#those FFA romances hit different

[lucyjlockwood]

I have a personal hc that, if the iron trio lived in Small Town, USA, they’d all be die-hard FFA kids.

George would show hogs, because his brothers all did and his mum wanted him to. But everyone knows he’s more of a Parli Pro guy anyway. Mrs. Karim finally got tired of him loosening his ties, so she bought him a clip-on.

Lucy would show lambs with Norrie, because it got her out of her mums house and let her spend time with her best friend. She’d do every CDE that was available, just so she could spend a bit more time with her friends. They were almost pets to her, always coming up to nibble on her sketchbook when she hid down in the barn with them.

Lockwood would show steer, because they were always the flashiest come fair time. He didn’t need it, but winning Grand Champion got him the most money, too. Corduroy wasn’t really his style, but at least he got to wear a tie.

During fair, Lucy and Norrie would spend hours in the barn, creeping through the storage rafters to spy on the tall, posh boy with the sleek black steer. He was clearly far too put together for showing animals: he would come into the barn with that gleaming smile and not a speck of dirt on his black trousers. They’d giggle and wonder if he actually raised the cow, or if he’d just paid someone else to do it. They never noticed that he’d seen them in the rafters each day.

One morning before showing, Lucy and Lockwood meet at the wash, hoping to get there before everyone else to primp up their animals. Lockwood insists Lucy go first, and things only spark from there.

He finds her in the barn one night after they close to the public, alone in the chaos of bleating lambs and asks her to the arcade. He wins a stuffed giraffe and gives it to her. She sleeps with it every night.

The day of show, after buyers have auctioned and animals are herded back to their pens to be collected, he seeks Lucy out once more. She’s curled up in the pen, holding her lamb for dear life, silent tears streaming down her face. He tries to comfort her, but her lamb, named Skull due to the color of the wool on his muzzle, nearly bites his hand off

Fair comes and goes, and Lucy has somehow landed herself as a finalist in the state competition for Creed a few months later. Every time she puts on that jacket, she thinks of the posh boy who helped her grieve her friend.

As she lines up behind others, awaiting her turn to speak in front of an audience of hundreds, a tall, posh boy turns around, locking eyes with her as his smile gleams in the dim light.