Chapter Text
Shane was a chicken sometimes, which was perfectly fine with him since he did love chickens. They were pretty great, after all, with their adorable walks and small little beaks; the way they clucked and when you hold them, how still they managed to keep their heads. But that was besides the point. Shane was a chicken. He was scared of a lot of things in life: Of the future, of his own short comings, of strangers.
Hoo boy, was he afraid of strangers. Having moved to Pelican town, Shane quickly adjusted to a very set amount of people, and these people were essentially his limit. In his eyes, there was no need to meet anyone else, no need to go travelling (although there was no way he could afford to, what with his 7 days a week job at the Joja mart in town), and no need AT ALL to change his schedule of getting up, going to work, and drowning all his depression in as much alcohol as he could tolerate without risking not waking up in the morning. That was his existence, until of course YOU came along.
You were new to Pelican town. Duh, of course you knew that. Having finally broken down and opened the envelope your Grandfather left to you, you dropped everything in your city life to start over and live an ‘easier’ life. Quotations of course, seeing as this was a LOT more manual labor. Obviously, you hadn’t expected it to be easy, but at the same time, you couldn’t help but hope it wasn’t all that hard.
Upon arriving to town, you had met a wonderfully kind woman named Robin, and the mayor your grandfather mentioned by name, Lewis. After the initial shock of finding the plot of land completely untamed, left to be devoured by the weeds and ever approaching forest, you began to feel… at home, if that made any sense.
“I know, it’s a bit of a mess right now, and the cottage isn’t much to look at.” Robin rubbed at the back of her neck, as if she was to blame for nature just doing its thing. “The place doesn’t even have a kitchen, but if you ever want to upgrade, you come find me, alright?” She used her thumb to gesture at herself and smiled brightly. Oh great. No kitchen? How on earth were you supposed to fend for yourself, just live off of parsnips you grew?
Eh, that didn’t sound TOO awful. Except it did.
Lewis and Robin soon left your farm. That was weird, calling it YOUR farm, but the truth was, it was. Everything happened so suddenly, it was still almost dream-like to you, but regardless, it was reality, and you had a small town to explore.
One thing you really had to get used to was walking everywhere, something that was never an issue in the city. It took a solid 25 minutes just to get into town, but once you were there, you were surprised to see people, all just walking about and occasionally sparing a glance in your direction. It was go time.
“Hi there, I’m---”
“You’re the new farmer, right?” A woman with pleasant green hair asked. She smiled so warmly, you were rather taken aback,
“Uh, yeah. That’s me.”
“I’m Caroline. My husband runs the general store, and have you met my daughter, Abigail? She’s the pale one with the purple hair.” You shook your head no. “Well I’m positive you’ll run into her eventually. This town is rather small, there’s not all that many of us to meet. Besides, nearly everyone will be keeping an eye out for you.”
“For me?” You echoed her last statement, feeling a little on the uncomfortable side. You weren’t exactly used to being the center of attention.
“Mhm. It’s been awhile since we last saw a new face here. Anyway, I have to meet up with someone, so I’ll see you around. Good bye.” With that, she hurried off, leaving you in the middle of the town square. Seemed like your meeting people wasn’t going to be so difficult after all.
Caroline was in fact, correct, most people seeked you out, introducing themselves in such a polite manner that you had to stop for a moment and remind yourself they’re all being sincere. There was a surprising amount of younger people in the town, like the previously mentioned Abigail and others like Sebastian or Leah. For some reason, you had convinced yourself that this was just going to be a town of old people who complained all the time. But they had George for that, so…
In the end, you had nearly met everyone within the first ten or so hours of being there. You hadn’t even unpacked what little stuff you brought, but you figured there was time for that later. As the sun set behind some distant mountains, you found yourself drawn to the Saloon, where you had earlier met a kind fellow named Gus.
“Can I get ya somethin’ to drink?” He asked you, washing up a glass in preparation for the incoming crowd. Mayor Lewis had mentioned how that place was the go-to hang out for everyone in the evening. Sure enough, you went to it, but maybe a little earlier than anyone else. After all, you were only familiarizing yourself with the area.
“Nah, I’ll pass tonight.” You replied, leaning up against the counter tops. Gus shrugged, tucking away the glass somewhere out of sight. You assumed there was shelf space there, or so you hoped.
“Think you’ve met everyone?” The conversation was continued, tugged in another direction. You thought for a moment and shrugged.
“I guess. Hard to tell without some kind of checklist.” The Saloon owner chuckled at that.
Suddenly, the front door opened and in came Emily, another townsperson you had met in your wandering. She grinned wide, waving her fingers individually at you.
“Hey there, farmer! Here for a drink?” She rounded the counter top, tying a small apron around her waist and joining Gus in prepping the work space.
“Just winding down before heading back to the farm.”
“Oh yeah, it’s a bit of walk, isn’t it? Well you’re more than welcome to hang around here all you want! Until we close.” Emily bursted out with laughter at her own joke. Something about that was instantly charming.
You spoke with the both of them for some time, watching as more and more people trickled in as it grew later in the evening, that was until an extra unfamiliar face entered. Yes, extra unfamiliar, cause being completely honest, you weren’t quite familiar with anyone.
Thick, near-black eyebrows that found themselves pointed down and causing wrinkles to spread in the center of his forehead. Purple hair that was swept to the side, but sweat (you assumed) caused the tips to cling to his skin. Torn up jacket, faded shorts, five-o'clock shadow, this guy looked incredibly out of place. Which was saying a lot seeing as there was some goth girl, some dude who looked straight out of a fantasy novel, and a scientist guy all in that small town.
But you digress. You had most certainly not met this guy.
You must have been staring, cause Gus immediately tapped your shoulder to get your attention.
“That’s Shane. Prolly didn’t see him cause he works most the day.” He quickly filled you in. Still, you continued to stare dumbly, feeling almost… intimidated.
“I should introduce myself.”
“Oh, I don’t know if you---” But it was too late, you were already making your way over to the guy as he stood in the corner. There was already a beer in his hand, you assumed Emily got it to him. Perhaps he was a regular? Well, that didn’t say much since everyone here was a regular.
“Hey, Shane right? I’m---”
“I don’t know you. Why are you talking to me?” He immediately snapped at you, eyes somehow more narrowed than before. You were taken aback, which was odd for you since that was a perfectly normal reaction back in the city, but here? Here, people were so courteous and friendly, offering up more information than you ever asked for.
“Um. Okay?” You backed away, leaving him by himself. What a dick. Guess you just had to befriend him, then.
Shane was a chicken. Clucked much like one, too, especially at strangers. Especially at cute strangers. He was mostly fine with this, but the truth was he hated it. He hated hearing about you from his Aunt Marnie. Hated that you were just GIVEN some kind of fresh start. Hated that you approached him as if you already belonged in that small, irrelevant town. Shane really, really hated you, but he mostly hated himself for it.
That night, when he collapsed in bed well after midnight, he hoped you never would appear in his sights ever again. But he also didn’t wish that. Cause he was a chicken.