Chapter Text
It was one of those mornings that seemed way too early to wake up. Almost as if just after you closed your eyes, the sun would bring in the new day specifically to annoy you. Y/N was all too familiar with this type of day. They groaned, reluctantly sitting up on the attic bed. Someone had to manage their business, and it seemed they were the only person to be doing that lately.
They ran a small farm, carrots, eggs, and occasional apples. Not a lot though. It was just another side job for their family since their father left his job in plumbing. In the beginning it was a group effort, but now only Y/N spent the long days sitting on the porch, glaring down the ‘Produce’ sign like it was a curse. At least they weren’t especially prone to sunburn, otherwise they would’ve contracted skin cancer long ago.
The main good thing about the farm was that people seemed to want to pay for it. Becky, the woman who only ate from whole foods, would’ve paid whole foods prices for the sub-par eggs, and that was insane, considering they ask for like 4 dollars an apple. Then there were the grandmas who just needed eggs without driving to get them. It was always those customers that made Y/N smile the most.
But the most unbearable part of running the farm was the boredom. Y/N could rest assured that every day would be the same, farm, food, sleep, until school started back up in a month. Even then, the days would be more jam packed, with them hunkering down to do schoolwork on the porch. That left practically no time for hobbies, if they had any in the first place.
At least their life wasn’t ball to the wall crazy. They couldn’t handle that. But then again, is anyone ever ready for change?
-
At the same time, Janus Sanders was getting ready about a mile away. Despite the age difference and many other differences, Janus and Y/N were similar in a lot of ways. Both were unappreciated, forgotten, and occasionally beat down on, both figuratively and literally. Janus was ridiculed first for being in a group of sextuplets, and secondly for his snake face. Y/N wasn’t beaten down so much as ignored, but occasionally their parents would come home fresh from the bar, or in an especially bad mood. Those were the bad days.
That day, Janus just wanted to leave everything behind. Everyone had been nagging him for a variety of reasons this week, and it was getting on his nerves immensely. He was on his last straw. After haphazardly throwing on his clothes, Janus nearly leaped out the door, just to be stopped by Patton’s voice.
“Where are you going, kiddo?” Janus sighed. Even though they were all the same age, Patton insisted on calling everyone ‘kiddo’. To Janus it seemed pointless.
“I’m walking. Just need to clear my mind.” It wasn’t one of his usual lies. This wasn’t a usual day. Patton sensed it too, humming.
“Stay safe!” Before Patton could say something else, Janus had slammed the door and walked down to the concrete. He didn’t even know where he was going to walk, he just had to be away from the chaos of his 5 brothers for a while.
He was lost in the feeling of being outside again. How long had it been since he’d been alone? Janus couldn’t tell. There is no ‘alone’ when you live with 5 loud ass roommates.
Before he even realized it, Janus had walked a whole mile, walking around quaint porches with pissed old ladies on them. One of the porches stood out, because there wasn’t an old lady on it, but a young kid, peering into space. A quick glance around the yard and Janus’s eyes caught on a colorful sign.
‘ Local produce! Homegrown. ’