Country Love

[Lustre]

FARM BOY x CITY GIRL

Queza x @hisokun




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╘ ♂♀ ╛

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Spoiler

City girl has always lived in the lap of luxury alongside her daddy, a wealthy, well-known and corrupted businessman. In the blink of an eye, life turns on her, and her father loses all their money. To make matters worse, her dad is now being chased after by both authorities and his former business partners. Unable to turn to anyone for help, they escape to the countryside and settle there under fake identities. However, her inability to cope with this new lifestyle threatens to be the end of them.


Farm boy has spent his whole life on their family farm. Being the eldest out of 4 siblings, he takes his responsibilities very seriously. Every day he gets up at 5am to feed the stock, milk cows, tend to crops, haul logs and all the usual stuff... He isn't keen on newcomers and the sudden appearance of his new neighbours could perhaps leave him a bit suspicious.


Another summer has come by before the most beautiful time of the year that towers ahead - harvest. Unaware of the fact that days have become longer and that the weather is perfect for an afternoon hike or a dip in the nearby lake, Jayden, the town-proclaimed HARVEST OCD, has already made his to-do list which comprises the preparations of the equipment, organising tools, tuning up the machinery and a heap load of other mundane tasks. The whole family comes together during that time of the year so as to make the harvest successful and bring everything to the table. Simply enough, for Jayden this was the definition of fun; however, his younger siblings do have a different say in this.


No sooner had the clock struck 4 a.m., beating even the oftentimes lazy rooster’s crow, than Jayden was already up and kicking, tucking in his little brother with whom he shared his room. His usual morning routine consisted of putting on whatever he saw first (and rocking it), doing some stretches and push-ups as means of powering his motivation, and preparing breakfast after washing up. The kitchen would be the place where the usual first squabble of the day begins. Jayden and his step-mother would always debate on whose turn to cook it would be. Jayden was doing it out of passion while his step-mother, Macy, had the primary idea of making the child ease up on his daily chores. Unlike the usually portrayed stereotypical, mean and sadistic step-mothers, Macy was a real bliss.


“You’re at it again. I told you I’d cook today, Jay!” Macy grunted, waving a rolling pin in front of his nose, perhaps as means of threatening. Completely blithe and nonchalant, Jayden stood in front of the face of danger, ready to take the beating if so necessary.


“Really? I wasn’t listening,” came a quick and rather bold reply from his stiff lips, “and don’t call me Jay…” he mumbled in the back of his throat. Macy bit down hard on her lower lip and counted to ten so as to simmer down and prevent her anger from taking over and beating the kid hollow. Despite the fact that she was indeed a dazzling beauty, her temper was far from beautiful.


“Is that so?” she said slowly, tapping her foot off the floor. There came a minute of silence and intense staring at each other before she burst and in a single breath did what he hated the most, “Jay, Jay, Jay, Jay, Jay! Hmph!” Jayden’s expression bordered with surprise but he was far too accustomed to her immaturity to be in the state of confusion.


Narrowing his eyes in annoyance, he pointed towards the empty space behind her, solemnly warning, “Careful, there’s a spider behind you.” It took a millisecond for her to react with a shriek loud enough to make her husband imagine the worst had happened and rush over with his bare-hands as his ultimate weapon.


“What? Where? Macy?!” Jayden’s father came to the rescue but from what he was rescuing his wife, he did not know. She was quick to let go of the rolling pin and fall into his arms, stuttering ‘spider, spider’ almost without ceasing. It had immediately come to Nick’s realization that it was Jayden’s doing once again. Furrowing his brows into a scolding frown, Nick spoke firmly, “Jayden…” a small pause followed during which a broad, amiable smile replaced his frown. “Nice one!” the man chirped.


“How can you?!” Macy reacted in a hitch, cuffing Nick on the back of his head in the sign of disapproval. A series of apologies poured from Nick’s lips as Jayden watched the scene silently. Macy and his biological mom were nothing alike… was what Jayden was thinking and thanks to that very thought one could see a barely noticeable smile that hung on the edge of his lips. If one were to ask whom he loves more, his answer would definitely be Macy.


“Jayden?” his father’s voice interrupted his thinking process.





“Hm?”


“I forgot to tell you yesterday. We’ve got new neighbours. Some folks are gonna occupy that old house next to our farm so I’d like it if you could offer your help in whatever they need. That’s what neighbours do right?” His father’s suggestion sounded more like an order to Jayden’s ears. Albeit feeling not so keen on doing what he was asked to, Jayden would comply with it, nonetheless.


“Sure, right after—“ still, before he could finish his sentence, Nick had some more to say.


“And please leave today’s breakfast to your mother, it would mean a lot to her.”


“Fine,” Jayden said after a few seconds of inward deliberation, sounding far from happy.


After breakfast that could have been tastier, at least according to Jayden, the family proceeded to their usual tasks. The children were up and running as always; up-beat to their very core, well, 2 of them. The youngest, Pete, had a sort of gloomy character. Most of the time, he was quiet and sluggish but still adorable for a homeschooled seven-year-old.


Jayden and Nick took up feeding the stock and milking the cows. This took a few hours but once done, Jayden went to tend to his horses, a mare and a foal. On his way there, however, he stopped by near the neighbouring house to survey the situation while leaning over the fence that separated his farm from theirs. He wondered what sort of people their new neighbours could be, especially since this was the first time he’d seen anyone occupy that house ever since it was abandoned.

 

[hisokun]

If only the car had swerved off the road, then she wouldn't have to deal with this. The sudden move to the countryside was expected and unexpected at the same time. Her dad was antsy about staying in the city. He was fretting about it for weeks before he finally decided to take the move. The house was too expensive to stay in, so he had to sell his car collection in order to pay the final amount. Then, he bought an old pickup truck by the second hand sale. She's never seen her father panic over anything until the car company suddenly grew bankrupt.


"Are we there yet?" Celeste asks from the back. Her legs are stretched out on the seats. "Or are you going to sing another eighty's tune again?"


"Hey, I'm a good singer," her dad protests. "I'll have you know that an opera singer once complimented my tremendous talent."


Celeste inspects her nails. "I'm sure he was just asking for a discount."


Her dad is - was - the owner of a famous car company in New York. The business was going well until the car oils had taken a beating, and his company quickly grew affected. Looks like his promise of buying her a Mustang has backfired. Oh, well. She still has a pickup. That is, if her dad doesn't sell it - again.


"We're here."


The car parks by the curb, the truck slowing to a heavy halt. The neighborhood looks peaceful. Large trees are planted near every house. Sidewalks - which are pretty much trampled patches of soil - are littered with brown autumn leaves. Her face hits the sunlight when she slides out of the car. Her dad heaves the bag out of the trunk, glaring at his daughter when Celeste simply shuffles her feet on the ground.


"Are you just going to stand there?" Her father asks dryly.


Celeste eyes the house in front of her. Her frowns widens when she stares at the broken down porch, the yellow paint peeling from the structure, the windows dusted with cobwebs. If the exterior looks like it's been hit by a tornado, then the inside must be much worse. She pulls the box of pie from the passenger seat, pointing her thumb in the direction of the neighboring house.


"I'm going to be a friendly neighbor and give them some pie," Celeste offers, already jogging toward the house. She hears her father groan in frustration before she sprints along the road.


She knocks on the door, cringing when the porch creaks under her weight. "God," she mutters. "This is such a bore." Her sour expression vanishes when the door opens.

 

[Lustre]

Grooming the mare he got last Christmas after the sudden departure of his childhood companion, a gelding named Sir Walters, lasted until Jayden made sure that her coat was shining, her hooves were properly picked from rocks and dirt and tangles brushed out of the mane and tail. To his joy, the mare, Arrow, enjoyed nothing more than being decently groomed. It did not only bring pleasure to both, but it also promoted a healthy emotional bonding and built up trust. Once she was taken care of, Jayden proceeded to do the same for the foal whose name they hadn't decided yet. He, too, enjoyed being pampered by his owner, proudly strutting to and fro.


Back in the house, Macy focused all of her spare attention on the soap-opera unfolding on TV, disregarding her initial intention to keep an eye on her youngest child, Pete. Unlike Jayden, the girls and Pete were Macy's biological children; nevertheless, she had always treated all of them as equals, refusing to even rise up to the idea of an evil step-mother. So it may be her caring nature, alas, her attention span was that of a child. As a result, she had failed to register the knock on the front door but fret not, it was Pete who strolled his way towards the door to welcome whoever was on the other side of it. What he saw when he opened the door was a girl, probably around his big brother's age, standing in front of him, almost double his height, which was not much since Pete himself was rather short for his age.


"Who are you?" he asked with no restraint or surprise whatsoever, sounding rather bold and serene. His head fell sideways as his emerald green eyes pierced hers.


Meanwhile, Jayden had come inside from the back entrance, having finished his horse-related duties, looking for his father. "Daaad!" he dawdled his vowels as the intensity in the pitch grew. "It's time to go to town for the usual." He never said more than needed to convey a meaning, oftentimes not even bothering to finish his sentences. He strode through the house and found himself in the kitchen when he noticed a figure outside the window, wondering who it might be. He grabbed an apple, dug his teeth in it for a bite and proceeded towards the main door, catching glimpse of his younger brother. "Pete? Who is it?" he asked after swallowing that piece of fruit, not yet having the person in sight.

 

[hisokun]

Really, what did Celeste expect?


Well, actually, she expected a weird Granny to come open the door. Her hair would be tied into a messy bun, wrinkles adorned on her face like tattoos. She would say thank you, and invite Celeste and her father later for dinner. Celeste would kindly refuse the offer and stride back to the house, where her father is most likely grumbling because he's doing all the work. But that's not what's happening here. It's not even close to a Grandma. Because the person opening the door - the kid opening the door - is much younger than the person she has pictured in her head. Unfortunately, although she's not a big fan of oldies who smell like horse poop and the earth, she doesn't like children, either.


Which is why she's trying not to glare at the kid in front of her.


Her hatred for children isn't exactly without reason. It's just that she's been an only child all her life, so the attention has been focused entirely on her alone. Her father has pampered her, refused to let her drive her car dangerously in the city, even though she's fully capable of taking care of herself. What she doesn't like about children is how whiny they are. They don't like it when they get a different coloured lollipop, or if the attention of their parents are on someone or something that's not them. Maybe it's because Celeste always gets what she wants. Maybe it's because she's so used to it by now that she has nothing to complain about. But whatever it is, Celeste will never be a big fan of kids.


She strains to smile. "I'm Celeste. Your next door neighbour."


The silence between them is heavy, right until Celeste remembers what she's come here for. The damn pie. She's about to offer it and run away when another person appears in the doorway. It's not a kid this time. It's a guy - a cute one. But the strict look on his face makes her fidget. He looks like he's about to bite her head off. "Um," she says awkwardly, looking at the kid again. "Hi. I'm living in the house next door."

 

[Lustre]

No significant change in Pete's expression occurred. He continued to stare at the girl with the same blithe intensity as when he first laid his beady, emerald green eyes on her. Alas, what caught his attention thereafter was the delicious looking pie she had in her hands. That alone was enough for him to disregard his brother's question and stretch out his arms towards the pie, beckoning to the girl that she handed it over. As Pete was nowhere near as patient as he might appear, while the girl was looking at Jayden, Pete diligently snatched the pie from her and spun on his heel, headed for the kitchen without a word of gratitude.


In the meantime, the image of Celeste came into Jayden's focus. At this point, one would notice a young, attractive girl with a delicate face. full luscious lips and big, clear eyes that hued to a particular colour mint that glided towards pine green. Indeed, an average teenager to whom attraction was not foreign, would be considering the possibility of making a move on her by now. Nevertheless, 'average teenager' wasn't one of Jayden's salient traits. The first thing he noticed was a stranger carrying some pie, a girl like any other that happened to be his neighbour. With that bit of information, it didn't take long for Jayden to catch on.


"Ah, you," he said in a bland tone, his amber eyes hooded by his large eyelids, giving off a threatening expression, unintentionally at this point. He glanced at her from head to toe, coming to the conclusion that she didn't look suitable for farm work in the least. To say that this was dislike at first sight would be making Jayden appear like a first class jerk, which he was not. He just had that aura of a bad boy pinned on him since birth.


"You sure don't look like you're from here," he spoke in undertones while beckoning her to come in. "Jayden's the name. That was Pete," he threw a thumb over his shoulder towards the direction of the kitchen where Pete had fled to. He paced close towards the door, eyeing the pick up truck more down the road and a man, presumably her father, who was trying to unload it.


"You just arrived?" Jayden asked.

 

[hisokun]

Ah, you.


Wow, rude much? Although, Celeste can't really blame him. Back in the city, she's had quite the reputation of blowing other people off. Those nerds who study in the hallways? She makes them trip on their knees just for fun. Sometimes, she tips their books off their hands, just so they can concentrate on something else. Like, maybe trying to look okay for once. Those emo kids aren't any better. When Celeste joins them in front of the bathroom mirror, she scowls at how much black eyeliner they have. At one point, she's even said, "Are you going to your own funeral? You might need to lower it down a notch."


So, when this Jayden guy starts to give her the same impudent attitude, it catches her off-guard - and not the good kind. In fact, she actually looks like she's returning his stare. He looks like he's about to bare his fangs and go straight for Celeste's neck. Maybe this is her bad end. The amount of times she's scratched her nails (hypothetically) on someone else has finally caught on. Will this be her punishment for her rude behaviour? Well, whatever it is, she's not impressed.


It's too bad. The guy looks pretty cute.


"Yes, me." Celeste gives him a fake smile, trying to sound cheery. It probably sounds like a cat who's pretending to like being touched. "I'm Celeste." She points to the car, where her dad is still struggling to get all their things inside. "That's my father. And yes, we obviously just arrived."

 

[Lustre]

"Then, what are you doing standing here?" Jayden stared her down, leaning against the door frame. He wasn't able to discern why offering pie to neighbours was more important than helping out your own father with a heavy task he was doing all by himself. One's priorities shouldn't be so obscure. Then again, that was the way Jayden had been taught all of his life. Behind that stern face of his lay a well-behaved, obedient son whose ambition stayed within his reach without the need to thrive outside his comfort zone. Now, that could be a cowardly thing to do, yet, he knew not of otherwise.


"Does helping him out sound too hard?" He put the half-eaten apple on the coffee table near the door and rubbed the back of his neck, bending forward. He was told to help them out so it had already been decided. Even though he found no pleasure in doing it, he found no trouble either. After all, that sort of thing was as mundane as cutting grass; he was so used to it that he did it mechanically. He spun on his heel and strode outside on the porch, throwing back a quick glance at her, asking, "You coming or not? The pie's already gone."


Meanwhile, Pete had almost munched the pie whole, his face and hands dirty, intent on leaving not a single slice for any other family member. He did want to save something for Jayden, his precious elder brother; however, Jayden was not a big fan of sweets and knowing him well, he'd refuse either way.


"Pete!" His father burst into the kitchen, struck with surprise. "You'll get a sugar rush, for heaven's sake. Ease up on that," he said in a soft-spoken voice, ruffling the boy's hair. "Where'd you get it anyway?" Pete merely pointed towards the direction of the front door, licking the plate clean. Nick's brows furrowed in wonder as he strode across the hallway, catching glimpse of a girl he had never seen before. But first thing's first, "The keys, where're the keys?" Not in his pockets that was for sure.

 

[hisokun]

This guy is seriously going to drive her crazy. First of all, he doesn't have to be that rude. But considering that Celeste isn't much better, she can't really blame him for the attitude. However, he doesn't have to walk around like there's a pole stuck in his ass. He needs to lighten up. Jayden looks like the kind of guy who hasn't had a life yet. Celeste looks at him drily before groaning out a reply. She follows him briskly toward the car, where her dad is still heaving a load of bags.


"Dad," she calls out. Her dad glances up, as if he's surprised to see her standing there. "This is Jayden. He wants to help with the bags."


Her father's face practically lightens up. "Oh, thank God," he sighs out in relief. "I've already carried the half into the house. I appreciate the help." His muscles strain to put the box in the cramped living room. Celeste can see the awful decor from where she's standing. She scrutinises the house a little bit more before she finally gives in. She'll have a lot of decorating to do, if she wants to get comfortable. It's not that Celeste is used to living in open spaces. She just finds it hard to breathe when everything is cramped up, like the world is telling her that she needs to minimise her size in order to keep living.


Walter - her father - stretches out a hand to Jayden before he turns to Celeste. "Hey, can you get the motor oils and set them up?"


"Sure, dad." She carts the taped box out of the car, carrying them inside. She tears the box open with a razor, finding two sets of gasoline containers. She doesn't know what they're for, since these oils won't work well for the old pickup. With its Duratec engine, and its rusty edges, the car will probably explode. But she sets the oil on the shelves, wiping the slight spill with a rag. She glances at her dad and Jayden, frowning when she catches sight of Jayden's face.


Oh, and second of all? No one is forcing him to help. Celeste groans her frustration out.