Us | A Stardew Valley FanFiction

Chapter 16 - Winter 25

"Nah, switch with me!" Sam chimed in. "I'll give her a nice, big can of kick-ass."

"You two are ridiculous," I muttered, crumpling the paper and throwing it in the direction of the trash can; it landed on the counter. "I'm not switching with either of you. Everyone deserves a good Christmas."

"We don't always get what we deserve," Alex murmured. "Did you deserve to..."

"Don't," I said, holding my hand up. "I didn't. But I wasn't the only one that got hurt."

"But she—"

"I know what she did, Alex. Forgive and forget, alright?"

"How can you just move on? You were one of the closest people to her, and she was sneaking around behind your back."

I cleared my throat uncomfortably as Haley chuckled, slinging her arm across my shoulders. "Even the bestest of friends sneak behind each other's backs," she smirked, pinching my cheek and wiggling it around. "Right, Sade?"

"Woah, woah, woah," Sam interjected, swiftly moving towards us. "What are you talking about?"

"You didn't hear?" she laughed. "Alex and Sadie are totally hooking up."

"Well, shit, I had an inkling, but...it was never, like, confirmed." he said, his eyes darting between us as his jaw rested on the ground. "How did you find out? How is Sadie still alive right now?"

I could feel a rush of blood flooding into my face as the banter continued, Alex's eyes trying to summon mine to meet his. I ignored his gaze. God, let this be over.

"I vowed to never disclose what I saw," she said, shooting a wink towards me. "But Sam?"

"What?"

"You would've been totally bricked up."

I snapped out of my trance to a groggy Haley arising from the couch and mustering up a big yawn. Ruffling my hair on the way past, she headed through the doorway to my bedroom and into the bathroom. The sound of the shower turning on was quickly masked by the screech of the coffee maker brewing Sam's fresh pot; it would only be a few more moments before he asked if we wanted any. We did not.

Twenty minutes had come and gone, the guys freshening up in the reflection of the microwave as the shower stream still hissed from the other room. I turned away as they began to change, the sound of denim scraping their legs and zippers fastening once again drowning out the sound of the water.

"Haley?" I said, lightly tapping on the bathroom door. "It's me. Can I come in?"

"Of course!" she exclaimed.

I pushed into the space, steam immediately flooding my vision. "Good lord, woman, it's like you're showering in lava," I chuckled, wiping the accumulated condensation off of the mirror and grabbing my toothbrush.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," she laughed, the fog of the room finally beginning to fizzle out.

Through the shower curtain, I could see a vague silhouette of her body, my eyes fixated on the shadow's movement as she ran through her routine. The motion of my hand slowed down, toothpaste slowly beginning to pool at my bottom lip.

"Oh, sorry," she said, poking her head out of the curtain. Water dripped down her forehead, drenching her eyelashes and flooding onto her collarbone. "Did you need to get in here?"

"What?"

"Am I taking too long?"

"Oh, no, sorry," I said, embarrassment seeping through my veins as I tore my eyes away from her.