Chapter Text
“Have a good one!” You say, the bell chiming to Pierre’s as you exit the store. A wall of heat and humidity hits you, and you already begin to sweat. How was it only 10 am? You fix the straw hat atop of your head, grateful that you decided to wear your tank top and baggy overalls today. Making sure all 20 of your melon seeds were snug in your bag, you move it to your shoulder, taking the lower route to your house. Maybe you could stop by the traveling cart and get a few essentials for the community center.
Whipping out your to-do list for the day you start checking off some of the things you’ve done and begin pondering what else to do. You juggle between a few options but finally settle to fish in the Cindersap forest lake. As you move to put your to do list back into your bag, a voice cuts through your inner monologue.
“WATCH OUT!”
You look up to see a blonde man hurtling towards you on a skateboard. But you notice him too late, your efforts to dodge in vain. He crashes into you and you tumble to the ground together, losing your hat and bag in the process. And now, this mysterious guy who you’ve only seen in passing is now lying on top of you. No big deal.
He sucks in a breath through his teeth.
“I am so so sorry!”
He pleads with you, his eyebrows furrowed with worry. He quickly straightens his arms, his hands on either side of your head and his knees on either side of your hips as he searches your face and body for any sign of pain. Letting out a sigh, his eyes meet yours.
“Are you okay? I hope I didn’t hurt you too bad.” He says lowly, his voice filled with guilt. His green eyes glance off to the side.
The way he’s speaking does something to you. It felt intimate. But maybe that was the heat getting to your head. Or, rising to your cheeks. You pray he doesn’t notice, or doesn’t care. The last thing you want to do right now is look at this man and make any sort of a fool out of yourself.
Disregarding the precarious position you two were in, you put on a brave face and look up at him.
“Hey, it’s fine,” you say, cracking a smile. It was kind of humorous to end up in such a situation, especially one you’ve daydreamt about so many times.
“Are you sure?” He raises a slight eyebrow at you, not believing you fully.
“Yes??” You laugh softly.
Your laughter dies down and for a second, you stare into his eyes. And he’s staring back. And you notice his green eyes, his ear piercings, his shaggy blonde mullet, and the slightest bit of stubble on his upper lip.
His eyes widen.
“Shit, I’m sorry,” he curses in a low voice, making your chest tighten. He gets off of you, standing up. He holds out his hand for you to take and you thought he looked a little flushed.
“Here,”
You look up at him, his face contorted in an awkward expression. Reaching up slowly, you take his hand and he hoists you up with ease, his strength nearly pulling you into his chest. He breathes out sharply, his breath brushing against your ear. You look down at your hand that was still clasped in his. Maybe you had been holding onto each other for entirely too long.
You glance up and your eyes meet, and it was like electricity coursed through your held gaze, his hand releasing yours. You both step back at the same time. You look off to the side, feeling flustered. But you think he feels flustered too.
“Thank you,” you say, fixing your hair. You glance up and your eyes meet his green ones. He’s tall.
I need him to pick my fruit trees. You ponder, biting your lip slightly as you think of other things it’d be helpful to have a tree like him for.
However, his voice cuts your day dream short.
“I’m really sorry about all of that. So, I think we should just start from the beginning. I’m Sam,” he says with a sheepish grin, his hand behind his head.
Something about Sam was so honest, so endearing. And you can’t help but feel your face relax and a small smile spreads across your lips.
You introduce yourself.
“It’s nice to see you.”
“It’s nice to meet you too,” Sam says earnestly, letting out a sigh.
He brings his hand down from the back of his neck, visibly relaxing in front of you.
“Well, is there any way I can make this mishap up to you? Gifts, favors, physical labor?” He smirks.
You think for a moment, pressing your knuckles to your lips. Was he staring at your lips?
“Some help with chores on the farm would be greatly appreciated,” you smile, watching his reaction.
“But of course,” he replies playfully.
“Then it’s a deal,” you grin.
“Think you can be at the farm by like…7:30 am?” You say trepidatiously, knowing it might be stretch.
“I’ll be there.” He says assuredly, nodding his head like it was some mission.
“Sweet, I’ll see you then?” You say, turning to leave.
“Oh!” You whip around face him again.
“Make sure you wear something you don’t mind getting dirty,” you advise, fixing your bag on your shoulder. Looking back at him, you notice him holding your straw hat that you won in the egg hunt.
“Understood.”
Sam's lips pull into a smirk, his eyes filled with mischief. He places the hat on your head head and hands you your melon seeds before skating off towards the town square, waving you goodbye with a cheeky grin.
You stand there bewildered, face flushing as you look down at the melon seeds in your hand. Putting them in your bag, you head off to the Cindersap Forest.
What the fuck was that?