Chapter Text
Leo reached for his phone on the nightstand as he woke up. 10:45 AM. “Finally a proper night of sleep”, he thought. He yawned and stretched, then walked to the kitchen for breakfast. After eating, he stopped by the coop to check on the chickens and see if they had laid any more eggs. The three of them were hanging out outside, looking like they were starting to adapt and feel comfortable in their new home. In the nest, Leo found four small eggs, two white and two brown ones.
The grass around the house was starting to become a nuisance. It was tall, thick and fibrous, and was beginning to take over all the open space. It was surprising how fast it had grown. To get to the coop, Leo had to carefully choose where to step, and still managed to get himself tangled a few times.
“I guess I'll have to do some cleaning…” he sighed, not exactly excited about the prospect. “Can't you guys do it? Like with your beaks and claws and stuff?”
The rooster let out a loud squawk, as if saying “Hell no”.
“Yeah, I thought so…”
Hands-on work was never Leo's strongest, and by far not his favorite. He didn't even know where, or how, to begin. He started looking through the old chest behind his bed, where he remembered seeing some tools the day he arrived. Maybe there would be something useful there.
“Huh, let's see here… an axe. Not what I need right now.” He pulled it out, quickly examining it. The handle was made of dark wood, and the head, iron. It seemed a little rusty.
“A pickaxe? Interesting…” the pickaxe seemed only slightly less rusty than the axe, but its edges looked worn out.
“What's this thing even called again?” The next tool he pulled out had a long handle, and a flat iron head. “Oh, right.. It's a hoe. Heh. A big hoe.”
Finally, he pulled out a scythe. It was not as cool looking as the ones in the games he so enjoyed, but it was probably what he needed. He remembered many discussions he had had with his friends back in school about how scythes are not suitable weapons, and whenever one of them wished to use one for their RPG characters, Leo insisted on adding some disadvantage points to it.
Looking at one in real life for the first time confirmed his thoughts. It couldn't be used for stabbing. Maneuvering was difficult due to the length of the blade and handle. The user would be completely exposed to counter attacks while swinging it. So on.
“I've always known these things suck… but I gotta admit, it does look sick.”
He walked outside, wielding the scythe on his left hand, picturing himself looking like a sillier version of the grim reaper. He took a moment to look at the whole situation outside the farmhouse. He knew from the beginning he wasn't going to clean all of it, just enough so he could move around a little more easily in the area around the house.
“Having an overgrown forest around your house is cool, anyway.” He justified to himself.
Now, to figure out how to use the scythe. He awkwardly swung it left and right a few times, experimenting with different hand placements on the handle. After losing balance and almost falling on his back more than once, he thought he was almost getting the hang of it. And that was enough for what he needed to do. He then started cutting, making the grass in the whole area around the house shorter, and creating a path from the door to the road and to the coop. It was messed up and uneven, but did the job, and Leo wasn't worried about looks.
“That's more than enough work for today.”, He thought. He decided then he would go to the saloon, after taking a shower. Journey of the Prairie King wasn't going to beat itself.
It was a little over 3PM when Leo arrived at the saloon. It wasn't empty, but it wasn't crowded either.
“Hi Leo, welcome!” Emily waved at him from behind the counter as he walked in, holding a cup of beer in her other hand.
She handed the cup to a blond middle aged woman sitting at the corner of the bar, who already had a couple empty cups next to her.
Leo waved back, but his eyes were on the arcade machine. It was located in a room to the right side of the saloon, and stationed right next to another arcade, which he also wanted to try. There was a vending machine to the right, a couple couches and a pool table. It seemed like people didn't frequent that area very often, which Leo thought was great.
“Can I get you anything? You should try our lemon drop, I know you'll love it!” Emily leaned over the bar counter. “Wait, you are over twenty one, right?”
“Heh, yeah, I'm almost twenty three.” He glanced at the arcade, then back at Emily. “I'll just get something from the vending machine for now, but maybe later.”
“Okay! Let me know when you're ready to order then!” She smiled widely, then returned to work.
Leo made sure to stock up on as many coins as he could find before leaving home. He had told himself he would not leave the saloon until he beat Journey of the Prairie King, and when it came to videogames, Leo was dedicated. He grabbed a soda from the vending machine and headed to the arcade, inserting the first coin.
“Alright, you little pixelated bastard. Let's do this.”
The first turn was over in about 15 seconds, as he got swarmed by a horde of zombies pretty much as soon as the game loaded. But he wasn't going to let that bring him down, not yet. There were still 2 lives left for that round. He stared at the screen keenly. When his character respawned, he was ready to go at it, making it almost halfway through the first level, when he got surrounded and eliminated again.
“Shit, I'm not getting any good items...”
The character was back on the screen in a few seconds, and Leo was back on the game. A zombie coming from the bottom right corner finally dropped an item that Leo described as the fucking-die-already-machinegun, putting a smile on his face. He shot all the upcoming zombies with ease, until the item expired when he was almost at the end of the first level, and he died again.
“I got too confident..”, he whispered to himself. “Won't happen next time.”
He took a few sips of his soda and inserted the second coin, turning the game back on. He had a good feeling about this round. The character appeared on screen, and his grip on the joystick tightened. The game was going pretty good, until the first big wave. Leo knew he probably wouldn't make it out alive, but kept focused, so much that he didn't notice anyone coming until he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“What’s up man?”
Leo looked away from the screen, causing his character's early death. Normally he would be upset, but he knew he was going to die anyway. Sam smiled at him, and reached out for a fist bump. This time, Leo got it right.
“Hey dude, it's all good. You?”
Leo kept looking back and forth between Sam and the screen as the game loaded. Sebastian and Abigail walked in right behind him, talking amongst themselves.
“Awesome. Nice to see you here.”, Sam replied, heading towards the vending machine.
“Hey, Leo.” Abigail waved at him.
“Hey, Abigail.” He looked at her and smiled.
“Journey of the Prairie King?” She asked, leaning over closer to the machine.
“Yeah- hold up, I'm respawning.”
He turned his attention back to the game, eyes glued to the screen. He wasn't wasting any of his lives.
“That game is lame.” Sebastian scoffed, leaning against the pool table.
“You just think it's lame ‘cause you can't beat it.” Abigail countered.
“And you can?”
“...Fair.”
“I guess I prefer board games.” Sebastian said as he started setting up the pool table. “But really, that game is especially stupid.”
“Yeah dude, but so are you.” Sam jokingly slapped him in the back, spilling some of the soda he held in his other hand.
Leo wasn't really paying attention to their conversation until his character permanently died, and the machine requested a new coin to restart. He turned his back to it, facing the three of them.
“We're all our own kinds of stupid.” Abigail laughed. “It’s not like any of us can judge.” She then turned to Leo.
“Leo, what kind of stupid are you?”
“Huh.. I guess many kinds.”
Sam and Sebastian each grabbed a cue stick and positioned themselves around the pool table, beginning the game. Sam looked focused, but Sebastian had a relaxed look on his face, as if he knew without a doubt he was going to win.
Abigail rested her elbows against the other arcade machine. “We come here every Friday. It's like our little ritual”.
“Cool.” Leo messed with the joystick and action buttons inadvertently, looking around the room.
“You're not gonna play with them?”
“Nah, that game is lame. I don't know what they see in it.”
“Yeah… It would be more fun to stab each other with those sticks.”
“True.” She giggled.
“Have I ever beat you once?” Sam complained, laying his stick on the table.
“No, you suck.” Sebastian laughed.
“Alright, let's go again then!”
“Just say you like getting your ass kicked, man.” Abigail added.
“You know she’s right. Kicked and handed to you.” Sebastian grinned.
“You guys will take that back… Someday.” Sam pretended to be upset, but was clearly into the joke. He knew he didn't stand a chance.
Leo watched their banter quietly, still standing in front of the arcade. They seemed like good friends, and had probably known each other for a long time. Maybe even their whole lives. He sipped on his soda, glancing back and forth between them, the machines, and other random spots in the saloon. He often felt uncomfortable in group settings, feeling out of place or not knowing how to interact.
Sam and Sebastian had another go at the pool table, and Abigail sat on the blue couch next to the vending machine, crossing her legs. Leo decided to play another round of Journey of the Prairie King, after all, that's what he was there for.
This time he managed to make it to the second level, but lost before he could get halfway through it. He looked at the couch where Abigail was sitting, debating whether or not to sit there with her.
“Would it be weird? Nah, it's just a couch and that's what couches are for… But maybe- oh, whatever.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked towards the blue couch, awkwardly sitting next to her.
“Give up?” She asked, turning to him.
“Just taking a break.”
“That game is a ‘smile through the pain and then sit and cry’ kinda situation.” She joked.
“Don't tell me. I'll beat it someday, though.”
“Heh, that's the spirit.” She smiled at him, and he felt a fuzzy feeling down in his stomach. He quickly looked away from her, trying to be subtle about it.
“What's the score now, Seb? One million to minus one?” Abigail asked.
“Probably something close to it.” He responded.
Sam crossed his arms, defeated once again. His eyes then widened, as if he had just had a brilliant idea.
“Leo, dude.” he turned towards him. “Wanna play a round with us?”
On one hand, it felt nice that Sam was trying to include him in their activities. On the other, he had never played before, and if he was being honest, pool seemed boring.
“Eh, I don't really know how to play…”
“That's why he's asking.” Sebastian snickered. “That's the only way he could ever beat someone.”
“Nah, I'm pretty sure I could win against Vincent too.” Sam threw a third stick at Leo, who surprisingly managed to catch it mid air without fumbling it too badly. “Come on, it'll be fun.”
“Hm… Alright.”
He got up and stationed himself on the right side of the table. Sebastian organized the balls back into their starting positions. “I'll start, since I won last round.” He made the first move, proudly marking a score.
“Guess it's my turn.” Leo held the stick awkwardly, trying to figure out the right way to do it.
“Dude, you're holding it like a staff.” Sam pointed and chuckled.
“It's… a new technique I just made up.”
“Please demonstrate.” Sebastian watched curiously.
Leo managed to hit the cue ball, but sent it rolling towards a random direction.
“It looked like you were about to cast a fireball right there.” Abigail giggled.
“That would've been an insta victory for me.” Leo laughed.
“And then we would all die. Closed space and all that.” Sebastian pointed towards the room.
“My turn.” Sam aimed at the cue ball, successfully hitting his target, but missed the net by a couple inches. “Damn, that was close. Hey Abigail, can you go mess with the jukebox and put on some actual music? This old people shit is making it hard to concentrate.”
Abigail shrugged. “Sounds like an excuse to me. But alright, this music does kinda suck.”
She headed to the jukebox and discreetly started looking through the options, picking some energetic rock music. The saloon was beginning to get more crowded. Emily and Gus worked tirelessly, running around with food trays and drinks for all the hungry patrons.
Sebastian threw another perfect hit, scoring one more point. Leo failed once again, but at least managed to send the cue ball a little closer to the others. Sam finally scored a point, giving him a reason to loudly cheer. Abigail returned from her quest and sat back on the blue couch.
“Hey, that's better.” Sam did a thumbs up at her. “Good pick.”
“Did it help you at all, or are you still getting destroyed?” She teased.
The game lasted about another half hour. Sam and Sebastian relentlessly poked fun at each other, mostly at Sam's expense. At least he didn't get last place, from what it seemed, for the first time in a while. He lightly punched Leo's shoulder as they were putting the cue sticks back in their places.
“That wasn't a total disaster for your first time, props to you, man.”
“He's glad you took his last place.” Sebastian smirked. “I'm gonna go get a drink.”
He headed to the bar, followed by Sam. Leo thought it would be a good time to check the other arcade machine. Pool was okay, but still, definitely a little boring.
The other machine was blue, with many colorful buttons. Bright green, light blue, red, yellow, purple, and a dark grey one. The screen was black, as if it wasn't plugged in.
“That one's broken, we think.” Abigail approached him. “Actually I've never seen it working.”
“Really? That blows.” Leo was visibly disappointed.
“I know, I really wanted to try it out. It doesn't even have a name on it, so it's a real mystery!”
“Maybe I can ask, uh… the Super Mario guy, if I can take a look at it.”
“The- who?” She burst out laughing.
“You know.” he snickered, “The guy with the mustache, that works here. I forgot his name.”
“Oh yeah, Gus. Yeah, I can totally see it. That's his name now.”
Sam and Sebastian walked back into the room, each holding a drink. Sebastian had what looked like a straight up shot glass filled with some sort of vodka. Sam's glass was only half full, until he grabbed another soda from the vending machine and poured it into his drink.
“Disgusting..” Sebastian scoffed, eyeing Sam's concoction.
“You wouldn't understand.” Sam took a long sip, clearly enjoying it. “You guys getting anything?” He nodded at Leo and Abigail.
“Uh, yeah, I guess.” Leo glanced at the bar, trying to see what the options were.
“Sure. It's Saturday tomorrow, after all.” Abigail smiled.
As they started walking towards the bar, Sam stopped Leo for a second and whispered to him.
“You should buy her a drink, man.”
Leo didn't respond, but could feel himself starting to blush.
Emily was ready to take their order as soon as they approached the counter.
“Hey Leo, hey Abigail! What can I get you?”
“I'll have the lemon drop you mentioned earlier.”
“Great choice! What about you, Abby?”
“I think I'll have a pumpkin pie martini, if you still have those.”
“Sure! That's one of my favorites too.”
Leo’s muscles tensed up and he felt his palms start sweating. It wasn't that much of a big deal, it was just a drink. But he couldn't control that engorging feeling of nervousness in his stomach.
“You can uh… you can put them both, like.. on my tab…” he hid his hands in his pockets and stared at the floor.
He avoided looking at Abigail, and it looked like she momentarily avoided looking at him as well. She was also blushing, and her pale skin made it hard to hide.
“Oh, you're buying Abby a drink? That's sweet! I'll bring your order in a moment!”
“Please shut up Emily, that's not helping.”, Leo thought to himself.
“Thanks, Leo.” Abigail broke the awkward silence between them, quickly looking at him and then back at the first not-Leo thing she could spot.
“No problem.” He swiftly responded, now staring at the ceiling.
Soon their drinks were ready and they headed back to the arcade wing. As they were walking back, Leo spotted Sam looking at him with a mischievous smile on his face, giving him a thumbs up. He immediately looked away, trying to act like he didn't see it. Sebastian had also gotten up to grab another shot, but was soon back. He sat on the red couch next to Sam, crossing a leg over his knee. Leo and Abigail sat on the blue couch, Leo sitting really close to the corner and avoiding eye contact with the group.
“I was thinking.” Sam leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I could train Vincent to become a better pool player, then beat Sebastian for me. It would count as a win for me too!”
“Train him… like he's your Pokémon or something?” Abigail taunted.
“Isn't that basically what little siblings are?”
“It's not a terrible idea, man.” Sebastian sipped on his drink, not showing much reaction to it. “Except with you as his master, his prospects aren't that great.” A smile started slowly forming on his face. “But I could teach him, and then he could beat you.”
“Oh no, you're not taking my brother to the dark side of the force, thank you very much.”
The group laughed, then became silent for a moment as they all sipped on their drinks.
Sebastian got up and left his empty glass on the pool table, then flopped back onto the couch.
“I hope mom and Demetrius don't show up here tonight.” He muttered quietly. “I've been having a good time.”
“I could ruin it for you before they do, if that would make you feel better.” Sam joked, lightly punching him on his arm. It seemed like he really liked doing that.
“Heh, I bet you'd like that.”
“Always, bro.” Sam smiled.
Abigail was taking longer to finish her drink, like she was really savoring it.
“I'm sure my dad's gonna show up, but he probably won't even realize we're here.” She shrugged and rolled her eyes.
That cemented the fact to Leo that the Stardrop Saloon was the number one hanging out spot in town, or most likely the only one. He couldn't imagine sharing the same space with his parents like that.
“If I saw my parents coming in here I think I'd throw myself out of that window..” Leo added, tipping his head towards a window.
“Yeah. Felt that.” Sebastian sighed.
The saloon became full of life as the evening fell. Music, laughter and conversation filled the room, as well as the smell of freshly cooked food and various drinks. Leo could see a couple familiar faces amongst the new arrivals. Lewis, the mayor, talking and drinking with a brown haired woman who he hadn't met yet. He wondered if that was his wife, but didn't remember seeing a wedding ring on his hand. Pierre, Abigail's dad and store owner, sat at the bar, enjoying a beer by himself. Robin was also there, sitting and holding hands with a tall, dark skinned man he guessed was Demetrius. Sebastian seemed to be avoiding looking at them, hoping they wouldn't notice him there. At least the arcade wing was still all theirs.
“Okay, let's lighten up the mood.” Sam tapped his own knees, looking at the group. “Leo, if you actually could have casted a fireball when we were playing pool, would you have done it?”
Leo chuckled, crossing his arms and quickly analyzing the room before giving Sam his answer. That was right up his alley.
“Not counting the hallway, this room looks like it must have an area of fifteen by ten feet, at most. So even if we're talking about the twenty feet range type fireball, we'd all be toast.”
“Heh, not bad. That's definitely a no, then?” Sebastian asked, putting on a half smile.
“Yeah. Probably.”
“Wizard Leo knows what he's talking about.” Abigail giggled. “Sam would probably have done it though.”
“Nah, Sam wouldn't be able to learn the spell.” Sebastian added. “He has low int.”
“Ouch! Dude, you have to stop turning everything I say against me.” Sam complained jokingly.
They talked for a while longer before they started wrapping up the night. Leo was still mostly listening, but participated a little more actively in their conversations, and was beginning to feel more welcome in their little friend group. Maybe the alcohol helped, or maybe he might actually have a place there.
Sam was the first to leave, claiming he wanted to be home before Vincent started getting ready for bed.
Abigail was the second. Neither she nor Leo mentioned anything about the drink situation earlier. On one hand, he was glad, because he would definitely not know how to respond if she did bring it up. But he didn't regret it. After saying goodbye, Leo watched as she walked past her father towards the exit, and he didn't seem to notice.
Leo and Sebastian were the only ones left in the arcade wing. They sat separately, each on a different couch, watching the other patrons silently.
“You ever DM?” Sebastian asked, breaking the silence.
“I used to, a lot.”
“Maybe you can be my replacement, then.”
Leo wondered what he meant by replacement. He knew some people weren't very happy about being forever DMs, but he usually didn't mind.
“I like playing too. But yeah. DMing is more my thing.”
Sebastian didn't respond, but gave him a half smile and a nod of acknowledgement.
“I need a smoke.” He got up, and paused for a moment. “It was uh…” He seemed to hesitate for a second. “cool hanging out with you.”
“Yeah… have a.. good smoke?”
Again, Sebastian didn't respond, but quickly waved goodbye before walking out.
Now that he was alone, Leo decided to get back to what he had come for: Journey of the Prairie King. He had accepted he was not beating the game that night, but wanted to try to at least get through the second level. He ended up giving up after losing 3 rounds, even though he got really close on his last try.
“I'm getting too distracted. This thing needs pure, raw dedication.”, he thought to himself as he stared at the “Game Over” screen one last time. After paying for his, and Abigail's drink, he headed back to the farmhouse.
Laying in bed, the first thing that came to Leo's mind was how nothing weird had happened that day. No symbol sightings, no supernatural time warps, nothing. Ironically, it felt strange having one normal day since arriving in the Valley. And in a way, he was glad. The mysteries were exciting, but since the event with his grandfather’s voice, Leo felt vulnerable for the first time. He needed a break.
He thought about the saloon. It didn't go according to his initial plans, and he lost every game he played, but it was a lot of fun. He rubbed his eyes and fixed his pillow, getting ready to sleep.