door and gulped. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d stayed somewhere, and as I sifted through the bills in my wallet, I became pensive. I looked at the sign, then back in my wallet, then up again, and back down. Abby leaned a little into my space and raised her eyebrows.

“Uh… how do you feel about sharing a bed.” She straightened herself away from me, looking stiff. Shuffling, she pulled a strand of hair taut, and wound it around a finger. It was captivating. She must have sensed that, and put her hand back down by her side awkwardly.

“I mean, we’re both girls. So who cares, right? That’s fine. I’ve shared a bed before. With a girl I mean. It’s not big deal. I’m fine with it. Are you? If anything I should ask you if you’re okay with it, I mean how long have you lived on your own? You probably haven’t shared a bed in a long time. With anyone. Or I don’t know. I don’t know your life, your trials and relationships, things move forward. Life is a stream that passes unaware of the frogs, I say,” she ended, biting her lip to keep from continuing the drivel. I wanted to crack a humored smile, but I didn’t want her to think it was me making fun of her.

“Cool.” I leaned closer to her, taking my chance. “Don’t be too tempted by me,” I daringly said, and then turned back forwards to walk into the air conditioned building quickly, so that it would hopefully cool off my heated face. I wanted to be suave and coy, but I needed to reel back the self confidence… that air was hard to pull off in front of Abigail Hampton.

I opened the door for Abby and let her through before following. The hotel was dingy and gray, clean but mundane. I shivered. It was also on the cold side, in fact I could visibly see the goosebumps on Abigail’s exposed neck. I shivered again but for another reason.

The front door led down a short hallway, then opened back up into a larger room where the front desk laid to the left. A short, stout woman greeted us with as much enthusiasm as the drab gray walls had given as we walked in. Our conversation was short and clinical, no smoking, no trashing the place, no parties, et cetera. I reluctantly gave her the last bit of money I had saved up from the mouse, and in return she gave us an ancient looking key without further question or looks.

The room itself was very small, but neat. The same gray walls were inside and the floor was a dark linoleum, probably to keep from stains showing, and there was a sink outside the bathroom door which was odd. I threw myself onto the bed and a plume of dust came up, causing Abigail to shriek with disgust. I bounced right back up, brushing myself off. There wasn’t as much grime as had appeared. As orderly as the place looked, they must have either not dusted it out or hadn’t used this space in a particularly long time. I looked to Abigail, then back to the bed with a sheepish grin. She looked all around at the walls and how close they put us. “This is it!” I said with as much fervor as I could. She looked all but elated.

There was a very teeny tiny balcony beside the bed that I even had to crawl over to get to, and opened it for fresh air. I was met with rain smacking my face and sighed deeply, was this really how the night was going to go? It nearly made me laugh… all of these adventures with Abby so far.

I shut the doors and Abby wrenched a window open instead, just a crack to keep the rain out. Then silence. She looked at her shoes. I just looked at her, especially nervous all of a sudden. I didn’t know where to go in such a compact space and just blanked.

Abigail made the first move, to go to the bathroom, and I let out the breath of air I didn’t realize I’d been holding. It was all so borderline comical to me how awkward things felt. It got worse though, when Abigail called out from the bathroom.

“Hey, is it okay if I wear my tank and underwear to bed?” I nearly choked on the musty air. My sputtering must have been audible. “If it makes you uncomfortable-”

“No!” I shouted, then reeled it in a bit. “No, it’s fine. I kinda thought I might do the same thing.” I called back. I didn’t want to wait for her to come out of the bathroom to undress, so I instead hastily pulled off my pants, and thanked my lucky stars that my shirt was just long enough to cover my behind. I hopped into bed, pulling the covers over my bottom half. I hadn’t shaved in at least a month or two. I cringed at the thought of these grasshopper legs squirming around under the covers. I jerked my head up from staring under the covers, and pulled the sheet down to tuck it under myself, as if the sheet would act as a wall to keep our skin from touching. Abigail wandered in, thighs so pale they glowed in the dimness of the room. I shifted uncomfortably, and she took no time in slipping into bed next to me. We said nothing, both flat on our backs and staring up at the ceiling, as we probably both stared at each other in our peripheral vision. I had that feeling, the feeling you get when you can sense someone looking at you. But we continued on in silence, the evening had grown old, and the light had dwindled to nothing outside the window.

“Do you snore?” she asked suddenly, and I jumped. “Sorry,” she said softly, and I turned my head to look at her. “It’s just… sometimes I have a hard time sleeping. I usually have the tv on to fall asleep… but, ya know.” She gestured to the lack of television in the room. I smiled at her ruefully.

“No worries. I wish there were even a clock radio… when I stayed at my grandpa’s I used to listen to the jazz they’d play for the late night broadcast.” She nodded, and said nothing, so I kept going without a real point to what I was saying. “Every summer I’d be there, pretty much. Until I was like… eleven I guess. I think everyone just got busy, and I had stuff going on with school over the summers… but I always missed my grandpa. He was a good man, hard working, always sent cards and remembered special events. I was lucky to have him, honestly. His wife, my grandma, died way before I was born… but she lived with him on the farm. It’s got so many memories.” I felt hot tears fall down my face before I was able to catch them, and I felt as Abigail’s body tightened next to me. Her eyes filled with emotion themselves, and I turned my face up towards the ceiling again, listening to rain outside softly pelt against the window.

Abby seemed to be reminiscing herself and out of nowhere simply said, “I’m really sorry.”

Although she didn’t say what it was for, it comforted me to the point I was able to drift off into sleep.

Chapter Text

Ross’ Point of View

 I woke up to a slap upside the head. “What the…” My eyes were now wide open, watching as Abigail’s body further climbed into my space. I had to have gasped in surprise because Abby started, her own eyes wide with shock. I jerked myself away from her at the same time as she did, but she was so much closer to the edge and toppled over the side of it with a small thump. She didn’t even bother to get up, just stared at the ceiling in contempt. I peered at her over the side of the bed and she still kept her gaze ahead before saying, 

 “How long have you been awake..?”

 “Uh, about as long as you have,” I gave her a chagrin smile.

 “For sure… I’m, uh, really sorry.” She pulled her arms over her face. “I sometimes thrash or move around in my sleep… always have. I should have mentioned that.”

 Oy Vey… I thought. I needed to start making things less awkward somehow… I needed to summon up the courage to talk more and make things a little easier to discuss, and executing that wasn’t necessarily easy. Instead, I offered her my hand. She grabbed it and with a little help hoisted herself up to a standing position. As she dusted herself off, she must have realized she was still half naked and pulled some of the sheets off the bed to cover herself, uncovering me in the process. This really wasn’t going to be easy, making things less awkward. Now was the time, and instead of getting overwhelmingly embarrassed I just stood up and said, “It’s seriously not a big deal,” shrugging as nonchalant as I could and didn’t bother to cover myself up, just pulled on my pair of pants. Right after, as she still stood mortified, I quickly grabbed her clothes as well and passed them to her. She dropped the sheet and I didn’t realize I was watching her like a creep as she messily pulled them on. I felt my cheeks turn rosy and looked away when she spied up at her through her thick lashes. Ugh. I was only making this more awkward. What the fuck. 

 “So, uh, lets go get the truck then? I saw a convenience store on the way here, maybe we can grab somethin’ from there? Eat in the truck or on the way to it?” Abigail nodded in agreement, and looked down. I nearly reached to grab her face but pulled back immediately, “Hey… for real, it’s not an issue. I mean it, I know I move around a lot too. And besides… it didn’t bother me.”

 I murmured the last part, and once again, turned away from the emotional confrontation and headed towards the door. Abigail followed behind me quietly, but when we checked out, we locked eyes for a moment and she smiled at me with sincerity. I swallowed back feelings… it was happening. I was growing fond of her in a way I wished I wouldn’t. 

 Once we had grabbed food and headed to the mechanic, things thankfully went smoothly. No need to wait days for the part to come in, no need to call back to town… perks of being in the city I remembered. It wasn't long before Abby was sliding into the seat next to me, and we were once again on the open road for our long trip home. The first hour passed in relative silence, just the windows cracked. We hadn’t even turned on the radio. It was a comfortable quiet, where each of us were steeped in our thoughts. 

 I was the one to break the silence when I asked, “So, how have the other trials in town gone?” She glanced my way with raised brows. 

 “Oh… I mean, I don’t know. We really don’t ever have them, I can’t even remember the last one. Maybe when my dad was fighting for Jojamart not to be let into the town.” I wished it never had, I thought to myself. The town would be better off without the retailer, and I couldn’t help but hate them for how much they’d ruled my life when I worked for them. Abigail must have read my face for a wrong reason because she said, 

 “Yeah. I know, it’s always my dad getting into legal issues with people. First them, now you. I’m sorry.” 

 “Oh, no, I didn’t mean-”

 “No it’s okay, seriously. Honestly though, we really don’t have big legal drama too often. Usually Mayor Lewis steps in… or sometimes the wizard.”

 “What? You have a wizard in your town?”

 “You haven’t seen his tower?” she nearly dropped the hair tie she’d been twiddling with.

 I considered that for a moment, and realized I had seen some type of tall structure to the west of the mouse house. “I guess so… it’s just weird that you guys have a wizard in your town.”

 “You live with a mouse.”

 “Well, whatever. That just proves my point further. Pelican Town is weird.” She laughed, and I laughed along with her. 

 “You chose to move here, Ross,” she jabbed. I smiled at her, eyes still on the road.

 “I didn’t necessarily choose it, but I’m really glad I’m here.” She was quiet for a little while.

 “If my dad wins the farm… will you stay in town?” 

 We both went quiet after that one. I really didn’t even know what to say, my fingers flexed on the steering wheel and I bit the inside of my cheek. “I’m honestly not totally sure.” 

 She nodded and the rest of the drive went by without any further conversation. 

~

 Dropping off Abigail at the front of town was unceremonious at best, just a quick wave, and she walked in the front door. A few townspeople were milling around, and Evelyn made a bit of a show about getting out of the way of the truck. It was odd, even having been here only about a month, you never saw cars here. So having the truck drive through town felt as out of place as a bull in a china shop. The sun was still an hour or two from setting, and I parked it by the house, where it usually went, and wandered into the front yard to see Lewis puttering around in his garden beds.

 He didn’t turn around as he said, “Hey Ross! Sorry about the truck, Henry said you stayed at the hotel up the road, so I gave money to the mouse to add into your next paycheck.”

 I was both surprised and not that he went out of his way. “Oh, Mayor Lewis, you really didn’t need to do that.”

 “Nonsense!” he announced, and slowly climbed up to his feet, and stood up with one hand prodding his back. “I’m happy to do it, and if it weren't for all the driving I’ve been doing to see my sister, it wouldn’t have been an issue. I should have thought about it.” I raised my hands to protest, but he shook his head with a smile. “Don’t think of it, Miss Roselyn. Now, how was the trip?”

 I took a moment to think, casting my eyes upward. “It was… good,” I simply put. He smiled, and clapped me gently on the shoulder.

 “Good, I knew you two would work things out. Very glad to hear it. Now go on home, I think the mouse has missed you more than they expected! And I don’t want you to be wandering in the dark.” 

 I nodded, said my thanks, and headed off towards home.

Chapter Text

Abigail’s Point of View

  I poked my head in over my dad’s shoulder in the living room, trying to see what he was reading- it didn’t look like the regular newspaper. 

  He turned over his shoulder and looked at me squarely. “Can I help you?” 

  As soon as he had flipped the paper over and out of my eye’s line of view, I spied the return address. From Mayor Lewis. I immediately knew it was mine.
"Dad, c’mon give me that! And don’t even act like it’s yours, you pulled me into this mess so I’m entitled to see what’s going on,” I said grouchily. 

 He didn’t seem to care anymore and gave in to my attempt to see, carelessly tossing the letter onto the side table instead of my hands. 

  “Thanks,” I muttered sarcastically, but grabbed the letter anyways and read what it had to say.

  To all Pelican Town Residents:

Tomorrow we will have our fourth quarter of the year meeting in which we will discuss an increase in water usage by Joja Mart as well as the dispute with the former Robert’s Farm, now owned by Pierre Hampton. 

Signed,

Mayor Lewis. 

  No wonder he was being an ass about me reading it, he was sour about either there being a meeting at all or that they even bothered referring to it as “former Robert’s Farm”. Perhaps both I considered. No matter, he was going to have to deal. It was so odd going from wanting to defend my dad to wanting to defend Ross. After her discussion with me the other night, it really showed me her true colors and how things really went down. Not just the way my dad painted it to be negligence. 

  Father paid no mind to me so I gave him a bit of the silent treatment as well and didn’t bother to let him know that I was leaving. I grabbed the cutest little black dress I owned, and put my hair up in a high ponytail. I gave up pretending like I wasn’t trying to impress Ross and just did as I pleased without a second judge of character. We had talked about meeting at the bar before, when she had dropped me off and I felt this excitement growing deep in the pit of my belly the last couple of days, about to explode now if I didn’t leave. So I went on my way. 

  Before I walked fashionably late into the bar, I took a deep breath and prepared myself. I had been so quiet on serious topics lately, either out of ignorance, embarrassment, or just feeling plain awkward and I wasn’t having it tonight. Tonight I’d be myself around Ross and speak out on what I truly wanted to say with no remorse.

  I breathed out and opened the door to the hustle and bustle of our tiny town bar. Everyone was there but I felt my heart drop, no Ross in sight. Sebastian caught eyes with me and started on his way towards me, but it was a body that knocked into me from behind that actually, weirdly got me excited.

  “Abby, for real, why are you directly inside of the door? You’re going to get trampled on,” Ross laughed.

  I felt relief wash through me. That she was here. I was almost embarrassed but remembered the pep talk I gave to myself and thought otherwise.

  “Sorry,” I intoned, and Ross shrugged.

  “Hey, no sweat. I’ll even buy you a beer. That is…” she looked a little pensive, almost nervous, “if you’re old enough.” 

 I guffawed. “Of course I’m old enough! We were both drunk the other night!” 

  “Oh, right… uh,” she rubbed at the back of her neck, “Sorry, whatever, lemme get you a beer anyways.” 

  I crossed my arms in front of my chest, and nodded, a little indignant, but quietly I was just happy to be getting any type of attention from Ross. Something had changed over the past few weeks, making me want to be around her all the time. Burbles of excitement sang in my chest, and I could have skipped to the bar counter had it not been for my dignity. We sat at the stools that were closest to each other, and Ross held up two fingers to Emily, who winked back and poured the drinks. Gus ambled over too, and leaned on the counter long enough to say, “Hey, glad to see you two working things out. These first two are on the house,” he then patted the top of the bar in approval before walking away to talk with Pam again who seemed grumpy their conversation had been interrupted in the first place. I couldn’t help but blush, reliving the anger I’d felt that night and how different things were now. 

  As if reading my mind, Ross chuckled, “Crazy we were like that, right? I… dunno what got into me.” 

  “Probably me,” I said somberly, and was confused when Ross stared me down wickedly. “What??” I asked, perplexed. 

  “ I was what got into you??” she asked, and my face heated all over again. 

  “You know exactly what I mean, Roselyn!”

  “Use my full name again, I kinda like it from you,” she purred. I glanced to see that she’d downed half her beer already, and I rolled my eyes before shoving her shoulder in a gentle manner. 

  “Take it easy, you’re a lightweight.”

  “So says the girl whose hardly touched hers!” she retorted, taking another deep swig. I followed suit, drinking deep, but couldn’t get much down. Beer wasn’t really my thing. “Do you drink often?” she asked now.

  “Not really… I mean I only turned twenty-one last fall.”

  “Yeah… makes sense,” she nodded sagely, and I giggled.

  “What makes sense?” I asked, genuinely interested, eyes wide.

  “Well, I wasn’t sure why we hadn’t met. I’m a little old, compared to you. Turning twenty eight this winter, so when I stopped coming to Pelican Town at eleven, you were only four. Not sure what eleven year old would be okay hanging out with a toddler.”

  “Four year olds aren’t toddlers!” I retorted, but I wasn’t sure why I felt the need to defend four year olds. It felt negligible, really, the difference between three and four. She just laughed, and I smiled back shyly. I wasn’t sure if I was too young for her but… I couldn’t be reading these signs wrong, right? Or maybe… I was just confused. “Hey, uh, not to get off topic… but sorry for accosting you last time you were in here with me. I… uh, well, Seb confronted me about it later and he was right. I kind of have… maybe inferiority issues when it comes to other women. Fucked up, I know but…” Her eyebrows shot up, but I wasn’t sure if it was for my candor, or my language.

  “It’s okay, no worries… I mean, not to down talk but, I used to be the same way. Women always intimidated me, I always felt… inferior or lesser. But, over time, I started to realize that it wasn’t that I wanted to be them. I wanted to be with them.” It was as though she’d read my mind. I took a drink to avoid needing to respond right away. But when I set the glass down, still nothing came to mind. Ross shifted.

  “Sorry… is that like… weird that we slept in the same bed? I wasn’t trying to, ya know.”

  “No!” I said immediately, trying to reassure her. “I mean, it’s not weird at all. I don’t think that had anything to do with our sexualities… just the need for a room,” I laughed at that. “I really don’t care, is what I mean to say.” 

  For the multiplith time that night she raised her eyebrows at me. “Oh, so we’re talking about your sexuality too, huh?” she grinned like a wild woman.

  “Ross! Or Roselyn, should I say? I, uh, I don’t know what I am,” I shrugged, not meeting her eyes. “On second thought, I am thirsty,” I smiled back with a wink. We both shared that laugh and grabbed another drink each from Emily. Gus looked amused. For a moment we just watched each other. Emily then broke the silence, 

  “Wow, your auras are really bright together,” she commented, giving me a knowing look.

  I said nothing but gave her the biggest smile I had in return, I watched as Ross did the same. 

  We spent the rest of the night just enjoying each others company, and when closing time came around we said shy goodbyes, knowing that soon we’d have to see each other at the town meeting.

Chapter Text

Ross’ Point of View

  The seats were sparsely filled so far, but I was already feeling claustrophobic. We were in the chapel that was connected directly to the house of the person I was in litigation with. Many of these people, I hadn’t even met yet. The mixture of faces had me feeling like they were looming over me, ready to hack down any of my attempts at rebuilding my life. These would be the arbiters of my fate, and I didn’t know how to feel about that. A man with a faded green military jacket kept staring at me with eyes focused into slits, while his wife patted his arm, her lips tightly pulled upwards. When she caught my eye, she grinned too wide, and waved enthusiastically while the man finally looked away. Sam only gave me an apologetic shrug, before turning his attention to a small red headed boy who was yanking on his clothes. There were others too, casting wary glances, but some were kind looks. Like those from Gus and Emily, the latter who came over to my seat in the corner of the room to grab my shoulders warmly. 

 “It’s not the vote today, Ross- just the talk about, you’ll be fine! Do you have good karma?” she asked.

 “I dunno,” I shrugged.

 “Well, then I’ll tip the scales with as many good vibes as I can!” She hugged me fiercely, and when she pulled away she closed her eyes, then touched her forehead with the palm of her hand before clasping it over the top of my head. I squirmed a little in my seat, but smiled when she opened her eyes again. She gave me one last squeeze of my upper arms before bounding off to the regular bar customer, who stood against the right wall, looking brooding as usual. I turned to focus on the doorway, and felt my heart beat ratcheting up with each second that I saw no specific familiar face. I could’ve doubled over in relief, but instead my back straightened up tightly when Abigail finally walked in. I made sure to keep my face passive while she walked in with her father and mother, her mother being another new face. An impulsion to wave, or introduce myself caught me, but I pulled back. Now was probably not the time. Abigail gave me a tiny wave, and I nodded in response, but both Pierre and Caroline kept their gaze focused ahead at where Lewis stood at the pulpit, pouring over notes and flipping pages now and then. They eventually made their way to the front row of seats. It became packed as the meeting drew nigh, and I was sure my face grew paler by the minute. But my anxiety wasn’t for long, because Mayor Lewis finally began clearing his throat loudly. The chorus of voices that had slowly crescendoed, died down with the motion of his hand that started up high and drew down to the pulpit. 

 “Alright, thank you all for coming,” he said, and nodded to the group of us, people lining the walls and sitting uncomfortably close to each other. I looked around and felt a little awkward that I’d filled a seat instead of standing up, and looked to my right at Clint who smiled when I glanced at him. I smiled back, but turned to the front again as Mayor Lewis continued, “We have two primary goals of today. The water usage increase of Jojamart, and the dealings with Mr. Robert’s farm-”

 “Former farm. Current warehouse for the town’s general store.” Pierre interjected. Lewis waved his hand in affirmation.

 “Sure, the warehouse. We, as a town, will be deciding on the future use of the land. We will go over the details of each, and their potential outcomes, give two days of intermission, and make the final vote at that time.”

For a moment there were only crickets among the crowd and Mayor Lewis finally cleared his throat again and began waxing on about Jojamart and its current issues. When he finally finished, I sighed loudly causing a few stares to look my way. My face turned beet red and I kept my look forward, the anticipation building for Lewis to bring up the most controversial topic.

“Do we have anything to say about the current state of the farm and or warehouse?” he spoke, adjusting his cap and wiping sweat off his brow. The room was stuffy and near sweltering from all the body heat radiating throughout. I didn’t realise it until that moment, but my pits were sweating profusely- another thing to add to my list of anxieties. 

I could feel a stare and I looked to Kent who was burning holes into me. He coughed and I shuddered getting the heebie jeebies. I half expected him to say something when George interrupted my thoughts from across the room, his gruff voice raised.

“I sure do! I wouldn’t care if the property stayed with Pierre or Harold, but she,” he said with strong emphasis, ”isn’t from this area, in fact, she’s from places I can’t stand to discuss.” He crossed his arms while Evelyn looked mildly uncomfortable.

Marnie piped in, “Well Morris isn’t either, but I’ve never heard you give him spite for not being from here,” she huffed. “And you know that’s not right to say,” her eyes narrowed on him. 

George wouldn’t even meet her eyes, “No, you know it ain’t right, and I’m not going to stand by and let this town bring in an outsider, especially from the, here I say it, the Gotoro Empire.”

Many of the townspeople in the room grimaced or ducked their heads at the comment. I didn’t even completely register his words. I was so shocked. Emily gave me the most pitying look and even emotionless Shane’s eyes widened at the words. Gus nodded slightly before catching my eyes and quickly looked away sheepishly. I should have defended myself, but the words simply wouldn’t come out. Abigail’s eyes caught me next, and they were filled with a furiousness in a way I hadn’t yet seen. Her eyes were so red I thought she might cry, but she held herself together as Pierre had a hand stamped on her shoulder. I could’ve cried too. 

“Hey now, hey now, we’re not here to tear apart our community. I knew Ross’ mother albeit in passing, and she was a good woman,” Lewis defended.  

Yoba must have been watching over me, because my words came, and they came fast, pouring out of me with some emotion. “Yes she was a wonderful woman. My mother was a refugee from war, and we’re all lucky to not have been put in her shoes. I deserve to be here. Whether you want a farm or a warehouse.” A few tears slipped past my lower lids and down my face. I felt a hand clasp mine, surprised to see alabaster fingers laced through mine. My heart throbbed for many reasons, but I couldn’t meet Abigail’s eyes just yet. The room still needed my full attention. 

A few heads nodded in agreement at my words, in fact they outweighed the room, only a few still held conflicted looks. My heart lifted some, sanguine. 

“Well, things are getting a little heated and the voting isn’t for two more days, so we will adjourn for the time being,” Lewis announced. People began filing out of the room, George being the first to wheel himself out, followed by an angry looking Kent, Jodi trailing behind him. I finally looked at Abigail and she embraced me tightly, whispering in my ear, “you did so great, I’m glad you stood up for yourself.” The words held me warmly as well. Abigail’s scent filled my nose and before I could get intoxicated off of her, Evelyn tapped a finger on my back, not fazed from years of seeing just about everything. I wiped my eyes, nodding at her. 

“Oh dear, I’m so sorry for George, he’s an old timer and some things just go right over his head. I’m going to bring you and the mouse cookies later, okay?” She patted my shoulder and went on her way, not needing a response. Waiting just behind where she was, Gus held his hand out for me to shake. 

“I’m really sorry for agreeing with what George had to say, I shouldn’t have been so judgemental. Your explanation opened my eyes, you’re welcome in my saloon anytime.” He too, walked away without another word, just understanding written on his face. My words left me again. I couldn’t have felt more wonderful at that moment. A moment I thought would be pure Hell.

“You know, you don’t have to forgive any of them,” Abigail whispered, “even me, I know I was spiteful at first.”

“I know,” I said, “but I could never hate you, and as for the others, only time will tell how I feel.”

She nodded and just then I noticed Abigail still held my hand, and together, we left the Chapel, no one left in the building, not even Pierre.

Chapter Text

Abigail’s Point of View

 After our moment at the Chapel, after all of the hullabaloo, we decided to meet on the bridge by the library that same night. Ross went home to change out of the slightly nicer clothes she’d worn for the occasion. And I was happy to have some time to gather my thoughts on her. The evening air was warm and thick like syrup, filling my mind with sweet thoughts. I hoped she thought I was being strong for her in the Chapel, when I held her hand, because in reality I was panicked about defying my father and standing by her side. In fact, I nearly passed out, my skin was extra pale, and my palms were another standard of sweaty. 

 Before I left the house, I peeked out my door to see if my parents were standing outside. We hadn’t said a word to each other. Not even my mom, who loved me, but remained silent. She knew better than to push me when I needed space, and my dad. Well, I think he was still shocked and disappointed that I chose Ross over him. It was honestly better that he was giving me the silent treatment for the time being because all I wanted to do was give Ross my utmost attention. It was the least she deserved. 

 I brushed my long locks, then quickly curled them with speed. Time was of the essence. Following getting ready, I tiptoed my way out the front door and into the dripping sunset. Color spattered the sky in an array of blue, pink, and purple hues. Nearly as beautiful as Ross I thought, and blushed at the brazenness of my mind. Love on the brain, I thought next, and literally slapped my forehead. Usually I could articulate my thoughts fluently, but Ross did something to me that no one else could. 

 I set out to the bridge, speed walking without intention. I was over eager, and once I arrived closer to the bridge, I forced myself to slow down, making out an athletic soccer like build in the distance. I was glad for the setting sun, that way she couldn’t see my face and how flushed I was. As soon as I came close enough, she grinned at me wide with her own enthusiasm. It was written across both of our faces. Something cheesy like out of a book. Without another thought, I embraced her, feeling the new way our bodies felt together. Hugging someone like that for the first few times was an exhilarating yet awkward feeling all in one. We separated after what felt like only a millisecond. We hadn’t even yet said a word to each other and I already felt like the conversation we were about to have was already said. I had feelings for Ross. Strong ones. And I wasn’t going to let them slide through my fingers, I wouldn’t let things get between us like they did in the beginning- back when I didn’t have the patience or kindness to get to know her on another level than pure judgement. We watched each other thoughtfully for a moment longer, then Ross broke the silence. 

 “I uh, I didn’t thank you for holding my hand during that meeting,” she said a little too awkwardly, scratching her head. I didn’t even care.

 “Ross, you didn’t have to thank me for anything, in fact, I should be thanking you for giving me a reason to step away from my dad. You needed me, and I was happy to oblige.” Ross’ eyes welled up and I wanted to wrap my arms around her again. She quickly straightened her shoulders, a somewhat attempt to pull herself together before speaking. 

 “Listen, Abby, I know we started off on the wrong foot but-” she paused for a second, as if she was choked up, lost for words. I waited patiently, holding my breath, anticipating the next words that would come out of her mouth. She breathed in and, “I really like you. I more than like you,” she loosened the breath. It looked like a thousand pounds had lightened off her back, it filled me with joy.

 “You couldn’t have said anything better, I really like you too,” I sighed, and without a second to spare Ross leaned in and kissed me. A gentle kind of kiss that I felt throughout my body, seeping deep into my bones. I closed my shocked eyes and stood on my toes, feeling as though I was levitating on thick, hot summer air, floating in a sea of passion. She pulled back, and when I thought she was finished, she embraced me for the second time that day, tighter, and kissed me with purpose, as if she were trying to express how much she cared for me. I melted into her and we stood like that. Appreciation and care flowing into one another. I couldn’t have been more happy. More than content, so much so that I couldn’t find a word to match my feelings.

 Thank Yoba no one was around, because that kiss was much too intimate for an audience, and when we finally pulled apart, longing for each other still lingered. As much as I relished being telepathic towards each other, there were other things we needed to talk about, out loud, even though my brain was a mess of love and lust. Ross leaned back against the bridge, as though she needed something to hold her up, and she grabbed my hand, as if knowing I felt light headed from our interaction. She pulled me towards her, and I stopped myself with one hand on the bridge wall, hoping she would speak first. She didn’t, so I began. 

 “Discussion is necessary,” I nearly stuttered, then laughed. She smiled at that. “I mean it, Ross!” I shoved her shoulder lightly with my opposite hand. 

 From there we developed a well thought out plan, one that even my dad couldn’t deny- especially with me wanting it more than anything. It was fool proof, and now we would talk and see. If things went through, we’d be able to skip the trial, and move on with our lives- something I believed everyone really wanted. Then I could focus on Ross and truly give her my all. That’s all I really wanted, justice and blossoming love, was that really so wrong?

Chapter Text

 Beads of sweat dripped down my brow as I finished pulling up the last pumpkin, nostalgia overwhelming me. The largest and most vibrant I’d saved for my girlfriend, and loaded it onto my small cart and took it to where she sat on the porch. Abigail glanced down from where she sat reading a book and laughed heartily. 

 “You’re a goose, I don’t need another pumpkin.”

 “Yes you do, you deserve it,” I responded, laughing with her, and patted the pumpkin in an insinuating way. She rolled her eyes and grinned at me. 

 Things couldn’t have been better. After our confession on the bridge, Abigail had been able to convince her father to give me back the land. It might have come with a bit of arm twisting, and, it also helped that I was going to be slowly paying back the amount he’d paid the government for it. But it beat having a huge town discussion on the matter and any legal battles that may have ensued. And really, it didn’t hugely bother me. The amount he’d paid was fairly small since the property had been in disuse for so long, and I only needed to pay half since part of the property now held a shed for storing some of his product- product he’d also pay me to keep watch of. It was still tense now and then between us but the animosity had been mollifying into maybe even a friendly rivalry of sorts. He wasn’t using my produce to sell entirely yet, and would make some light jabs when comparing my corn or wheat to that of a neighboring town they’d been bringing produce in from. But I think the whole town was happy enough with how things had turned out. Emily had congratulated me, Lewis was proud, townsfolk were content. Still some prejudice from a few people, but I thought the other’s continued to try and teach them how to be a little more accepting and understanding. It wasn’t the best, but it was a start. 

 All of that couldn’t nullify my happiness. Things were much better than they’d been in JojaMart, and I fell more deeply for Abigail every day. She’d gone back to reading and I’d gone back to gazing at her from where I’d slouched down against the pumpkin, the sun beginning to set and casting her- us- in a warm glow. This was only the beginning, and although a rough start, it showed me I could create endless possibilities with someone I truly cared about in the future. In fact, I had been thinking about cleaning up the community center. Only time would tell, but a new adventure would soon await.