You would be lying to yourself if you said that you didn’t think Haley was the prettiest girl you had ever seen. With her curly golden locks and sparkling blue eyes, she was easily the star of the valley, and of your heart. When you first moved into the small oceanside town, she’d been nothing short of rude to you. Nothing outwardly mean , necessarily, but every interaction was made up of short remarks and passive-aggressive compliments. “Nice makeup. Wait... Are you even wearing any?” “Don't you get tired of running around on that farm all day, or whatever it is you do? I couldn't stand getting all dirty like that.”
Luckily, you were not one to back down so easily. You were used to mean girls, and you had learned long ago that being sickeningly nice to them usually did the trick. Besides, something about Haley struck you. Was she rude? A little bit. But you could tell there was something else there, something more. Some days you’d see her out taking photos around town, sometimes making her sister model for her.
So you gave her gifts. Coconuts you’d found in the desert, a slice of pink cake, a pretty sunflower from the farm. Each time she seemed surprised, but she softened a little bit more. You felt that you were making progress, albeit slowly. As mean as she was, you wanted to be her friend.
You’d heard around town about the things she and her sister Emily had gone through. They had been on their own for the past two years as their parents “traveled the world.” Apparently, they had never been around much before that anyways. You couldn’t help but feel bad for them. While they were both adults–Haley 21 and Emily 24–it couldn’t be easy to be without your parents for so long. And it wasn’t an excuse for Haley being so mean, but maybe it was an explanation.
You were taking your usual afternoon walk around Pelican Town. It was a brisk fall day, perfect to see all the foliage the seaside town had to offer. You had only been there for a few months, but you only needed a day to fall in love with the area. You were starting to understand why your grandfather loved it so much there.
As you strolled, the leaves crunching under your feet, memories began to flood back to you. Memories of visiting the farm as a child, of jumping in leaf piles and making scarecrows. Thanksgivings hosted in the old farmhouse– they were never large. You had no cousins, so holidays were always just you, your parents, and your grandfather. The attendance may have been small, but the company was good, and he always made enough food for ten times the amount of people that were there.
You wondered if you ever came across any of your now-friends as children. You always stayed on the farm, but perhaps one time you’d seen sisters playing in the town square, a girl reading under a tree, two boys and a girl playing in the river, a girl doing some kind of science project…
As you walked around the area of Marnie’s ranch, you were stopped by the sound of crying. Frowning, you started to approach the noise. As you rounded a tree, you saw the source of the noise: Haley, sitting on the dock by the small pond. Her face was in her hands, and her shoulders were shaking. She seemed to be trying to quiet her sobs, but to no avail.
“Haley?” You called. Immediately, she tensed up and the cries stopped. You walked down the length of the dock quickly, wood creaking. Just as you got close, she wiped her eyes and looked up at you. Mascara streaked down her pink cheeks, her eyes were red and puffy, and her hair was a mess.
“H-Hi,” she said, her voice shaking.
“What’s wrong?” You sat down beside her. She sniffled and wiped her cheeks. Black makeup stained her fingers, and she let out a laugh when she looked down at her hands. “You don’t need to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
For a while, you were both quiet. You weren’t going to make her speak, and at the moment it seemed like she didn’t want to. Haley stared at her feet, her breath still shaking as she tried to calm herself down. You knew that feeling too well; when you’re finished crying but you still can’t seem to breathe properly.
You don’t know how long the two of you sat there for, but soon there was a chill in the air. The warm afternoon was fading away. The only sounds were the wind whistling through the trees and squirrels running through the leaves, no doubt stockpiling for the bitter winter ahead. You had to do the same thing this time of year. It was one of the most important things your grandfather always told you he did: fall is the time to prepare for winter. Grow extra wheat for the animals, extra food for yourself so you don’t starve. Save up for some nice heaters for the barn and coop.
Haley shivered beside you. You looked at her, noting the way goosebumps raised on her smooth skin. Without a second thought, you shed your jacket and placed it on her shoulders. She murmured a soft thanks.
“It’s getting dark out,” you noted. This time of year was sad, for it got dark far too early for your liking. If you had to guess, which you were quite good at from time spent outside, it was barely even five o’clock. “Do you want me to walk you home?”
“Yes, sure,” she whispered. One of only three things she had said to you since you arrived. You stood up and offered her your hand. She took it and stood up. You couldn’t help but notice how cute she looked in your jacket. It was a warm one, meant for farming on cold days like this. It was dirty and stained. You’d think Haley would take it off with a, “ugh, gross” , but to your surprise, she pulled it tighter around her.
The short walk to 2 Willow Lane was filled with more silence. Haley didn’t say a word, but she didn’t need to. You knew that she appreciated your presence. She showed it by taking your hand and giving it a light squeeze. When you got to her door, she shed your jacket and handed it back to you.
“I’ll see you soon, okay?” You breathed.
“Okay.”
You didn’t talk to Haley again for a while after that. Every time you saw her, she seemed to avoid you. At the Spirit’s Eve festival, she stayed close to Alex the whole time, and when you said hi, she only gave you a brief “hey” back. Why she was avoiding you, though, you didn’t know. You sensed it had something to do with that afternoon by the lake and why she was crying.
Fall turned into winter, and the sun began to set even earlier. Darkness fell over Pelican Town by four o’clock, a far cry from the seven o’clock sunset of the summer months. Your livestock stayed inside their respective barns and coops, so you could no longer even wake up to their sound in the mornings. Due to the cold weather, you fell into a routine much more dull than your usual one. Walks around town became few and far between.
Often, you found Haley at the forefront of your mind. You rarely saw her anymore, but that didn’t stop her blue eyes and her laugh like a chime from plaguing your thoughts. You missed her, you’d admit, but there was nothing you could do. She didn’t want to see you, it seemed, so what could you do about it?
You weren’t a fan of the snow, so you had largely been trying to avoid leaving the farm. But you really needed a silo built, so you found yourself trekking up to Robin’s carpentry shop. After placing the order, you figured you might as well just walk through the town. Pelican Town was always pretty, but the lights wrapped around the lampposts made it even prettier this time of year. You moseyed along the walkways, humming softly to yourself as you admired the lights.
Then you saw her. Haley was standing outside of Alex’s house, giggling with him as he tossed his gridball up in the air. He was saying something–knowing him, probably something dumb–and Haley was laughing. Her cheeks were glowing from the cold, and her eyes sparkling with laughter. Your mother always told you that jealousy was a parasite, one that would find its way into your heart and burrow itself there. Now, you knew you had been infected.
You turned on your heel and went back to the farm.
Winter dragged along, but before you knew it it had been a year since you first moved to Pelican Town. On the morning of the first day of spring, you found a note stuck to your door:
Farmer (Y/N),
Come to the community center at 3PM!
Excitement bubbled up in your stomach. You had recently finished renovations on the community center, and you were beyond thrilled that it was going to good use. In the past year, you had seen so many improvements made on the town, entirely thanks to you. Your hard work had not gone to waste, it seemed.
You spent your morning cleaning out the farm, then headed to the community center at three. To your surprise, the lights looked like they were off. You frowned and opened the door, peeking your head in.
“Hello?” You called. As the words left your lips, all the lights turned on. The interior was decorated with various balloons and streamers, and there was a table full of food in the center. On the wall, there was a big banner that said: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!
“Surprise!” Everyone yelled. You laughed in disbelief as you looked around at your friends and neighbors, those you had come to know and love over the past four seasons of your life. Around you, you saw everyone in town. Even Haley, who was currently avoiding all eye contact with you. Your heart sank a little, but it quickly rose up again when Alex ran over to you, hugging you tightly and lifting you in the air.
“Happy anniversary!” He yelled. “Can you believe it’s been a whole year since you moved here?!”
“We wanted to throw you a party to thank you for everything you’ve done for us,” Emily said, having appeared beside you. “You really saved this town.”
Over the next hour or so, you spent time talking to each and every one of your neighbors. Never in your life had you felt more appreciated and loved than in that moment. Everyone thanked you over and over again, but the one person you wanted to see was nowhere to be found.
“Hey, have you seen Haley?” You asked Emily. She was sitting in the little library section, talking and laughing with Caroline, Jodi, and Robin.
“I think I saw her go outside to get some fresh air,” Caroline said. Emily agreed with her, so outside you went. There, sitting on a park bench, was Haley. She was holding a daffodil in her hands, twirling it. Clearly, she was deep in thought.
Quietly, you walked over to the bench and sat beside her. “Hey, Haley.”
“Oh, hey,” she said. She didn’t look up at you. You let out a sigh.
“Why are you avoiding me?” You asked, point-blank. She perked up and, finally, for the first time in months, looked you in the eye.
“I-I’m not avoiding you!” She said quickly.
“Really? Because this is the first time you’ve looked me in the eye since–since that time by the lake in Cindersap Forest,” you said. She didn’t look upset before, but she did now. Haley was never the type to cry in front of people, but tears were filling her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I-I just, I…”
“You can tell me what’s wrong,” you urged. “If I did anything, I want to know.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” she said. “I promise.”
“Then what is it?”
For one nostalgic moment, you were both silent. After what felt like an eternity, she spoke. Her voice was shaking, and she had since looked back at the daffodil in her hands.
“I-I’ve always been so confident in myself, and who I am,” she explained. “My whole life, I’ve known who I am. In high school, I was a popular girl. Was I a little mean? Sure, but I think all teenage girls are. I had friends, even boyfriends. I have never once questioned myself until I met you. You’re just so…ugh!”
“You don’t like me?” You asked, heartbroken.
“No! God, no. I don’t not like you. That’s not it at all. I just…” she sighed. “For my entire life, I’ve dated men. But I don’t think I have ever been attracted to them. I’ve never felt about my boyfriends the way I feel about you. And you’re not even…you’re not my girlfriend. I’ve been avoiding you because I’m afraid, (Y/N). I’m afraid of how you make me feel.”
For a moment, it felt like the world stopped spinning. Time slowed to a complete stop. The only people that existed, at that moment, were you and Haley. You didn’t know what to say. All you could do was sit there, mouth open in shock.
“I love you,” she said softly. Tears threatened to spill out onto her cheeks. You cupped her cheek with your hand and, instead of responding, you kissed her. She seemed shocked for a moment, too frozen to reciprocate, but after a minute she melted into it. Her lips tasted like strawberries, and her skin smelled of coconut and jasmine. She was soft, softer than you could have ever imagined, and you realized you loved her back .
You had loved her all along. You loved her soft golden hair and her sparkling blue eyes, you loved her laugh like a chime and all those snide remarks she made to you when you first met. Even though she hadn’t spoken a word to you in two months, you loved her.
You pulled out of the kiss, pressing your forehead against hers.
“I love you too, Haley.”