(Summer 25)
After bringing Willy some supplies to fix up an old boat of his, I decided to relax, and do some fishing.
(Author: Fishing? Relaxing?! HA!)
Unfortunately, like usual, I wasn't really able to catch much.
"Uuuuuuuugggggghhh... Why am I so bad at this?" I thought, laying on the dock, with my fishing pole next to me.
As I laid there, I suddenly saw someone standing above me. I was surprised to see Elliott smiling down at me.
"Having trouble fishing, are we?" He laughed.
I just nodded, as I sat back up. "May I?" He asked, gesturing to the spot beside me. I nodded again, and only as he sat down, did I notice that he also had a fishing rod with him. "Hm... Didn't know this guy could fish. Though, I'm not really surprised, since he lives on the beach." I thought, glancing back at his little house.
After a short pause, Elliott said "So, I've happened to notice you hanging around that dark haired boy, um... What was his name...? Sebastian? was it? Well, that doesn't really matter at the moment, but what does is that you two seem to be quite close. Am I Mistaken?"
I then took my notebook out of my backpack, and wrote "He's my best friend." with an awkward smile.
Elliott chuckled quietly, tossing his fishing hook into the water. Soon after, I did the same.
"That boy seems like he could use a friend like you. Especially after that rainy day on the edge of the dock." He said.
"You saw that?" I wrote, feeling weird about the fact that I might have been being spied on during that dark and emotional moment.
Elliott looked surprised for a moment, before quickly saying "Well, yes, but... I just happened to be fishing on the dock across that little wooden bridge, enjoying the rain, and trying to get rid of some writer's block, when I happened to notice the two of you. I didn't stare. I just looked on for a moment, before going back to paying attention to the ocean, and hoping that everything was alright with the two of you."
I let out a quiet sigh, before thinking "Okay. He was just worried, that's all. Nothing creepy going on... Good." as I continued trying to fish.
After a long pause, Elliott started speaking again.
"So... Speaking of... Eventful moments at the beach... By any chance, will we be seeing you at the dance of the moonlight jellies?" He asked.
"What's that? Another thing similar to the flower dance?" I wrote, before thinking "Do these people just have a dance every month, or what?"
"No, no. It's not an actual dance, it's just... Well... Every year, at the end of summer, the moonlight jellyfish come to this beach. They're absolutely beautiful. I'm sure you would love to see them... I've even heard rumors of a rare green jellyfish, though I've never actually seen it." Elliott said happily.
"Oh, so it's a jellyfish migration thing. Cool!" I thought, looking at the water below.
After another pause, I wrote "Well, it was nice talking to ya, Elliott, but I'm not having any luck with fishing, so I might just head home... See ya at the dance of the moonlight jellies!" before getting up, waving at the man, and making my way home.
(Two days later)
"Okay, the dance of the moonlight jellies is tomorrow night. I'm really excited! By the way Elliott described it, it sounds like it's gonna be really pretty!" I said, hopping up and down with excitement, before taking out my phone to text the trio.
(Group text chat with Seb, Sam, and Abi)
🔇🇳🐝🤠: Hey, guys! Ya going to the moonlight jellies thing tomorrow night?
🦇The_Local_vampire🩸: it's one of the few events i actually enjoy, so... yeah, i'll probably be there.
🦇The_Local_vampire🩸: as long as someone (not naming names) doesn't try to push me into the ocean this year.
🪨Rock.Nibbler😋: Heck yeah! Those jellyfish are so cool! I hope I get to see the green one this time.
🎵He-Was-A-Skater-Boi🛹: Yeah, I'll be there. (and we'll see, Sebby~)
🦇The_Local_vampire🩸: ...
🔇🇳🐝🤠: Stop it, Sam. Otherwise, he might change his mind about going, and this is one of the few times he goes outside. The dude needs some natural light... Even if it is just from a bunch of jellyfish.
🦇The_Local_vampire🩸: ouch...
🪨Rock.Nibbler😋: Oof. I felt that burn, and it wasn't even aimed at me. Lol
(End text chat)
I laughed as I put my phone in my pocket, and continued getting ready for tomorrow.
For some reason, even though I usually have a hard time in a large group of people, something told me that everything was gonna be okay tomorrow night.
(The next day... Sometime around noon)
"UGH! Why are days so long when you're waiting for them to end?" I asked no one, as I lay face down on the couch.
Just then, I suddenly heard a knock at the door, so I lazily got up, and answered it.
I was surprised to see Sam Seb and Abi standing on the other side.
"Hey, farmer!" Sam said with a wave.
"Hey, guys. What are you doing here?" I asked, letting the trio into the house.
"Well, we had nothing better to do, except the thing that's going on tonight, so we figured we'd bug you for a while." Abi said, sitting on the floor in front of the couch.
"Good. I was looking for a distraction." I said, sitting back on the couch.
Soon after, Seb sat on the couch next to me, and Sam joined Abi on the floor.
"So... What do?" Sam asked, looking bored out of his mind.
"Y'all came to my house expecting me to actually have things for us to do?" I asked with a laugh.
"You're a farmer. Don't you have, like, farm work or... Something?" Abi asked with a shrug.
"I've got two chickens, but I've already taken care of them... Well, there is also a weird looking egg in the coop. I have no clue what's in it, and honestly I'm not sure if I wanna know." I said.
"What's it look like?" Seb asked, resting his head on his hand.
After a pause, I said "It's black with red spots. It... also smells like burnt hair, so... That's weird."
"Where'd ya get that thing?" Sam asked with a laugh.
"I don't know. One night, I heard some creepy laughing outside, and the next day... There was a weird egg..." I said, leaning back into the couch.
For a moment, the room went silent as everyone tried to think about where that egg could have come from.
"Watch it hatch into some sort of creepy monster." Sam laughed.
"Or not hatch at all." Abi said with a shrug.
"Whatever it is, I think it's still alive. The egg felt warm when I found it, and I saw it move a bit after I put it into the incubator." I said, scratching the back of my head.
(Tiny time skip)
After some small talk about weird eggs, the trio and I decided to spend our time telling funny or embarrassing stories.
"Man, Seb gets high kinda often, you'd think he'd know how to keep embarrassing thoughts in his head by now." Sam laughed after I told the story of what happened after Seb broke his hand.
"I can't believe I said that..." Seb mumbled, covering his face with his hood.
"Come on, Sebby. It wasn't that bad. You could have said something much worse." I said, trying to hold back a laugh as I rubbed his back.
"I've never told any of my friends that. Even when I was high. So, why you?!" Seb whined, holding his head in his hands.
"He's right. I'm his best friend, and he's never even said that to me." Sam joked.
"Hey, it's totally normal for some friends to say that kind of thing to each other. It doesn't have to be a romantic thing. But on the other hand, no one should force you to say it just because you care about them." I said with a shrug.
"I mean, I can't really say much, since I can't even remember the last time I've said that to... Well, anyone, really." I continued, before an awkward pause.
"You can't remember the last time you told someone you loved them?" Sam asked, with a look of both confusion, and concern.
I nodded. "I don't know. Ever since my mom started forcing me to say it, I've kinda just... Gotten uncomfortable with actually saying it out loud... Every time I didn't say it exactly the way she'd want me to, she'd yell at me... And that only made things worse. Everyone has their own love language,and that just... Wasn't mine... Sometimes I honestly don't even know if I have my own love language..." I said, hugging my legs close to my chest.
"That's so sad!" Sam said, looking like he wanted to cry.
"Yikes. And I thought We had bad parent issues." Abi said, gesturing to herself, Seb, and Sam.
"I guess that's another reason Willow fits in so well in our little group." Seb said quietly.
"Well, hopefully someday, you'll be comfortable enough to say that to someone." Sam said, wiping a tear from his face.
I couldn't help but let out a quiet chuckle over the fact that he was getting this emotional because of my problems.
"Okay, why don't we try to forget about all this sad stuff. It looks like it's time to head to the beach anyway." I said, getting up from the couch, and heading towards the door.
(Tiny time skip)
As the four of us got to the beach, the sun had already set, the moon was starting to rise, and there were a bunch of lanterns in the water. "Pretty~" I thought, as we made our way to the edge of the dock.
As Seb and I sat down, Sam just looked at Abi with a smug look on his face.
We all stayed silent for a moment while some of us were trying to get what that face was for, but after a few seconds, Abi mouthed the word "Don't." as Seb suddenly decided to pull me onto his lap, as he glared at Sam.
"What is happening...?" I thought, as Seb whispered "If I'm going down, they're going down with me... Choose your next move wisely." to Sam
I then suddenly got what was happening as I looked at Sebastian and whispered "You're using me just so Sam doesn't push you off the dock?! How dare you?" while faking being offended.
"Hey. it's either you just end up on my lap, or I end up in the water. Which do you prefer?" Seb asked jokingly.
After a pause, I sarcastically responded "Or... Get this... We both end up in the water... Because your plan was crap, and Sam decides to push you in anyway."
The laugh Sam let out after that was unfortunately so loud that it caused most of the town to look in our direction, wondering what was going on over here.
"Ohhhhhhh boy... Things got awkward quick." I whispered, hiding my face with Seb's hoodie.
(Seb's POV)
"The farmer's right. This is extremely awkward." I thought, holding them close in hopes that my plan of staying out of the water would actually work.
I watched mayor Lewis roll his eyes before letting the lanterns float away from the dock.
For a little while, it was almost pitch black out here, until the water suddenly started lighting up with the glow of the moonlight jellies.
I felt Wisp move a bit to get a better look at the jellyfish.
"Woah." They whispered, looking mesmerized as they stared out at the ocean.
(Abi's POV)
After looking at the moonlight jellies for a bit, I happened to notice a green jellyfish swimming towards the dock. "Hey, guys! Look-" I started whispering, before glancing towards Seb and Willow.
Willow was looking at the jellies, and actually seemed to notice the green one, while Seb... Well, he seemed to have his eyes more on the farmer than the actual thing we came here for.
"Hey, give me a sec." The farmer said, taking their phone out of their pocket, and taking a quick selfie with the green jellyfish. Only then, did Seb actually seem to come to his senses, and look at what everyone else was looking at.
"Emo boi seems a little distracted tonight, don't ya think?" Sam whispered to me with a quiet chuckle, as we both looked back at our two friends.
The farmer was looking kinda tired, but still happily watching the jellyfish while resting their head on Seb's chest.
Seb had his head rested on top of the farmer's, and for once, he actually seemed to be at least slightly focused on the water instead of the farmer.
"And historians said they were really good friends." Sam whispered to me, causing me to have to quickly cover my mouth to hold in a laugh.
"And I think the 'historians' in this case, are also the 'Friends'. If ya know what I'm saying." I responded quietly.
"Yeah, because when was the last time Seb let any of his other friends do that?" Sam whispered, pointing to the farmer, who was now asleep on Sebastian's lap.
"Gotta hate the curse of having to wake up at six in the morning." I laughed.
(The next day)
(Willow's POV)
I yawn and stretch as I get up from... My bed? "How'd I get back here?" I asked no one, as I looked around the room.
After a moment of blindly looking around the room, I found my glasses sitting on my nightstand, along with a note.
Hey, Wisp...
Don't freak out if you find a big dark lump on your couch. It's just me.
Having to lug you all the way here from the beach, in the middle of the night is exhausting...
-A very tired Sebastian
I chuckled after reading the note, and walked into the living room. Sure enough, there was Sebastian, laying face down on the couch.
I quickly walked over to him, only to carefully check if he was still breathing, and after seeing that he was, I let out a sigh, and went outside to do some work around the farm.
"Hey, little cuties!" I said to my two chickens (Scramble [white]) and Nugget [brown]), my rabbit (Fluffy) and my duck (Quackers), before noticing someone new in the coop. A little black chick with bright red eyes.
"Oh! That egg hatched?" I thought, walking over to the baby chicken.
As I knelt down next to it, I asked "So, what should I name you, little one?" while the little bird just stared at me.
For a moment, I just sat there, trying to think of something. As usual, the name I was going to use was going to be the first word that popped into my head. (I'm great with names. I know.)
"Hmmmmmmmm... How about... Se-... No. That would be weird." I started, but then cut myself off mid sentence.
"Why was that the first word to enter my head?" I thought, looking at the bird, before pausing for a moment.
"Oh, right... Little emo bird... That's why that was the first word that came to mind... Alright! Your name is Sebby, whether either of us like it or not." I said, picking up the little chick, feeling some regret at my naming decision, but deciding to stick with it anyway.
(Small... Kinda lazy time skip)
After finishing the farm work for today, I stepped back into the house... Only to notice Sebastian standing in the kitchen, drinking coffee.
"I don't remember telling you to make yourself at home... So why do you act like you live here?" I asked, half joking, while crossing my arms.
"Got up. You weren't here to tell me to leave. I wanted some coffee. You had a... Rather dusty coffee maker. Need I say more..? Other than maybe asking why the coffee maker was so dusty?" Seb said, taking a sip of his coffee.
"Oh, I don't use it. I don't like coffee." I said blankly, heading into the living room, until I heard what I could only assume was the noise of someone trying to hide the fact that they were choking.
"What? Was there dust in that coffee?" I joked, looking back at him.
"No *cough* just kinda surprised by the fact that you hate coffee, all things considered." Seb responded. His face was slightly red from trying to hold in a cough.
"What? You think I can't force myself to stay awake all day after getting up at six in the morning? Buddy, these eyebags ain't cheap. It costs a lot of sleep deprivation to get these bad boys. You, of all people, should know." I said with a smug grin.
Sebastian glared at me for a moment, before glancing over at something next to me. "What's with the bird?" he asked.
Before that point, I had almost completely forgotten that Sebby (the bird) was sitting on my shoulder.
"Oh, this is Sebby! Not to be confused with... Well... You." I chuckled, gesturing to the small bird.
"You named a bird after me...?" Seb asked, looking unamused.
"Y-... Yeah...? Look. I thought it was stupid too, but the more I thought of it, the more it just fit, and at this point, there's no taking it back." I said, as the bird hopped onto my head.
For a moment, Sebastian just stared at the little chicken, before I awkwardly asked "Wanna hold her?"
After a pause, he responded "Well, I... I would, but..."
"You're worried about the fact that she came out of an egg, aren't you?" I joked, bringing the baby bird over to the sink to get off any egg stuff that it might have still had on it.
"Well, no, but... Well, now that you mention it." Seb said awkwardly as I finished cleaning the chick.
The little bird shook itself off, and was now just a little pile of black fluff.
"Awwww. Seb, look! She kinda looks like one of those dust sprites from the mines." I laughed.
I could tell that Seb was trying to keep himself from smiling at the tiny ball of fuzz, but it... Didn't really work that well.
"Admit it. You love her. She's literally a little emo chicken. How could you not?" I joked, as Sebastian covered his mouth to hide the (now very obvious) smile on his face.
I could see him shaking as he tried to hold in his laughter at both myself, and the fuzzy little chicken that was sitting in my hands.
"Fine, fine. She's cute. I'll hold her. Are ya happy now?" Seb laughed as I handed him the small bird.
"Yes."I responded smugly.
"So... Why'd ya want me to hold this little fuzzball so badly?" He asked.
"No reason." I said blankly with a shrug, before sitting at the table, taking out my notebook, and doodling something out of boredom.
After a pause, Seb asked "Whatcha doing?" while patting the little chick's head.
"Oh, nothing much. Just doing a little drawing." I said awkwardly, as I continued to draw.
"Didn't know you were an artist." Seb said, smiling slightly.
For a second, I just stared at him blankly, before realizing that I was staring, and immediately went back to drawing. "I- I mean I'm... Not a great artist, by any means, but... I can draw." I said, absentmindedly holding up the sketch I was working on.
Seb squinted at the sketch for a second, before asking "Is that me?"
I was hoping that since the picture wasn't colored... Or didn't really have much detail at all, for that matter... He wouldn't be able to tell who I was drawing, but sadly, I was mistaken. "Uh... Um... No?" I said awkwardly, as I put the sketch back down.
"Funny. That hair swoop kinda looks familiar." Seb said, tilting his head.
"No it doesn't." I said, quickly and quietly, as I awkwardly stared at the drawing.
"That little black bird in the dude's hand kinda looks familiar too." Seb laughed, holding up the little bird he was holding.
"Nope. It's a completely different bird." I said, covering up the drawing with my arms.
"Y'know, you don't have to make a big deal out of this. It's only weird if one of us makes it weird. I don't mind you drawing me, if that's really what you wanted to spend your time on." Seb chuckled, sitting at the table, with the chick on his shoulder.
"It just feels awkward to draw someone without actually asking to do so. It feels creepy. Also I messed up on the hair a bit, but since I only draw with a pen, I can't erase it, but other than that, the drawing looks okay, but... Ugh..." I groaned, resting my head on the table.
"I mean, if ya feel creepy for drawing someone without asking... Ya coulda asked. I don't mind either way, but... I'm just more confused about why you'd wanna draw me of all people." Seb said, resting his head in his hand.
"I like drawing cute faces. Need I say more?" I said blankly, lifting my head slightly, before seeing Seb's face turn slightly red.
"What?" I asked after an awkward pause.
"You're just gonna say that without any hesitation, and not expect this reaction?" Seb asked, pointing to his red face.
"Hey, I'm an artist. When I'm drawing people, I look at them kinda often, so... Even someone like me, who isn't really into people, can tell when someone's a looker." I laughed, as his face turned even more red.
"It's kinda funny that you can go from white as snow, to red as a tomato... Just because I said you were cute." I laughed.
"Shut up! I'm not used to people calling me that!" He said, pulling his hood over his face.
"What, no one's ever called you cute before?" I chuckled.
"My mom did a few times when I was a kid, but that's a story for... Never." Seb said, rolling his eyes.
"Lucky. My mom was always calling me cute or pretty... To the point where it got annoying... Doesn't really help much that I hate the version of myself that I see in the mirror." I mumbled, resting my head on my arms.
The room went silent for a moment. "There I go again... Killing the mood because I said too much about myself..." I thought, before noticing the look on Sebastian's face. It was some kind of mix between concern, and understanding.
After a few more seconds of silence, he asked "You don't like your looks either, huh?"
I immediately lifted my head, and asked "Did you just call me ugly?!"
Seb covered his mouth, and said "No! Crap. I wasn't talking about you. I-... I just..."
There was another long pause, before he continued.
"I get it... I'm not really fond of looking at myself either. Why else do you think I always wear this big hoodie?" He whispered, hanging his head low.
"Oh..." I said quietly, unsure of how exactly to respond to that.
Neither of us were expecting this turn of events. First we were talking about a cute baby chicken, then about the fact that I was drawing a picture of my best friend... And now... This...
"Ya ever just look in a mirror, and... See that something is clearly wrong... But know that there's nothing you can do about it...?" I asked, hating the sound of my voice cracking as I spoke.
"Sometimes... Yeah." Seb said, patting the chick that was sleeping on his shoulder, as she cuddled up close to his neck.
"I would like it if... one day, I could look at my reflection, and not see... These things." I said, vaguely gesturing to my chest.
Seb then mumbled something that I couldn't quite understand, before saying "I guess the dysphoria hoodie works pretty well for ya. Didn't even know ya had those, honestly." with a quiet chuckle.
(Seb's POV)
"I've been there." I mumbled quietly, letting out an awkward laugh, and saying "I guess the dysphoria hoodie works pretty well for ya. Didn't even know ya had those, honestly."
I felt kinda weird after saying that, but didn't really know what else to say at this point.
"Well, Unfortunately, just because other people don't see something, doesn't mean it's not there. Yeah, it's nice to not see these things, but feeling them is a whole different story. It's hard to explain to people, even doctors, that these... Chest tumors... Are literally bending my ribcage in ways it's not supposed to bend... And yet, nothing's been done about it! Even the doctors don't even seem to want to help me. They just looked me up and down, said I had scoliosis, and sent me on my way. Didn't even try an x-ray or anything like that, so I'm just stuck in both physical, and emotional pain because of something I've been forced to live with my whole life." The farmer complained, hiding their face with their hands.
"Oh... Was not expecting that." I thought, before asking "Have you... Tried seeing Harvey about this...? I know you just said you tried asking a doctor, and yeah, Harv is the only doc we've got, but at least he cares about his patients. He won't just look you up and down, say you've got a problem, and kick you out."
"Yeah, but... How do you explain to a doctor that the problem with your body isn't just physical, but emotional as well...? While living with my family in the city, I've always assumed I've had depression or... Something... Just because of the way they've treated me, but that feeling hasn't gone away just because I moved here. I still feel like crap every time I look in a mirror, or just feel the weight on my chest... I may not show it most of the time, but, like... 90% of the time, I just feel... Numb... And in pain... And I don't know what to do about it..." Wisp said, as tears started forming in their eyes.
"I try to act happy, and make jokes because... I don't want to drag people down with me... I don't wanna make my problems their problems..." They said, looking up at me with a face I could only describe as... Broken.
"And yet... Here I am, doing just that... You've already got so much going on, and you're just sitting here, listening to me complain about my life... This isn't fair! You shouldn't have to listen to my crazy ranting. You've got enough on your plate as it is. If you don't wanna listen, you have every right to just walk out, and never come back..." They said, as tears fell onto the table.
I tried to steady my breathing so I wouldn't end up getting emotional, as I listened to their voice cracking as they spoke.
"J- Just go... I'm sure you've got better things to do, but... If you don't mind putting little Sebby back outside with the other animals when you leave, that would be great." They said, hiding their face with their hood, and resting their head on their arms.
I looked at the little black chick on my shoulder, then back at Wisp, before letting out a long sigh.
(Willow's POV)
I heard Sebastian get up from his chair, then the sound of the front door opening, and closing.
"He actually left... Figured as much..." I thought, before hearing the door open once again.
I quickly looked up, only to see that same man, standing in front of the door, with a little black chick next to his foot.
"I... Think she imprinted on me." He laughed, as he walked back into the kitchen, with little Sebby following close behind.
"Seb... Why'd you come back?" I said, trying not to laugh as I wiped the tears from my face.
"One. I didn't want Sebby Jr. to follow me home. Didn't wanna explain that to my mom. And two..." He paused for a moment, as the smile slowly left his face. "It wouldn't feel right for me to leave you alone right now..." He said, sitting in the chair next to me.
I couldn't hide the smile I had, while tears started running down my face again.
"Come here, ya little nerd!" I said, pulling my best friend into a hug.
(Author: No, I'm not getting emotional while writing about my farmer venting to a fictional emo dude. Why would you think that?! *cries while writing this at 6 am after getting no sleep*)