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Penny was a romantic. Hopeless romantic, even.
Romance was something she daydreamed about constantly, something that she never could see to get out of her head. For too many times, when Penny should have been focused on something, her mind wandered to a partner. A partner taking care of her, holding her tight in a loving warm embrace, as they shielded her from the evils of the world. She knew that she should be focusing on the things that mattered, knew that she shouldn’t have let her head wander so frequently to the clouds…but she couldn’t help it. How could she not let her mind wander when the sky was so vast and full of clouds? So yes, Penny was a hopeless romantic. A proud self-proclaimed hopeless romantic.
And it just so happened that she was in love.
She was in love with Abigail, the purple haired girl that seemed to always be smiling and laughing. It was a fact that was known only to her and her closest friend Maru. Penny wasn’t sure how she came to fall in love with Abigail really, unsure of how the crush she felt towards her blossomed into something that Penny could only really describe as love. All she knew was that at some point, the tiny crush she felt towards Abigail…grew into something more. Despite how many things Penny was unsure of, Penny was very much sure that she could never tell Abigail about her feelings.
Even as Maru was talking about her latest experiment, Penny found that she couldn’t catch even a single word that she said. She was too busy daydreaming about Abigail, daydreaming about running her fingers through Abigail’s long beautiful purple hair. However, Maru then said something that snapped Penny right out of her thoughts.
“You know Penn, you should just tell Abigail that you like her.”
Penny had to gather herself, immediately reddened as she realized what Maru said. She then stammered out. “Wh-What?! Maru!”
“I’m just saying, it’d make your crush go away if you two started dating.”
“But maybe she doesn’t like girls. You know, that’s a possibility…” Penny tried, but she trailed off upon seeing Maru’s unimpressed expression.
“She’s bi, she came out as bi literal months ago.” Maru pointed out.
Penny frowned. “True.”
“You like her, so you should tell her. It’s easier that way, at least that’s how I see it.” Maru said.
“It’s easy for you to look at this more objectively. You-” Penny started, but she was cut off.
“Have an unwavering disinterest in anything romantic?” Maru finished for her.
Penny couldn’t help but smile at that. “I was gonna say asexual, but that works.”
“Hey, asexual people can be interested in romance. I just happen to not be.”
“True…”
“I don’t get why you don’t just tell her that you like her.”
Penny sighed. “I wish I could, but…I’m scared.”
“You’re…scared?” Maru asked, confused,
“Yeah, scared.” Penny said, looking off into the sky, as though it held the answers to her dilemma. “I’m scared that she’ll reject me, and that she’ll tell other people. They might laugh at me! I can’t handle that.”
“Abigail doesn’t seem like that person.”
“I know, but…I just can’t help but feel scared. Whenever I see Abigail, I can’t help but feel scared of what she thinks of me. It’s terrifying, maybe she’s secretly in love with me, maybe she loathes me, I don’t know.” Penny then looked back at Maru. “Does it make any sense?”
“Nope.” Maru answered.
Penny giggled. “I didn’t expect you to understand. You don’t have these feelings.”
“I do not, and thank Yoba for that.” Maru joked.
“Maru! Language!” Penny said, laughing.
Maru grinned deviously. “Fuck. Bitch tit.”
Penny laughed even harder.
━━━━ ❰ ･ ❉ ･ ❱ ━━━━
Spring was a beautiful season, in fact it was Penny’s favorite season. The flowers bloomed all at once, the grass becoming a white vivid green, and the birds once again sung out in the open as they sat on the branches of tall trees. It really was a nice break from the frigid and almost desolate loneliness of winter, even if it had been more than a week since spring came. On a nice sunny spring day like this, Penny liked to sit under the same tree, reading the same books over and over again, it was a breath of fresh air after teaching Vincent and Jas. Most of the time, nobody ever bothered her whenever she read under the tree. In fact, the only people who ever really talked to her while she was reading was Dickon and Maru.
However, today someone had approached her.
Someone Penny would have never expected.
“Hey Penny!”
Penny looked up from her book upon hearing that voice, and she swore that she almost had a heart attack as soon as she saw Abigail’s smiling face.
“Oh, hey Abigail…” Penny trailed off, then asking. “What are you doing?”
Abigail shrugged. “I dunno, if I’m being honest. I was gonna go to the saloon to watch Sam and Seb play pool, but Sebby has a date with Dickon.”
“Oh, I see…” Penny trailed off, and then she asked. “Why aren’t you playing video games?”
Abigail raised a brow skeptically. “How do you know I play video games?”
“O-Oh! Uhhhh-” Penny uselessly stammered, before she was cut off by Abigail.
“I’m just kidding, Penny! Everyone in town knows I play video games. I’d be surprised if you didn’t know!” Abigail said with a laugh. She then added, much more thoughtfully. “And to answer your question…I just didn’t feel like it. I think I’ve been spending way too much time in my room, felt like going outside you know?”
“I…I guess so.” Penny said, adding thoughtfully. “I don’t like staying too long in my room, either…”
“See! You understand! So, what are you doing?”
“Reading.” Penny answered.
“Just reading?”
“Mhmm.”
Abigail nodded. “I see.”
Silence.
“Um…” Abigail gestured to next to Penny, as she asked. “Can I…sit here?”
“Oh! Um…” Penny smiled. “Yeah, sure. I’d love some company.”
Abigail smiled back, sitting next to Penny. Once she was sat down, she asked. “How many times have you read that book?”
Penny hummed thoughtfully, answering. “Around…seven times, I think? Might be eight, or six.”
Abigail’s eyes widened in shock. “Seriously? Six times?!”
“That’s the low end.” Penny pointed out.
“Doesn’t it get…boring? Reading the same books over and over again?”
“Not really. I read these books over and over again ‘cause…I want to. I want to see the story unfold again, even if I know what’s gonna happen. It actually adds to the fun of it! And besides…” Penny sighed. “I don’t have the money to buy new books. It’s not like we have a book store, and going to Zuzu City costs money too.”
Abigail slowly started to grin. “So you need money, eh?”
“Yes…?” Penny said, confused.
“Well! I got just the thing you need!” Abigail exclaimed excitedly, reaching into her pockets. After taking out a few bills, she presented them to Penny with a big goofy grin. “Here you go!”
Penny stared down at Abigail’s hand, confused. She looked back up at her. “What are you doing?”
“Paying you.” Abigail answered simply.
Penny raised a brow, still confused. “Yes, I’m aware of that…but why?”
“Because I can?”
“…What?”
“Just take it.” Abigail urged.
“I’m not taking it unless you’re telling me why you’re giving it.” Penny insisted.
Abigail groaned.
“I’m not a charity case, you know.” Penny said, frowning.
“I’m not calling you a charity case. I just wanna give you money!” Abigail said.
“I can’t take it.”
“Why?”
“It’s just…weird.”
Abigail raised a brow. “How is it weird?”
“It’s just…aside from Dickon and Sebastian, your family is the richest one here. I just…wonder why you would give so much money to me, and for no reason too.”
“I have a reason!”
Penny raised a brow. “And that reason is?”
“Um…Lemme think about it, and then I’ll get back to you.”
“Okay…?” Penny questioned, confused.
“Let’s talk about something else, shall we!”
“Sure.” Penny said with a shrug. She thought for a few moments, and then she asked. “What do you like to do?”
“The usual! Tabletop games, watching shows and movies, video games, and drawing!” Abigail answered.
“You draw?”
Abigail nodded. “Yeah! I draw!”
“Oh! So kind of like Ms. Campbell, right?”
“Ehh, I guess?” Abigail said with a shrug. “I’m not as good at Leah at art, but I like to have fun with it!”
“Yeah…Ms. Campbell is an amazing artist.” Penny said, adding in a stammer. “I-I’m sure you’re a good artist, too! Um, I didn’t mean to…”
Abigail laughed. “It’s okay, Penny! Just because you said that Leah’s art is good doesn’t mean you said mine sucks! Though honestly, it does.”
“I’m sure it’s wonderful.” Penny said.
“Ehh, it sucks.” Abigail replied.
“It doesn't.”
“Oh c’mon, we all know my art isn’t the best.”
“It’s wonderful.” Penny insisted firmly.
“Woah, angry Penny is on the loose!” Abigail teased with a grin.
“O-Oh! I um, got angry? I-I, I’m uh, I’m so sorry-” Penny stammered, though she was cut off by Abigail.
“Penny, it’s fine! I want you to be comfortable around me!”
“S-So…you’re not mad at me?”
“Of course I’m not mad at you! Penny, I like seeing the different sides to you! It’s fun! I wanna get to know you better!” Abigail said.
Penny smiled, reddening slightly. “Um…thanks. That’s very sweet of you.”
“You’re welcome!” Abigail said, and then asking. “So, what do you like to do? Other than reading, of course.”
“Well…I like teaching the kids, that’s something that’s really fun. And I’ve recently been taking some sewing classes from Ms. Pierce.” Penny said, clarifying at Abigail’s confused face. “Emily.”
“Ohhh. What else?”
“Well, I like...” Penny trailed off, mumbling something out.
“What was that?”
“…Writing. I like writing.” Penny mumbled out, a little louder. Abigail heard, though.
“Oooh! You’re a writer?” Abigail asked, excited.
Penny hesitated, reddening in embarrassment as she nodded. “Yeah…I’m a writer. Not as good as Mr. Vandermeer, but I write.”
“Pffft, come on. I’m sure what you’ve written is good! Besides, Elliot has been writing for Yoba knows how long, probably longer than we’ve been alive. You’ve only been writing for…?” Abigail paused expectantly.
“A few months.” Penny supplied for her.
“Yeah! A few months! You’ll get better with time, I promise!” Abigail reassured. “Yoba knows I was super bad at drawing when I first started. My art was cringeworthy back then.”
Penny smiled. “Thanks, Abigail.”
“So! What do you write?”
“Um…the usual. Young adult, fantasy, science fiction, romance, and all that stuff. Though recently I’ve started writing horror.”
Abigail’s eyes widened, though she was as surprised as she was delighted. “You? Write horror? I thought you hated horror movies.”
“How do you know that I don’t like horror movies?” Penny asked.
“Sam told me, when he took you out for movies one time.” Abigail explained.
“Oh…” Penny trailed off, nodding. She then said. “I usually hate supernatural and splatter horror. Any other horror is fair game, to be honest. Cosmic horror, gothic horror, body horror, psychological horror.” She smiled at the last one. “Psychological horror is my favorite. A deep, unsettling horror on the way people see the world? How they think? That’s interesting to me, how situations, real or not, influence the way people think and see the world…” She stopped, realizing that she was rambling. “Oh…sorry.”
“For what?”
“For rambling.”
“Why would you be sorry for that? I was super invested, you know.” Abigail said.
“…You were?”
Abigail smiled. “Yeah, I am.”
Penny smiled back.
“What’s your latest horror story?” Abigail asked, adding when she saw Penny hesitate. “You’re free to ramble as much as you want. I’ll listen, promise.”
“Oh um…alright.” Penny cleared her throat, as she began to explain. “Well, my latest horror story is about a small town. A new farmer moves in from the city after they inherited a farm from their father, and as they settle into the farm…strange things start happening. At some point, they discover that there’s a cult in the town. I’d love to explain more, but that gets into the spoilers…”
Abigail grinned. “Is this inspired by Dickon moving in?”
“It might…but a new farmer moving in is the only inspiration for the story. I’m sure Pelican Town isn’t secretly a cult town.”
“It might be!”
Penny gave Abigail an unimpressed look.
Abigail laughed, saying after she was done laughing. “Well, I’d love to illustrate your horror stories, ‘cause honestly that sounds awesome!”
Penny giggled, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “Thanks. Um, I’d love to tell you about my other stories some time, but that’s probably not gonna happen…”
“Why not?”
“What do you mean?” Penny said, confused.
“Why can’t you tell me some other time? You know, we can just start hanging out! Underneath this tree, just talking about stuff. You can show me your horror stories and I can show you my drawings…” Abigail trailed off, and she slowly smiled. “…I just think it’d be nice.”
“…That would be nice, Abigail.”
“Hey, we’re friends now. Call me Abby.”
Penny smiled. “I will…Abby.”
“That’s great! We’re friends now, cool!” Abigail said with a grin. She then gasped, and her grin grew wider. “Actually, I just thought of something!”
“And what’s that?” Penny asked.
“I’ve got a reason now! For why I paid you!” Abigail replied.
“Oh? What’s the reason, then?”
“Well…” Abigail trailed off, grinning. She then said. “It’s a reward!”
“…A reward?” Penny asked, confused.
“Yeah, a reward. It’s for how kind you are.”
“I’m…kind?”
“Yoba, you’re kind. Like, you are one of the kindest people I know. Like, you go out of your way to teach the kids! I could never, I’m not good with kids.” Abigail laughed, that laugh transitioning into a smiling, gentle chuckle. “I know that it feels like the world doesn’t care how kind you are, or that life ignores all the good you do, and that sucks. But, the world does see all you do, we see. I know it doesn’t make sense, but I feel like you deserve it. Think of it like, the world repaying you, for all the good you’ve done.”
Penny stared at Abigail, and Abigail stared back. Then, Penny realized that she should probably say something. After a few moments of stunned silence, she spoke up. “Thank you, Abby. This is…” She couldn’t help but chuckle a little. “…This is very sweet. Really, I’m…speechless.”
Abigail grinned. “And you call yourself a writer!”
Penny full on laughed at that.
“Well, I gotta go now. My dad will kill me if I stay out too late, as if there are serial killers here!” Abigail scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Whatever. But it was nice talking with you! I’d like to chat again next time, but not today! I gotta get home.”
“Alright, bye Abby.”
“Bye, Penn! See you next time!”
Penny’s heart fluttered.
She watched as Abigail waved at her, before walking off and then entering into her house. Even after Abigail had gone inside the house, still Penny stared at it in bewilderment, as if the house held the answer to the question that swirled relentlessly in her mind. The question that she asked herself over and over again, that her mind seemed to repeat like a mantra.
Did that just…happen?
Penny stared down at the bills in her hand, at the evidence that what just happened really did happen, and if it had eyes it would be staring right back at her. As what happened just mere minutes earlier processed in Penny’s head…she slowly smiled, smiled at the not so distant memory of her and Abigail…bonding. Becoming friends, even. Just the thought of becoming friends with Abigail made Penny’s heart flutter, made her stomach do so many backflips that it’d win a World Championship gold medal. It was almost peaceful, how the wind rustling the leaves of the bushes and trees complemented Penny’s happiness so nicely, accompanying the way Penny’s mind replayed the words that Abigail said.
Though, that moment of peaceful silence was cut short when Penny heard a familiar voice behind her.
“PEEEENNNYYY!”
Penny turned around, spotting Maru in the distance. She smiled at her as Maru ran towards her. “Hey, Maru.”
Maru was all grins. “Was that Abigail you were talking to?”
Penny reddened slightly, but she nodded. “Yeah…I was talking to Abby.”
Maru raised a brow. “Abby?”
“O-Oh, um…She lets me call her Abby now…” Penny stammered.
“OOOHH! Spicy romance! How scandalous! Are you guys gonna get married any time soon?” Maru said, her grin growing wider.
“I thought you weren’t interested in romance.”
“When it has to do with me, yeah! Other people’s romance, though? All fair game!” Maru said, then adding thoughtfully. “Besides, I need to get better at psychology, especially the study of human relationships. I suck at those.” She hummed, getting an idea. Maru slowly gave Penny a mischievous smile. “Maybe you can be my test subject, Penny!”
Penny sighed, though she was smiling. “No thanks, I’d rather not be a human guinea pig.”
Maru pouted. “Aw man! Not even one experiment?”
“No, Maru. Not even one experiment.”
“Aw man! Shucks! Now I gotta find someone else to experiment on!” Maru said. She thought for a few moments, gasping when she made a revelation. “Oh! I know! I can ask Seb and his husband!” She slowly grinned. “Hey Penny, wanna help me convince Seb and Dickon to take part in a little experiment of mine?”
Penny giggled. “I’d love to. That sounds like fun.”
“Great! This is gonna be awesome! I feel like an evil genius!” Maru rubbed her hands together, a mischievous grin on her face. “I gotta do an evil laugh!” She cleared her throat, and then cackled. “Muwahahahaha!”
Penny full on laughed.