Chapter Text
“...Actually, nevermind.”
Oh my god , thought Haley, looking nervously to the side. That was NOT how the phrasing had sounded in her head.
The farmer stared at her, dumbfounded. For good reason, too. Internally, Haley was smacking herself.
“If it weren’t for those horrendous clothes, you might actually be pretty.” The farmer had come to her house to introduce herself, and THAT was what Haley had managed to say. No wonder people thought she was mean.
Haley blinked a few times. The farmer blinked back, pointing her thumb towards the door.
“Uh, see you around?,” the farmer said as she backed away. As far as Haley could tell, the farmer didn’t seem too keen on seeing her around ever again, especially considering the speed at which she managed to make it out the door. As it shut softly, Haley’s face fell to her hands.
“Ughhhhhh….I’m so stupid,” she muttered to herself, flopping down on the couch.
“Was that the new farmer I heard?” Emily poked her head in from her room. God, her haircut looks so dumb , thought Haley.
“Guess so,” said Haley, attempting to disappear into the cushions. She grabbed a magazine to hide in.
“She didn’t even stop by long enough for me to say hi! Seems like she’s always rushing somewhere.” Emily shrugged, glancing over at Haley. “Didn’t you read that one already?”
“So a woman can’t take interest in literature anymore?” Haley snapped. Emily chuckled.
“Don’t you only ever look at the pictures?”
“Shut up, Em!”
Smiling to herself, Emily dipped back into her room. Haley sunk into her magazine, hoping to find some peace between the pages.
It was hardly peaceful. Usually a rapt magazine reader, Haley could barely even focus on the glamorous photoshoots adorning the pages. She flipped through each too quickly to take them in, trying not to think about the embarrassing event that had just occurred. What a first impression. The farmer’s clothes weren’t even that ugly! And even if they were, did Haley really need to say so?
Haley tossed the magazine aside. Being Pelican Town’s Number One Bitch was hard. It occurred to her that she hadn’t even bothered to learn the farmer’s name yet. She was typically so on top of how she appeared to others - how had she managed to screw this up so badly? Haley thought briefly about the farmer, wondering what her name might be. Probably something stupid, she thought. She chuckled to herself. She was wasting too much time thinking about this dumb farmer. The farmer didn’t matter, Haley told herself. She didn’t need to worry about what someone who would wear that outfit out of the house might think of her.
Her unease remained. Haley pictured the farmer in her head - lean muscle, dark hair, a smattering of freckles. And those eyes…Haley’s mind lingered on those eyes.
Wait, what?
No.
Sure, alright, the farmer had pretty eyes. Lots of people have pretty eyes. She still smelled like dirt.
Haley shook herself. She was too in her head. She needed a distraction. Haley slipped on her shoes and barged out the door towards Alex’s house.
“Hi Mr. Mullner. Hi Granny.” Haley sped past the elderly couple before they could return her greeting, practically breaking down Alex’s bedroom door.
“Woah! Haley! You almost made me drop my weights!” The ever-shirtless Alex gently placed his weights on the ground. “What’s up?”
Haley was red in the face. “Have you met that new farmer girl yet?”
“Yeah.”
Wow. What a conversationalist. Haley tossed herself onto Alex’s bed, eyes rolling. “Isn’t she, like, super weird?”
“I dunno. She seems nice.”
“Nice??” Haley scoffed. “God, you’re such an idiot sometimes.”
Alex shrugged, picked up his weights, and started curling again. Haley was not amused.
“Did you see those pants she was wearing? Like, what is this, ugly town?”
Alex smirked. “I actually thought they looked good. I told her they did.”
Haley’s mouth flung open. “You WHAT?”
“Yeah, then I told her about my push-up strategy. Have I told you about it yet? It’s pretty cool. Every time I do push-ups–”
“You try to do more than last time, yeah, yeah, whatever.” Haley crossed her arms.
Alex looked Haley up and down. “What’s got you so upset? Did the farmer say something to you?”
Haley let out a short chuckle. “Hardly. I think she was speechless because of my beauty or something.”
“Ah, shit,” said Alex, putting his weights down and sitting next to Haley on the bed. “Do you think she’s gay? I’m not good at telling but I kind of got that vibe when I complimented her.”
Horrified, Haley swatted Alex’s arm. “OMG, Alex. Shut up! No she isn’t!”
“Hey, you can never assume! There were a couple of guys on the high school gridball team who I accidently caught making out in the locker room once.” Alex grimaced. “I still feel bad for interrupting…”
“Ugh, Alex, come on! No, the farmer is not gay , that would be ridiculous! No gay person would come to a tiny town like this!” Haley realized her heart was racing, but she had no idea why.
“Isn’t Leah gay?”
“Um, well, that’s besides the point!”
“What is the point?”
“The point is, um…” Haley realized she didn’t really have a point at all. “Nevermind! Ugh! Let’s talk about something else!”
Mercifully, it seemed Alex was going to let this one go. “When’s your birthday again? Next Saturday?”
Haley blinked twice. “Next Sunday, dumbass. Why am I friends with you again?”
Alex grinned. “Cuz I’m the coolest guy around!”
Haley couldn’t stop the sides of her mouth from turning upwards. “Yeah, you are. You’re also a dumbass, though.”
“Hey, takes one to know one!”
Haley rolled her eyes. “Yeah, whatever.” No matter what happened with that stupid farmer, at least Haley had Alex to cheer her up. “Can I do your nails?”
“Only if you make them green like the Tunnelers!”
Haley laughed. “Whatever you say, ‘bro.’”
Green, she thought to herself. I don’t appreciate the color green enough.
Click.
What a view, thought Haley, looking over the river with her camera in hand. I really should come out to the forest more often. She took some more shots of the idyllic landscape, turning her camera to look towards the forest.
Wait.
Right in the middle of her otherwise-perfect photo was the farmer, fishing rod in hand. And ohmigod, she was walking RIGHT towards Haley.
Shit, shit. What do I do? Haley fumbled with her camera in a panic.
The farmer looked at Haley with a cute smile on her face. She looked…nervous? Who wouldn’t be after what Haley said to her last time they spoke. God, I hope she didn’t notice that I almost dropped my camera.
The farmer waved. “Hi Haley!”
Haley went red and hid behind her camera. Just act natural!
“Uh…Haley?” The farmer kept walking closer. Haley turned quickly back towards the river and snapped a few pictures.
The farmer stopped a few feet from Haley and scratched the back of her head. “Um…” Haley kept pretending like she wasn’t there. The farmer shrugged, walked to the edge of the river, and cast her line. Within no time, there was a fish on her hook.
Haley couldn’t help but stare. She really didn’t know a thing about fishing, especially since she avoided “Stinky Willy” as much as she could. Still, there was something interesting about the farmer’s strong stance as she reeled the fish in. Haley snapped a photo.
“Hey, a sunfish!” the farmer shouted out, laughing. She has a nice laugh, Haley thought, for someone so dirty-looking.
The farmer beamed. “Hey, did you get a photo?” she shouted out. Haley frantically turned the other direction. She had been caught red-handed. She started to rush home.
“Hey, wait up!” the farmer said, running over to where Haley was. There was no ignoring her now.
“Oh, hey…” said Haley, turning slowly to meet the farmer’s gaze. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there. I was pretty involved with my camera.” Haley couldn’t help but notice the farmer’s eyes again. Green. Soothing, yet exciting.
The farmer chuckled a little. “Yeah, that’s what I gathered.”
Haley looked the farmer up and down. She was sweaty. Dirty. Smelly. Ew. “Don’t you get tired of running around on that farm all day, or whatever it is you do? I couldn’t stand getting all dirty like that.”
The farmer looked taken aback. Haley’s eyes widened. It seemed like this meeting was going about as well as the first.
“You probably get a nice tan, though,” Haley added hastily. The farmer just looked at her. Haley bit her lip.
“I’ve gotta go, it’s my night to cook dinner,” Haley said, turning very quickly and practically running back towards town. She heard a sigh from behind her. Nice going, Haley, she thought to herself. She power-walked the whole way home, slamming the front door. Thank goodness Emily was at work by now.
Haley didn’t stop til she reached her bed, face planting onto the golden blankets. She screamed into a pillow. Stupid farmer! She can’t even carry a normal conversation!
Haley turned to stare at the ceiling. What was it about that farmer that made Haley lose any ability to function? Was it because she had a better tan? Was Haley’s grass allergy acting up? Or maybe it was those eyes – green like the ocean. I wish it were beach season. Haley sighed. She’d give anything to be in her bikini, tanning in the sand. I wonder if the farmer has a bikini?
Haley shot up in bed. What kind of thought was that?
She pondered this.
Wait.
Was Haley…
...jealous of the farmer’s hot body??
Must be, Haley thought, and she buried her head in a magazine once again.