love you like a fool.

koa ran as fast as he could. he needed help, and he grabbed the first person he could. unfortunately for him, it was athena, and to this day – he still didn’t know how to act around her. he really did love the girl. oof, heartbreak was too residual. “i need an extra set of hands, and i need them now. are you in or out?!” he called back over his shoulder. they ran into the mine where koa skidded to a stop. “i lost my phone down there somewhere. please help.”

   Jillian was feeling unusually philanthropic — which, to any normal person, would probably just be described as kindness   — which meant the minerals she had found in the mines were being donated to the spa. She didn’t want to make the trek over there: thus, Athena functioned as a link.   (   What ? Philanthropists didn’t need to travel.   )   “   It’s important,   ”   Jillian emphasized, with the utmost seriousness, despite the lighthearted nature of the surprise. She finally rounded the corner to the side of the general store, where she usually cracked open geodes and ore when she didn’t need to go to the blacksmith …. a neat collection of chunks of mineral deposit laid out on a picnic blanket.   “   Ta-da,   ”   She said dryly, though secretly she was excited to share. 

alex squatted between two of his younger students who had paired up to paint a haphazard meadow on their can. when athena called his name, alex strode to the other pair with his brows furrowed in curiosity. once he caught sight of their art, disappointment found his features. “really?” he asked. his voice sounded a little sad. “this is supposed to be a service to the community. is this what you two want to give to the valley?”

malia wanted to cry sometimes at how her life turned out. she didn’t think that it was fair. she had a great life, growing up, she was so happy. while her parents divorce did a number on her she always had her mom. her mom was her best friend who loved her unconditionally. it was cruel. right now she’d probably be in new york city, with a job that she loved, running professionally still and maybe had someone to come home to. she’d visit the valley whenever she could because despite all her resentment towards this place she also loved it. she loved it here. she just wanted to be away from it. she wanted to love it from a distance. it’s not that she hated her job, it’s just that she felt like it was all that she really had. “i wish i wasn’t though.” she says, looking at her hands. “not that—not that i wouldn’t have been his nurse or don’t want to care for him. it’s just. it’s just that we’re here.” she said with a shrug. it just sucks that we’re here in this situation to begin with. she wanted to say that she was sorry that her dad was sick. she wished that he wasn’t. she wished for a lot of things. “but i’m glad that i can be here… for him.”

“thanks, boss,” alex cracked again as he stepped back to admire his work. okay, it all seemed pretty even. not half bad. he scanned his class quickly before looking back at athena. “i think the ocean sounds great. it looks like some of the kids are making the forest too, so we’ll have a couple of stardew sights.” he set his paintbrush down and said, “i think i’ll check on some of the kids while you do that. feel free to talk to anyone too. i’m sure they’d appreciate your help. they love when they get to hear from anyone but me.”

alex continued stroking his paintbrush over the trash can and glanced at athena out the corner of his eye. “this look okay?” he had to be sure he kept up her vision, true to his word that she was the boss. in his glance, he saw her take the blue paint in her hand. “what are you going to do with that?”

malia knew that she was a shell of herself. if you were to put two and two together she wouldn’t know who she really was. it was like her personality had done a complete 180. she used to be much louder, much more happier, and brighter. she smiled more and always had something to say when it came to friendly banter. she felt like that she had gotten all of those good qualities from her mom and that they had died with her. she had a hard time seeing the good parts of herself—the parts that no one wanted to stick around for. she didn’t let anyone in—even people she wanted to let in she didn’t know how. standing in front of athena reminded her of everything she had lost and all the things that she could have had just let tell her how she felt. but malia didn’t think she could do that—even to someone who had meant the world to her. she couldn’t even admit those feelings to herself. what about you? do you enjoy what you do? she gulped, her fingers instinctively reaching for her jacket pocket for her cigarettes that she knew she shouldn’t smoke. she did anyway. “not all the time,” she said, not wanting to lie. “but it’s a job—and i’m good at it.” she said with a shrug. shouldn’t that be enough?

alex laughed at athena’s joke, still stepping up to the challenge. “i’m ready to be the student again. show me the light, wise one.” as soon as athena instructed him, he dipped his brush in the yellow paint and took to the can. he was no artist, but he did his best to keep the strokes steady and even. “how’s this, boss?”

maeve couldn’t help but smile at athena’s enthusiasm about the spa. “i sure do love a good face mask,” she said, “it’s been quite a while since i’ve had a night to relax.” she was a member at her previous spa while she lived in the city but her hectic work life made her visits rare. because of this, she didn’t waste a second when athena said she could sign her on the program. “i’d really love that,” she said with a huge smile, “may i know how it works?”

she soaked in the fresh air, feeling like she was also suffocating in there. felt like the walls were slowly closing in on her. she didn’t know what to do with all these complicated feelings. she had so many towards her childhood friends–the ones that came back and the ones that never left. it was like malia had dropped off the face of the earth despite living in the same town her entire life and never leaving it. she had only ever gone out of town a few times. once to new york city to visit nyu with her mom before everything happened. it was a trip that her heart needed, and the other few times were to visit her dad in a public area never wanting to step foot in the house where he had began and raised his new family. she wanted to leave. it always sounded ideal, disappearing without a trace. she didn’t know if she could ever actually do it but she has dreams of starting over. become someone that wasn’t just–herself. she looked athena, forgetting all those dreams. she was happy for her. she was happy that she was able to find something that she loved in the middle of all this. “i can’t imagine going back to school,” malia mused, thinking of how she tried to juggle too much right after senior year ended. “i’m glad that you found something that you enjoy. it’s hard to find that.”

like clockwork, the gelatinous creature (apparently) in athena’s hand began to wriggle, and sage immediately stepped away in horror. “it’s like it was listening or something!” he cried. he was of no use whatsoever. he simply stood back and gaped at athena to see how she would react.

once the students split into groups, only one trash can remained, and alex supposed that he and athena could take care of it. he smiled back at her as she wielded her brush, and he swept a hand over the bin. “you tell me. you know i’m no artist, so i’ll be the one taking direction this time.” as they spoke and he took up a brush of his own, alex made sure the keep an eye on the students and make sure nobody got into too much trouble. 

“that’d be wonderful, thank you.” maeve was pretty excited to finally have a massage after a few months of going without. she’d probably get one every two weeks if she could. the powers that be know her poor back probably deserved it. “lovely meeting you, athena.” she greeted the other with a warm smile. “the valley has been wonderful! entirely different from my previous living situations - but it’s a good different.” she was glad that she adjusted quite quickly to this new beginning. “i’ll probably be popping by here often. spas and i go way back.”

it seemed to be a common theme with malia and hurting people by accident. she could tell that this was hard for athena–hard for both of them really. it’s just–she didn’t know how to fix it. didn’t know how to make things better. she didn’t have the right words to say, or how to say them because all that she wanted to say hurt. it all hurt. she wanted to warn her of what would come later with his illness, wanted to warn her how hard it was to watch someone you love die right in front of you and not being able to do anything about it. wanted to warn her of how precious these moments are and to savour them as best as she could. she wanted to tell her that this was why they stopped being close, because of the sickness. because it takes up your whole life. it’s lonely. malia has to look down, look at her equipment in her hands and she lets out a small breath. “sorry,” she says, nodding towards the door. “maybe we should talk outside.” she gives a brief smile, not knowing how to tell her that being in here was hard for her because of the memories. all the memories that this room had brought from childhood and how hard it was that this was now the room where athena took care of her father and where malia did her job. when she said that she started business school malia looks up and smiles. “that’s amazing. are you excited?” she asked, setting her stuff down by her feet and leaning against the house. 

sage’s face scrunched quizzically as he watched athena pick up a gooey, green piece of what could only be described as slobber. “i thought that was seaweed?” he voiced, but as he looked closer he realized it definitely was not natural. “okay, maybe not. i have no idea what it is though. what’s your guess?” he asked with a grin. “melted bottle? fish guts? jello?”