Lily of the Valley - Stardew Valley - Sebastian

Chapter 6

***

Tuesday, 16th of spring.

"Hurry up! It can't be that difficult." I shouted but got no response. I had left Sebastian a few levels higher to fight off some bugs he wanted to kill. Kicking over some loose rocks I tried again; "I found a way down, again"

There were a few faint thumps and the sound of crashing a layer higher.

The boy had been avoiding me for days. Most likely hunched in his room thinking I couldn't find him. But I knew his mother. So, unfortunately for him, I knew where he lived.

And so, there he stood. A bit one-sided and in pain but nevertheless. His hand hadn't quite had the time to fully heal yet and it seemed to be a bit shy to touch. He, though, made no comment of this. Dropping his backpack on the edge of the new hole I had dug he sighed and kneeled down.

"You know," He rechecked if the bag was fully sealed and then swung it over his shoulder. "I was *this* close to staying in bed today."

"Awh, regret it already?" I sneered. The question wasn't really necessary, it quite literally beamed off of his face. I guarded the upper layer as he went down to check the new level. It was the most efficient and safe way of entering, or at least so we thought.

"Kinda. Why'd you wanna come here anyway? Out of all places." His muttering echoed from beneath, but I could already imagine the little headshakes he'd be making.

"Dunno, I- Ouch!" Stumbling down the rest of the stairs I scratched my knees against the steps. The pain didn't strike out too bad, but it was hard enough to definitely leave some nasty marks for later.

Out of a sudden a hand pressed up my back and held onto my arm gently as I shakily stood up. The bewilderment had most likely come from the shock, but what I hadn't been expecting was Sebastian's face inches from mine.

"You okay?" He asked. His voice was so soft it took me off guard and I nearly fell again. His eyes held no hate, which was interesting because of how annoyed he had seemed before. They were neatly framed by the chaos of his hair. It was just him. Him and his warm hands against my skin.

"Hello?"

Oh, right.

"Yeah. I'm okay." I shook my head.

I stepped half a step away and he let me go. Picking up some of the fallen ore that had escaped me in the fall he pocketed some and then handed me the rest. Holding onto the pile like a fool I watched him disappear back into the shadows with a slight hint of a grin on his face.

I should've gathered the gems and followed, but my mind was running a marathon. Was that how he always acted? Maybe he was like that with everybody. Or it was just the moment. It was actually quite normal. I had fallen and he came to check up on me. Hadn't I too patched him up the first time we met?

If so, why was I so flushed all of a sudden.

"You coming?" A shout echoed through the chambers.

I guess somebody was in a rush all of a sudden. I pushed the rocks back into my backpack and jogged after him.

"Yeah, coming."

For a good ten floors down the caves became pitch black and cold. The temperatures only dropped the lower we reached. I grew to hate every second the longer I had to hold onto a flashlight and mine.

"Ugh. Will this stay like this forever? I can't even see my feet!" I was so close to giving up when I managed to walk straight into a wall.

"What'd you expect? It's not like the sun's gonna help you here." I couldn't see past my nose, but Sebastian's voice echoed somewhere from the right. "There should be- aha!"