Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The phone sat in the same place it had always sat, menacing Sunny every time he had passed by it with every day that ticked by. Usually he could ignore it. It was just a visual reminder of the task that he had continued to put off even while knowing the deadline was approaching. The dark tendrils that seemed to creep off of it and reach for his wrist weren’t real, but he imagined that they were sometimes. Nowadays he was much better at telling the difference between his active imagination and reality. The lines no longer blurred even if he liked to pretend they did once in a while for amusement purposes. 

He stood in front of the cordless phone today with palms that were unreasonably sweaty. He could hear the gentle whooshing of the fan as its blades moved lazily above him. Outside there was a single blaring siren from a police car or an ambulance before it faded out with distance. The apartment was quiet without his mother there with him filling it with the sounds of life. Sunny preferred it that way.

This really shouldn’t be that difficult, he thought. It wasn’t like it was the first nor the last time he would use a phone. He wasn’t scared of it, exactly. He wasn’t really one for talking, though, so he didn’t really use it much at all. The growing advancements in cell phones and the capability to text was quickly becoming his favorite means of communication even though he couldn’t really use his own phone too much. He only had a track phone, after all, and he couldn’t waste his minutes texting too much. Emailing took too much time as well. He knew he should just make the call.

Sunny pulled a folded note from his pocket and placed it on the spot next to the phone. The fold was thick and weakened from where it had been opened and closed repeatedly over the past year. The ink on the paper was a little faded as well from when Mewo had jumped up onto Sunny’s desk and had knocked his water bottle onto the paper the one time he had seriously considered utilizing the information written there. The condensation on the outside of the bottle had soaked into the paper. It was still legible, at least.

The dark, waving tendrils extended out from the phone once more, creeping closer to his body with each beat of Sunny’s elevated heart rate. He swallowed thickly. He was nervous.

He decided to close his eyes and take a few deep breaths to calm down. It wasn’t as scary as it seemed. He could do this. He just needed to focus.

He opened his eyes and the tendrils were gone. Though his expression hadn't changed much, he could feel the way his eyebrows had dipped a little. He wished Mari was there. He could clearly hear her voice encouraging him. Being afraid of his friends wasn’t something he wanted to do and she knew that just as well as Sunny himself did. He glanced over his shoulder as if she might be there, but instead only saw Mewo snoozing on the head of the couch. The tip of her tail curled slowly and released in calm intervals. 

Sunny turned back to the phone. How long had it been since he had heard any of his friends’ voices, now that he thought about it? He believed that the last time they had spoken was in the hospital. Since then, communication has been scarce, but it wasn’t gone. Sunny was grateful that they chose to talk to him at all, if he was honest. He wondered if they would appreciate a call from him? Talking through text on a screen was so much easier. There wasn’t a need to worry about tone or facial expression. No chance to see the disappointment or anger or frustration on their features. But there was also no chance to see their smiles or laughter at jokes either. It was something that he had missed.

He had spent four years alone with only the imagined sounds of laughter and projected joy on his friends’ childhood faces. He had grown past the need for that now. He knew that if he made the call that at least one of them would be happy to receive him. The matter was who to choose, he supposed. He had all of their phone numbers but that only added pressure about who to make the phone call to. He could choose just one, but it felt wrong to do that. He sighed from his nose.

If he called Kel, then he knew the others would find out in no time that he had called, but he also knew that he might be on the phone for who-knew-how-long. If he called Hero, then he knew the other would gladly make small talk with him, but it was also kinda hard to face Hero considering... everything. Aubrey would like him to call and would probably keep him on the phone for the shortest amount of time, but she was one of the hardest ones to call now since she was so different from what he remembered. Basil would be the easiest to talk to, but Basil also had the hardest time talking with the others. They all had their pros and cons to them. 

You have to make a choice eventually. Don’t be scared! You’ve got this!

Imagining his sister’s voice wasn’t something that was completely healthy, his therapist had told him, but Sunny didn’t exactly feel like putting the effort into trying to stop it from happening either. He had spent a majority of his life seeing and hearing things that he only imagined, though the level and quality of how real they looked and sounded had changed after… after Mari’s death. Therapy helped with coping with reality, but in the end Sunny had always been someone who had lived half in his head when he was alone anyway. That wasn’t something he was looking to change entirely, but rather he was learning to get used to the real world once more. Headspace wasn’t what it once was, and that was for the best. There were other adventures he could be having. The first step was to make a phone call.

Okay.

He grabbed the phone then and made his decision. He dialed Hero’s number and brought the phone to his ear. The sound of his heartbeat was loud in between the ringing. It was just far too quiet in the apartment. Maybe he should turn on the television or something just for some background noise. He stared at the phone dock while he waited.

“Hello?” Sunny’s heart leapt to his throat briefly at the sound of Hero’s voice. Ah, he was even more nervous now. He blinked a couple times quickly. “...Hello?” Hero repeated, his voice still polite but confused when Sunny didn’t respond.

“Um.” Sunny tried to say. He wasn’t sure why he couldn’t get the words out. It seemed he didn’t need to try too hard, though. Hero’s voice changed entirely as it filled with recognition.

“Sunny, is that you? Hey! How are you?” The warmth in his tone did wonders to ease some of Sunny’s worries. There was a part of him that still feared persecution from his friends after everything that had happened. Even after all this time, he doubted that fear would leave him anytime soon. That was part of the reason he was so determined to go through with this.

“H… Hi.” He said. “I’m… okay. How are you?”

“I’m doing great! Well,” he laughed a little, wry smile clear enough in his voice that Sunny could see it in his mind’s eye. Hero had changed since they were kids, but not too much, “as great as I can be. I’m packing up to head back to Faraway Town for the summer. You, uh, saw what happened last time I came home from college.”

Sunny remembered the exuberant family reunion in Kel’s loud household. It had been starkly different from the kind of household and family that Sunny had grown used to. The noise had been jarring but familiar. There was nostalgia to be found among how easily the family had communicated and how effortlessly Sunny had fit back into that picture. They had missed a majority of Hero’s welcome home dinner that day, but that didn’t mean that Sunny couldn’t tell what his friend meant.

“Yeah.” He said simply.

“Are you still planning to come visit?” It was asked without the pressure behind it that Sunny would expect any of their other friends would push onto him, unintentionally or not. Hero had always been good about that. He was the older brother that Sunny had never had but had always wanted. In a perfect world, maybe he really would’ve been family by now. Hero had that way of encouraging Sunny’s answers without putting the pressure of too much expectation upon him. Sunny still didn’t know whether or not that should be as big of a relief for him as it was.

“...That’s why I called.” He moved over to the couch so that he could pet Mewo while he talked. The cat murred as she was awoken by his touch before she closed her eyes again. Petting her always calmed him down. He felt a little bad for his sweaty hands, though. “My mom said it was… it’s okay to do that thing. I have money I can bring with me. Do… Should we… What we talked about before...”

“Oh!” Hero cried, surprised and delighted at the same time. Then he cleared his throat with embarrassment. The surprise had been too close to shock. “Yeah, of course! Yeah! W-Wow, okay. You never said whether or not you were interested, haha, so I wasn’t sure. No problem! Okay, we should let the others know! I’ll go ahead and pay for everything, so just make sure you bring the money to pay me back for your portion.”

Sunny’s hand buried itself deeper into Mewo’s fur. He felt guilty and ill. He had surprised his friend, huh? Maybe it had been one of those random suggestions that hadn’t been meant to be taken seriously. Kel liked to come up with ideas all of the time, but they had hardly followed through on any of them. Like that idea to do a secret Santa through the mail that they never actually did. Or for Sunny to commute to high school in Faraway Town despite the fact that he wasn't in the same grade as the others anymore and had to play catch up with his schooling. Maybe he shouldn’t have brought it up. Too late now, he guessed? “Th… Thanks. I will.”

“Hey.” Hero’s voice softened a little in mild reprimand and comfort at the same time. “It’s gonna be fun, I promise. Kel will be thrilled, and I’m sure Aubrey’s been looking to get away for a while too. Don’t worry about anything. I’ll take care of it all!”

Right. He needed to trust his friends. This conversation was going well, after all. He was looking forward to this. He wanted to do this.

“Hm… How about we tell everyone in person when you come back to town?” Hero suddenly asked before Sunny had a chance to respond to his assurance. “Let’s keep it a secret until then. Knowing Kel, he’ll get way excited before we even have a chance to get everything settled. We don’t need to worry about him or Aubrey, but maybe you should be the one to talk with Basil? He’ll probably need the extra time to get everything confirmed with his parents.”

That was just how it was between everyone now. Despite everything that had occurred, Sunny could tell there was an irreversible scar that covered their friendship because of his and Basil’s actions. It was only made worse for Basil when the boy had taken on a little more of the burden of their friends’ shock and horror in response to Sunny having been the one to finally expose the truth. It wasn’t said with as many words, but Sunny knew that he was the one closest to Basil after all this time out of anyone in the group. There were some things that couldn’t be completely repaired even if they can be worked around.

“Sure.” He said.

“Great! Alright, I’ll leave it to you.” A silence hung between them filled by dead air. Sunny could hear Hero moving around on the other side of the line. There was the sound of a zipper opening or closing and the shuffle of clothing brushing against skin. He really was packing, then. Sunny wished he was a better conversationalist, but he had never really been one to take the lead and Hero was usually too polite to completely dominate a conversation without either Kel or Aubrey there to bounce off of. Luckily for him, Hero knew this as well. “I’m gonna let you go then. I’ll give my parents the heads up about you coming over. Just send us a message on the time you think you’ll show up, alright? We’ll be sure to have a bed set up for you. Sound good?”

“Mm-hm.”

“Cool. Bye then, Sunny! It was great hearing from you!”

“You too.” 

They both hung up, and Sunny’s heart felt lighter. He walked back to the phone dock and put it away. His brow softened as he folded the paper with his friends’ numbers on it once more and pocketed it before he sat down on the couch with a sigh. He grabbed the television remote and turned on the TV to some kind of colorful cartoon movie, though he didn’t pay much attention to it. The noise was nice. He closed his eyes and simply listened.

His fears were different now, a year later and a year older than he had been the last time he had faced his phobias head on in his mind. These fears weren’t nearly as easy to defeat. His therapist said it was anxiety, but Sunny still felt his feelings were well-founded. The paranoia that his friends secretly hated him was not one that would go away anytime soon, not the least of which because Sunny still hadn't fully forgiven himself and didn't feel like he deserved forgiveness despite how much he knew that Mari would want him to. But that paranoia was also the main reason why he was simultaneously fearing and looking forward to going back to his hometown and seeing everyone once more. If there was one thing he had learned, it was that confining himself to only his mind and his thoughts would allow that darkness to grow and poison what memories he had until he wasn’t sure where the shadows ended and reality began.

His fingers gently touched the edge of his eyepatch and traced the edge of it. The only way he could learn the truth was if he trusted his friends and faced what was to come. For better or for worse, life went on. The fact that over this past year all five of them had managed to slowly but surely communicate more over messages proved that. It had been stilted at first, and at times there were large gaps between when some of them would respond to their group chat, but now there was a relatively steady flow of conversation. Basil, Kel, and Aubrey still went to school together, so Sunny could only assume they did most of their talking in real life. The one person he talked with the most over text was Basil himself. Basil was the only one that Sunny felt like had forgiven him entirely. Sunny wished he could say he felt the same towards Basil, but there was a part of him that still resented the other boy and probably always would. Sunny would still say he was his closest of the friends, though. They were tied by fate together.

He was sleepy. The air conditioner and the fan was on, but the couch was so soft and comfortable and warm. Mewo stretched as she got up before she hopped onto the seat next to Sunny. He laid down on the couch and the cat curled up in crooks his arms. Her purrs filled in the gaps between the noise of the television as she butted her head under his chin before she settled down in preparation of another nap. Sunny closed his eyes. He had plenty of time left in the day, after all, and he wasn’t going anywhere at all. He’d contact Basil after a short nap.

Chapter Text

The car pulled to a stop as it bumped up just a little bit against the curb. Sunny climbed out of the passenger seat and opened the rear door in order to pull out his suitcase. He shifted it in his grip as he stepped onto the grass next to the road and leaned down just a little as the driver’s window rolled down and his mother smiled at him softly.

“Here we are!” Her voice was cheerful enough, but then again it always had been. Her eyes very pointedly did not look at the house next door as she reached out to pat Sunny’s cheek once before releasing him. “Be safe, honey. Mommy is only a phone call away, so don’t be afraid to send me a text or phone call on how you’re doing! Be sure not to cause any problems and I’ll be back to pick you up on Monday.”

One week. He was going to be in Faraway Town for one week. It was both too fast and too short at the same time. 

“Tell the boys I said hello! Remember that Mommy loves you! Bye!” She rolled up the window as Sunny gave her a nod and a little wave. He watched the car drive away down the road and felt the silence of the small town wash over him. Familiar cicada cries filled the air as the sun beat down on Sunny’s skin. His neck felt hot under the collar of his button-up shirt. The vest was probably a bad idea, but he would be inside soon enough. The air was cleaner here, he noted. He had gotten used to the noisy streets of the city. Faraway Town, in contrast, was surprisingly quiet.

Over the sound of a car passing by him, Sunny could hear the leaves of the trees rustling as a gust of wind blew by. His eyes followed the direction of the wind to where his old house used to be. Everything about it was the same, yet there were plenty of differences too. Different lawn decorations and plants were in the plant beds. His pinwheel was gone from the front yard. There was a vehicle in the driveway. Even from where he stood, he could feel the life that came from the house. It had been missing from it for years. He could see the images of himself with his younger friends playing with Hector in the front yard as water balloons were thrown at each other. Their screams of delight and calls of their names filled his ears. For just a moment, Mari looked at him with the brightest smile on her face.

Sunny blinked as the shifting of a nearby tree’s leaves caused the sunlight to rebound off of window glass and temporarily blinded him. He took a step aside and out of the direction of the sunbeam. The images in the yard were gone. His heart clenched and ached. Heat gathered behind his eyes. Then he took a deep, steadying breath before he released it slowly. He came back to himself and felt the weight of the suitcase in his hand. His forehead was getting sweaty from standing under the sun. Seeing his old house hurt worse than he had anticipated, but not as much as he had feared. He was okay.

He turned his attention to the house next door and his destination. He only had to walk a couple of feet before he had stepped past the fence that marked the property’s boundary. The burden in his heart lightened just a little bit, but the weighty darkness there was replaced with something more gaseous and poisonous. It was a familiar feeling of anxiety. He swallowed against the sensation of his heart creeping up his throat. He just needed to knock on the door. He’d never really been afraid of charging forward and doing things that most people might find nerve-wracking. It was only because of who he knew would be on the other side that he was nervous to begin with.

“BARK!! BARK BARK!!” Sunny nearly jumped a foot in the air as a ball of orange and white dashed out from the nearby doghouse and charged at him, barking up a storm. The Shiba Inu dog jumped at him but didn’t make it higher than his waist with its short legs. It ended up with its front paws landing on his thighs as its tail wagged enthusiastically. Sunny only had a moment to pet it before the dog started running around him, barking more. Sunny put his suitcase down to crouch and pet it some more. That seemed to make the pup content as it rolled over and back onto its feet again.

The door to the house was thrown open without a care for how much the force might affect the doorframe, and Sunny looked up to see the tall figure of Kel there. He beamed, dark eyes sparkling with that same comforting joy and energy that Kel had always seemed to embody. He was dressed in a tank top and shorts today, though he didn’t have his usual basketball player look to him. It was good to see that he hadn’t changed all that much.

“Jeez, Hector, calm down!” Kel scolded before he dashed out onto the lawn, careless of wearing shoes as he addressed Sunny. “Sunny! You’re finally here! Man, I was expecting it to take a lot longer! Glad you’re here already, though.” He grabbed Sunny’s suitcase for him as Sunny stood up and brushed his knees off. Kel’s smile dropped to something almost serious. “Look, I’m gonna level with you here, Sunny. Mom’s going CRAZY in there! Me and Hero have been trying to hide up in the bedroom with Sally to keep away from her and her cleaning rampage, but I know it’s a matter of time before Hero gets dragged into her crazy mess. So, now that you’re here we’re all gonna break out! Got it?”

Sunny took the sudden flow of information in with all the skill he had the last time he had dealt with Kel in person. That is to say, he simply nodded and went along with anything the other boy said. One year ago it had been pretty easy to get on Kel’s wavelength considering it hadn’t really felt like much had changed between Headspace Kel and real Kel, but he hadn’t interacted with him like this in a year. He was a bit rusty. Going with the flow was the only choice he had.

“Cool! Let’s go then!” Kel led the way back into the house with Sunny right behind him and called out loudly, “SUNNY’S HERE!!” He spun back on his friend and gave a wry smile as he said in a normal voice, “It’s better to get this part over with quickly. Oh, just bring your shoes with you so we don’t need to really stop by the door on our way out. The sooner we leave, the better.”

Sunny couldn’t really imagine why Kel’s mother would be so worked up about Sunny staying over like this, but he would trust the other boy’s opinion on the matter. He was sure the woman herself would show up any moment now. He could hear movement in the kitchen. As predicted, the woman of the household appeared looking a little frazzled and with a large frown on her face. She pointed her duster at Kel.

“Kel! Don’t yell so much in the house!”

“Aw, mom, it’s fiiiiine! After all, Sally’s wide awake and with Hero! It’s not a big deal!” Kel said.

His mother didn’t bother to respond and instead turned on Sunny. She smiled and her tone lightened significantly as she caught sight of him. “Welcome, Sunny! My, look at you! You’re looking so much healthier than the last time I’ve seen you! C’mere, c’mere!” She beckoned to him. Sunny carried his shoes with two fingers as he got closer. Her hand landed on his shoulder and squeezed. There was something soft in her eyes that he had long become familiar with. Most people held at least a little bit of pity for him upon seeing his eyepatch. It was unusual to see a kid his age with such an accessory. However, she made no mention of it and simply said, “It’s so good to see you again. I wasn’t really expecting you so early, though!” She shot a pointed look towards Kel.

“I didn’t know either!” The boy whined. “Let him go, mom, we’re headed upstairs!” Kel’s mom released Sunny, only for Kel to replace her and push him towards the stairwell. “We’ll be back down later!” He called to her as Sunny got his feet under him as he was rushed away. “Hurry, hurry!” He whispered low enough for only the other boy to hear. Sunny hurried up the stairs, missing whatever Kel’s mother said as they left. Kel was snickering under his breath deviously as they successfully escaped from whatever his mother might have possibly been planning and made it to the top of the stairs. “Haha, success!” Kel pumped his fist as he took the lead and opened the door to his room. “Look who it is!” He called as he entered.

Sunny glanced around the bedroom as he closed the door behind him. Nothing had really changed here either in the time he had been gone. He spotted Hero on his bed with a much-bigger Sally seated in his lap. He was waving her arms around when he spotted Sunny and smiled. “Hey, Sunny!” He looked to his sister. “Sally, say hi.”

“Hi!” Sally called cheerfully, extending a hand out to flex and close her fingers in greeting.

Sunny gave them both a wave.

“You’re here early.” Sunny’s eyes fell on Aubrey as she paused the game system and leaned back on her hands to gaze at him. Her hair was a little shorter than the last time he’d seen it and her bangs were pinned out of her eyes with two simple hairclips. She blew a bubble with the bubblegum she was chewing until it snapped as it burst. He waved to her as well. “Now we can finally get out of here, right?”

Sunny looked around the room but didn’t spot Basil. He didn’t say anything about it, though. Just the fact that he was here among his friends made him feel better, but also just a little worse. It was a bittersweet kind of stress.

“You guys keep saying that… but I don’t feel right about just leaving.” Hero said as he placed Sally on the ground in front of some baby toys. Kel took Sunny’s suitcase over to his bed and placed it on the floor before throwing himself onto his messy bed. “Mom said-”

“Mom always wants something! Don’t you worry at all, Hero! I have the perfect plan!” Kel sat up on his elbows, eyes sparkling. “We’re going to tell mom that Sunny’s been dying to get some of Faraway Town’s homemade baked goods from Othermart because he can’t get anything like it in the city! And we’ll just… find stuff to do! She doesn’t need our help with cleaning, and since most of the food stuff is just gonna be picked up from Faraway Plaza anyway and she’s gonna send us to do it. If we’re already out, then it’s no big deal!”

“...He has a point.” Aubrey pointed out. “I was told we were leaving as soon as Sunny got here anyway.”

Hero still didn’t look totally placated. He had that nervous expression that Sunny recognized was almost solely related to going against what his mother wanted. It seemed he was still bad at saying no to her. “I don’t know… Do you actually want to go, Sunny? You just got here. Are you tired?”

Sunny shook his head. “I… don’t mind.” He said.

“See! There you go!” Kel sat up properly and clapped his hands. “There’s not much to do in town, but since Sunny’s here who knows what we’ll find! We can’t hoard him to ourselves, y’know?”

“Ugh, shut up already. Are we seriously gonna use his first day back to do chores or something like last time?” Aubrey asked. She pushed herself to her feet to stand up in a stretch. “No, thanks. I’ll find something else to do.”

“Aww, don’t be like that!” Kel said. “You like helping people too!”

“Yeah, I love wasting my time getting grannies their medicine and stuff.”

“You so do! I’ve seen you do it for Charlene’s mom all the time!”

“That-! That’s different!” Aubrey cried, flushing just a bit. 

“Hey now, let’s not fight.” Hero finally interrupted. “We’ll just do what Sunny wants to do since he’s the one visiting.”

“Yeah, and what Sunny wants to do… is go get some goodies from Othermart!” Kel declared. He looked to Sunny. “Right?”

In all honesty, he wouldn’t mind getting some cookies or something. He had no idea what Kel’s family had planned in terms of dinner, but it was probably a long time for now. As warm as it was outside, he liked it best when he was just hanging out with his friends. Since Kel and Aubrey were clearly antsy to get going and do something else, the best choice was to find something outside to do.

“Right!” Kel answered for Sunny before the boy could even say anything.

“...Jeez.” Aubrey’s eyes lingered on Sunny. Her stare didn’t exactly unnerve him, but made him well-aware of just how much she had changed. Her gaze wasn’t exactly warm, but it wasn’t as cold as it had been before they had all made up either. He wasn’t sure what she was thinking anymore. “Alright, let’s get some cookies or something. I was getting bored of your old games anyway, Kel.”

“Alright!” Kel jumped up off of his bed and scooped his sister up. Sally cried out in surprise, but then burst into giggles as her brother spun her around in a quick circle. “I’ll go hand Sally off to dad, and Hero, you tell mom we’re headed out!”

“Wha- Me?!” Hero cried. “But…”

“Cheer up.” Aubrey walked over to punch the man in the shoulder lightly. “Just let her know we’ll pick everything up for tonight or something.”

Hero sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. Okay.” He cheered up a bit. “I’ll be right back, then. C’mon, Kel.” The brothers left the room together, leaving Aubrey and Sunny to stand there in silence. For a moment, the old friends simply gazed at each other before their eyes jumped away. How was Sunny supposed to feel in this situation. Everything was… well, everything was going well so far. Did he dare to hope that things were at least okay between them? He still didn’t talk all that much in their group chatrooms, and certainly not about anything outside of safe topics. He wasn’t exactly one for small talk, though, so he wasn’t sure what to say here.

“...Hey.” Aubrey finally called. Sunny turned his gaze back to her, “You’re looking… better. Than the last time I saw you, I mean. You took my advice?”

Going outside wasn’t exactly something he did all that often, no. He went out a lot more than he used to, but considering that he had left his house maybe once or twice a year for about three years that wasn’t saying a whole lot. He did go with his mother to explore the city a couple times, though, and he liked to go to the park a few blocks from his house on cooler days to cloudgaze sometimes. He was also able to keep down a lot more food than he used to and his appetite was better now that he was semi-regularly getting more exercise. So, he nodded to her. 

“Good. You looked as white as a ghost before. I thought you were for a while there.” She looked away once more. Sunny glanced at his feet. “...Wondering where Basil is?” She asked after a moment.

“...At home?” He guessed.

“Well. Yeah. He didn’t think he should come over. Not without you, anyway.”

Sunny could understand that. He had thought things were at least okay between Basil, Kel, and Aubrey. Maybe it was because of Hero? Basil had admitted to Sunny that thinking of Hero made him feel the worst out of everyone. Aubrey had spent years already angry at Basil, so not much had changed there even after Sunny and Basil had confessed about what had happened with Mari. But with Hero, Basil felt almost as guilty as he did towards Sunny. He probably wanted Sunny there as almost a buffer, though Sunny didn’t think that his presence would really help.

“We should pick him up.” He decided. He hadn’t gotten the chance to hang out with all of his friends together last time. He hoped things wouldn’t be too weird between Basil and anyone else, but he had a feeling with at least Kel there that things would be alright. They had all agreed to spend most of the week together, after all, just like old times.

Just like old times, making new memories. That was the point.

Aubrey didn’t respond to Sunny’s suggestion, but she didn’t need to. He simply walked away after that, leaving the room to head back downstairs where he knew the brothers would be. Aubrey followed shortly after him.

Chapter Text

They would’ve made it outside with the bare minimum amount of suspicion if Kel didn’t immediately dash from the house like a bat out of hell while yelling “FREEDOOOOOOOOOOM!!!” before his mother had even fully committed to agreeing with Hero’s terms. Aubrey audibly slapped her own face and dragged her hand down it while Hero did a little bit of damage control. In the end, they were allowed to leave without much issue. Kel was already gone, and like he had suggested his mother was pleased to have the kids offer to go pick up the stuff they would need from the store so she could finish the cleaning. 

The group reconvened outside as they watched Kel run down the sidewalk. “He’ll be back.” Hero pointed out as they watched Kel. “So… I guess we can spend the rest of the day doing whatever we want. We can go pick up the desserts and stuff for tonight and bring them back now or later. Mom and dad are gonna meet us at the park tonight so we can have burgers and such.” Sunny’s stomach growled then, catching their attention. He felt his cheeks warm just a little bit. He hadn’t really eaten much that morning because of his nerves and because they hadn’t really had any breakfast food that he had wanted. Hero let out a little laugh. “I guess we can have lunch now, then. Pizza?’

“As much as I like pizza, I was hoping for something a little different.” Aubrey glanced towards Sunny. He was already daydreaming of how delicious the pizza pie would be. It wasn’t the fanciest pizza place in the world, and probably wasn’t even the best, but he and his mother had yet to find a place as delicious as Gino’s in the city. “Guess it can’t be helped, though. Let’s go get some.”

“Are you sure? We can look into getting something else, maybe.”

She shook her head. “It’s fine.” She looked away. “...Sunny already looks like his heart’s set on it.”

Sunny only blinked. Had she read his mind or something? Or was he getting easier to read? His mother had pointed out over the past few months that he seemed to be a little more expressive than before. He had probably been making a face without realizing it. 

“Haha, alright.” Hero said. It was then the pounding of footsteps alerted them all to Kel’s return. He used his long legs to jump the short fence that marked the front boundary of his property and stuck the landing, arms thrown in the air.

“WOO-HOOOO!!! It feels good to get that blood pumping! I swear, we’ve been stuck inside for ages!” He rolled his arm in its socket as Hector barked cheerfully next to him, tail wagging with excitement. “So, what’s the game plan?”

“Food.” Hero said, used to his brother’s eccentricities.

“Basil.” Aubrey corrected. That brought the brothers up short.

“Oh yeah! Basil was waiting for Sunny to come over before hanging out, right? He said he had something to do this morning. He should be done now!” Kel said. “We should go check on him!”

“Oh, was that why?” Hero rubbed at the back of his head awkwardly. “I was kinda worried something was, uh, wrong.”

“What do you mean?” Kel asked, genuinely confused. “Like, with his mental health and stuff?”

Aubrey elbowed the taller boy. “Be more sensitive, stupid.”

Kel only rubbed the spot she had hit. “It was an honest question! It’s not like it’s a secret.” He looked to Sunny. “Right?” Sunny only looked away. He didn’t exactly want to discuss those topics so openly right when they had first reunited. It was awkward. “Sunny?”

“A-Anyway.” Hero attempted to recover the conversation, “I just meant…” he shook his head, “Never mind. Let’s just go.” He started walking and the others followed after him. Sunny looked over his friends and realized something that he hadn’t really noticed the last time he had seen them. He was shorter than all of them. Especially Kel and Hero. He was a full head and shoulders shorter than them. And he was an inch or two shorter than Aubrey. He had never been the tallest kid having been the youngest of the group, but he was surprised to realize just how much the others had grown. Part of him wondered if it was just because of his lack of care for his body in the past few years. Those years had been a critical time for growth, right? Or maybe he was just naturally short.

The day had a nice heat to it that wasn’t oppressing, but still thickened the air enough with humidity that Sunny seriously contemplated why he hadn’t taken off his vest back in the house. It was too late now to follow through on the plan considering that meant going back in the house and risking being caught by Kel’s mom, but that didn’t mean he didn’t wish he hadn’t done it. He just wiped off the film of sweat that was growing on his head and decided to ignore the temperature.

He was brought back to years ago as the sounds of their feet kicked up the dust of his memories of childhood days spent running up and down the sidewalks of the neighborhood. The paths were well-trodden, and looking at the backs of his friends was a nostalgic sight. He thought to himself that Mari would be so happy to see the group of them hanging out like this. It was a good idea to come here. He would’ve probably spent his summer almost completely inside of his apartment otherwise. 

He was brought out of his thoughts by the casual conversation of his friends asking him, “By the way Sunny, how are things going? You’ve never been much of a talker, but you don’t chat a whole lot with us in the chatroom either.” Kel glanced back at him, hands tucked behind his head as he walked. “You’re in a brand new place, dude! What have you been up to?”

“You don’t want to wait until Basil’s here to talk about this?” Hero asked. “We’re all going to go eat anyway, so we’ll have plenty of time to hear all about what Sunny’s been doing.”

“Yeah, and?” Kel asked. “He doesn’t have to go into details now! I’m just wondering.”

“What about Hero, then?” Aubrey suggested. “You don’t talk much in the chatroom either.”

Hero laughed a bit. “Yeah, well, it’s college. A lot of schoolwork and stuff. I’ve been volunteering too. I’ll be busier than ever when I need to start working in the hospitals and such for internships and practicing.”

“You’re still trying to be a doctor?”

“Yeah? What else am I going to do?” He gave her a confused look.

She shrugged her shoulders. “I just thought you were going to change your mind. Do something you like.”

“I like learning about medicine and helping people.” Hero’s expression softened just a little. There was that hint of sadness to his eyes that had never been there when they had been younger. Sunny was starting to grow used to seeing it. “I haven’t exactly decided where I want to go in the medical field… but I’m thinking maybe a psychologist or something. Or a therapist.”

“You’d be pretty good at that!” Kel said. Sunny wondered how Kel could always sound so genuine about everything he said. He really did just always speak his mind. He admired that about his friend. “You’ve got that kinda…” he waved his fingers a bit, “easy to talk to aura.”

“I wouldn’t mind talking to you about my issues. Y-You know, if you were my therapist, I mean.” Aubrey stuttered just a bit. 

“You think…?” Hero considered their opinions and then asked, “What do you think, Sunny?”

Considering Sunny actually was seeing a therapist, he supposed that he had a bit more insight into the field. He seriously contemplated his opinion as he pictured sitting in his therapist’s office with Hero there instead. He was certainly very gentle and gave off a good vibe. People loved Hero pretty unconditionally, so he could see a lot of his clients opening up to him. But he also knew that Hero’s heart was one that could be hurt easily. He didn’t really know how tough his friend was anymore. The old Hero probably wouldn’t have been able to do it. But could the new Hero handle such darkness that could be in a person’s heart?

In truth, he still wanted Hero to become a cook. He knew that his friend still enjoyed cooking and that he was great with it. Him and Mari used to cook all of the time together, and Sunny remembered kneading dough with Mari as she had gone off about how she couldn’t wait for Hero to become a cook. She had wanted to eat his delicious food forever. The last time Sunny had hung out with his friends Hero had said he hadn’t had time for it anymore, but he had a feeling that had just been an excuse to avoid remembering those times as well. He didn’t know if things were different anymore for Hero.

“I think…” Sunny finally said after a period of silence, “that you would be good at it. If… If you think you can handle it.” There, that worked. A gentle warning, but still encouragement. Sunny wanted to be someone who could encourage his friends to pursue the desires they had. Being in the medical field was going to be tough no matter what. If Hero thought he could handle being a doctor overall, then he would probably be fine no matter what he set his mind to. He had always been that type of person, after all.

Hero’s grateful smile made the serious thought process worth it. “Thanks, Sunny.”

“I still think you should become a cook, though.” Kel said easily enough, and Sunny was aware enough of the atmosphere that he could see how even Aubrey reacted to that one. “You’re super good at it, and you have fun. Plus, you get to make a ton of people smile with your food!”

“You’re still pushing for that? Jeez, imagine what mom would say if I suddenly switched career paths.” Hero shook his head.

“Seriously, who cares what she thinks? It’s your life! You should do what you want!” He grinned and jabbed a thumb at his own chest. “Just like me!”

“Changing careers and choosing not to focus on your grades aren’t the same thing, Kel.” Aubrey said with exasperation.

“I’m planning to cruise on a sports scholarship!” Kel announced proudly. “I’ve been working pretty hard to get better at basketball! You’ve been to one of my games, right Aubrey?”

“No.”

“Aw man, for real?” He frowned in disappointment.

“Fine. I might have ended up at one of them since we were already hanging nearby.”

“Haha, then you’ve seen how good I am! Hero, we should totally play a match while you’re in town! Maybe we can get Aubrey’s friends to join in and we can all play together at the court! What d’ya say?”

“Uh, we’ll see Kel.” Hero said. He looked a little relieved at the change in topic. “I wouldn’t mind taking you on, though. We can ask the others later. Not today, though.”

They arrived at Basil’s house then. Sunny stood at the back of the group as Kel went ahead to knock on the door. Sunny wasn’t sure what exactly he had been expecting upon arriving, but the sudden seizing of his heart wasn’t one of them. His vision swirled for a moment before he caught himself. He felt hands on his shoulders and took his hand away from his good eye to see Aubrey giving him a concerned look. She hadn’t said anything so as to not alert the brothers, but he could see her clear question in her eyes.

“I’m okay.” He said quietly. His hands were shaking a little. He could still remember the looming darkness in Basil’s room. The desperation on his face as they had attacked each other. Sunny didn't remember the specifics of what had occurred at that time. Reality and imagination had blurred the lines that night in the darkness that had only been penetrated by the full moon’s light that had come in through the windows. His doctors had said that the damage to his eye had come from a blade after Basil’s psychotic incident, but Sunny still remembered how the Something surrounding Basil had attacked Sunny’s chest. The proof of his own injuries combined with Basil’s had told a different story about how things had played out, but even now Sunny didn’t know for sure what had happened that night. If it hadn’t been their Somethings attacking, Sunny could’ve just used his pepper spray, right…?

Well, that hardly mattered now.

The door opened and Polly called out a greeting to them all. Aubrey gave Sunny one more look before she released him. He was okay. He wasn’t scared. Some memories simply carried some damage with them when that door was opened. He would be fine.

“Is Basil here?” Kel asked.

“He’s actually not.” Polly admitted. “He went to Faraway Plaza in order to buy some stuff. It’s probably for his flowers, knowing him. If you hurry, you can probably catch him.”

“Oh cool, we were headed there anyway. Thanks, Polly!”

“It’s good to see you all again.” Her eyes landed on Sunny, then. Her face twisted before she caught herself. The sight of him probably wasn’t one that brought back good memories for her either. She had been with the group when they had found Basil and Sunny that night, after all. He didn’t doubt it had been a bit of a gruesome sight. However, her face cleared and it was friendly once more. It had only been a surprise. Most people were surprised by Sunny’s appearance. “Is that you, Sunny? Welcome back! Basil’s been looking forward to seeing you again. Let me know if you guys need anything, okay?”

“Will do!” Kel saluted her before she waved and closed the door. “You heard her! Let’s head over to Faraway Plaza. Basil’s the type of guy who could spend hours in Fix-It’s gardening section. Let’s go find him and go eat!”

“Sure.” Hero agreed as the group set off once more. It suddenly occurred to Sunny that maybe people might be wary of him and Basil reconnecting. Basil had been briefly institutionalized after he’d gotten out of the hospital considering everything that had occurred. Sunny had gotten away with not following in his steps because his own attacks had been deemed as self-defense. They had talked together through messages when Basil had gotten out, but this would be the first time seeing each other in person again. Sunny hadn’t even considered that the responsible thing would be to be concerned about what might happen between him and Basil from an outsider’s perspective. He didn’t have any kind of worries about that, though. Basil hadn’t been the one to attack him. It had been Something. And Something was gone now. 

There were many things that Sunny had resolved to do while he was in Faraway Town with his friends. Reuniting with them all and hanging out as a group was one of them, but one of his major goals involved talking with Basil about… everything. They needed to do so. Even if Something was gone, he knew that Basil needed support about what had happened. He didn’t know if his friends were prepared to talk about it, but Sunny was. He was as ready as he was going to be. He just needed to find the right time now.

Sunny’s hand came up to rub at his chest just a little bit. He was looking forward to seeing Basil again.

Chapter Text

Very little had changed in the time that Sunny had been gone. He supposed that he had expected that, and yet it had still caught him by enough surprise that he took the time to look at his surroundings as they had walked around and headed to Faraway Plaza. His stomach growled again as they got closer to the source of the greasy smell in the air. His mouth watered. But they passed by it to continue to their current destination.

Fix-It was still the same as usual. The same half-asleep attendant was at the register and the shelves had tools that were all mixed up. Sunny figured that if he got bored maybe he could make a quick buck doing the job that the attendant clearly didn’t like doing. Maybe next time he could help to pay for food sometime this week. He had money from his mother, but he recalled feeling a small bit of pride doing the jobs on his own. It had been busy work for sure, but the money had been nice for someone who didn’t have a job.

Which reminded him.

He grabbed the edge of Hero’s short-sleeved shirt as Aubrey and Kel went on ahead to get to the back of the store where the gardening stuff was at. He gave a little tug on it, and Hero came to a stop. “What’s up?” He asked, giving Sunny a curious smile. Sunny appreciated that Hero still seemed to always have a smile ready for him. A secret part of him had feared seeing that same devastated and haunted look on his face from that day in the hospital.

“I have the money. I had forgotten.” Sunny released the sleeve to reach into his pocket and pull out his wallet. It wasn’t a thick wallet that carried much in it other than his ID and what money he had. Also a library card that was used somewhat rarely. He was getting back into reading books. He still liked video games more. He pulled out the correct amount and handed it over to his friend.

“Oh, right! Haha, I’d forgotten too. Thanks.” Hero gladly accepted the money and folded the bills before pocketing them. “I’m glad you reminded me. Once we get Basil, we should probably tell the others the plan, huh? I know Kel’ll be free, but hopefully Aubrey can make it too.” Sunny followed on Hero’s heels as the man led the way around lamps and the stacks of paint swatches. Sections of the store were a lot brighter with all of the different types of light fixtures available, and the different styles of fans were blowing on low settings to keep the store nice and cool. Sunny wasn’t even sure the A/C was on that high considering all of the energy being used in the store.

They pushed past the thick plastic that kept the humid air of the greenhouse gardening area separate from the main store. Sunny inhaled the cloying scent of many plants and flowers that filled the area. The place had been rearranged since he had last been there, but he still liked being back there. It had a kind of secret hideout vibe to it. When they had all been kids, sometimes Kel and Aubrey had hidden among the shelves and had played while Sunny and Basil had picked out some new seeds to grow. It took a little bit of searching to find the others, but it was easy enough to follow Kel’s voice in the quiet area.

The first sight of Basil in person was a sucker punch to Sunny’s stomach. He felt his feet stutter to a stop and found himself unable to approach immediately. He had seen pictures of his friends through the chatroom that they shared. Basil preferred to send pictures of his plants whenever he did send pictures at all. Aubrey’s portion of the chatroom occasionally had pictures of her that were taken by others and were sent by her later if she liked them. Hero took very few pictures to begin with, but he would comment on the ones his friends took. Kel took all kinds of pictures of himself and his surroundings, so seeing them wasn’t unusual. But seeing Basil himself in person was just as startling as it had been the first time he’d seen him again after nearly four years. The main difference was that Sunny did not feel that numbing sensation blocking him from the majority of the emotional effect of the reunion after years of breaking his promise and abandoning Basil. He allowed himself to feel everything. Relief, fear, trepidation, happiness, sadness, guilt; there were so many different things to feel at once that Sunny wasn’t sure what to make of all of them. So, he simply breathed and felt them all, even if the force of it had caused him to halt his progress forward and join up with his friends again.

Hero paused when Sunny did and glanced back at him. Sunny could see Aubrey standing not quite with Basil and Kel, but on the other side of the table covered with small potted plants. Kel had gotten right up next to Basil and was talking animatedly with him. It was easy to approach them. They needed to do so. Sunny didn’t really know why his legs wouldn’t work. He met Hero’s worried gaze.

Whatever his expression was, it cleared the worry from Hero’s eyes. Instead, there was only sympathy there. He shot Sunny a reassuring smile, took in an exaggerated breath, held it, and then released it. “Okay!” He said quietly, as if Hero had been the one who had needed a moment to compose himself. Then he went ahead and joined the others, calling out, “Hey Basil!”

Basil blinked and turned to look at him, a tentative smile on his own face as he waved a little. He had a shopping basket on his arm that had some things inside of it that Sunny couldn’t make out. “O-Oh! Hi Hero. What…” He trailed off as his eyes finally caught Sunny’s as Sunny approached. Fear crossed his face followed very shortly by that dark look of guilt that had been burned into Sunny mind. Basil’s eyes skittered away from him, and then came back. The expression was better contained this time. His smile was a little strained, but he could tell the other boy was trying. “S-Sunny! You’re here! Welcome… Uh, welcome back!”

Sunny came to a stop in front of Basil, and for a moment time stopped. His friends watched them with expectation, wariness, excitement… but none of that mattered to Sunny. He hadn’t looked Basil in the face like this since the day his wounds were still hurting him and Basil’s eye had been swollen shut from a bruise on it. He looked… great. Better than great. He looked almost like he had when he was younger. The bags that had been present under his eyes before were all but gone. There wasn’t an air of exhaustion and anxiety around him. There was no darkness pulling at him from every shadow around them. The air felt cleaner.

Sunny’s trepidation left him like water rushing from a sieve. He didn’t smile, but his eyes softened. “Hi.” He said back.

That was all Basil really needed. It was like that same weight Sunny had felt in his own chest had lifted from Basil’s shoulders. Suddenly, everything was better. It was almost like talking with him on the phone again. Basil reached out for Sunny’s hand and squeezed it with a real smile on his face, eyes a little glassy from tearing up before he blinked the sight away. “I’m… It’s really good to see you!”

Sunny nodded in agreement. It was good to see Basil again too.

Kel chose then to throw an arm over both boys’ shoulders despite the fact that it caused him to hunch over to do it. Basil was even shorter than Sunny was. “Yeah, it’s great to see everyone together again! Like I was saying Basil, we’re all gonna hang out and go get pizza! Are you hungry? You need to come with us!”

Basil knew when he didn’t have a choice as he gave a little laugh. “Uh, yeah. O-okay. Let me finish here first.”

“Buying some new seeds?” Hero asked curiously, easily looking over the tops of the boys to glance into Basil’s basket. Sunny could see a couple seed packets in there, but there were also some little pots.

“Yeah. I’m… I’m going to start on my summer garden. There were some new seeds here…” He paused and then said, “Maybe… if you guys aren’t busy… do you want to do it with me? It doesn’t need to be today! I know we’re busy. Just… some time this week?” He still had a bit of that nervous energy about him from before, but Sunny could tell he was better than a year ago. That was a relief in and of itself. He could definitely see it better in person than he had over text. 

“Boring!” Kel complained. “Gardening takes FOR-EVER!”

“It’s not that bad.” Basil murmured, unsure now.

“That might be a little fun, actually.” Aubrey said, her eyes downcast as she ran her finger over the delicate leaves of a sprout in front of her. “Do you guys remember when we all tried to grow different plants for all of us? We’d brought them to the clubhouse before bringing them back to Basil’s since we kept forgetting to care for them.”

“Oh yeah.” Hero said, surprise on his face. “I’d forgotten about it. What were they again?” He looked to Basil.

“I-I, uh, I don’t really…” Basil stuttered out.

“They were flowers that represented all of us.” Sunny spoke up then. “Roses, white tulips, sunflowers, lily of the valley, a cactus, and a gladiolus.”

“Oh wow, you remembered that?” Aubrey asked, sounding a little impressed. “I didn’t even remember the names.”

“Sunny’s always had the best memory out of all of us.” Hero placed a hand on Sunny’s head affectionately, which startled Sunny a bit. Before he really had time to register it, though, Hero had already removed it. “Are they still alive, you think? I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s you, Basil.”

Basil glanced away before biting his lip briefly and gathered himself. He gave a bit of a regretful smile. “I don’t think I have them anymore. I mean… I might still have the rose bush? But… I sold a couple of my plants here… for money. I think they were included, maybe? I only have one of them left. S-sorry.”

“It’s no problem! You have so many plants that I’m surprised you can remember them all!” Kel reassured him.

“Then it’s settled. We’ll come over sometime this week and help you with your gardening.” Hero smiled. Sunny’s stomach growled once more as if in reminder. That got the brother chuckling a little.

“Sunny’s about to starve! Man, I could use some food too. Let’s hurry up and get this done and go get a pie to split!”

“No cookies?” Aubrey asked with a raised eyebrow. “After all, Sunny is ‘dying’ to have some.”

“Oh yeeaaaah! We definitely need cookies too!”

“Ah, I just need to grab one more thing!” Basil said. “Then we can go.” He split from the group to head over to the shelves where he grabbed a square planter that was a little larger than his head. He chose instead to carry it because it wouldn’t fit into his small basket.

“Here, I’ll hold that for you.” Hero offered as he took the planter from him. “That’s it, right?”

“Yeah. ...Thanks, Hero.” He gave the taller boy a small smile. “We can go now.” He led the way to the register where he paid for his items and bagged them. It was a little awkward with the planter in the bag, but it was easy enough to carry. They left the store together and stepped back out into the heat. The sun was past its peak and was creeping its way a little downward in the sky. Sunny was looking forward to finally eating. His lack of appetite was catching up to him, and opening the door to Gino’s only made his hunger all the more ravenous.

“The usual stuff?” Hero asked, taking the initiative to go order the pizza as the group of them moved towards the longest table in the place. “Any preferences?”

“All the meat you can shove on it!” Kel said.

“Put anything on it that will make sure Kel doesn’t eat all of it like he did the last time we were all here.” Aubrey suggested.

“Right. Kel, save some for us this time.” Hero agreed.

“Hehe, sorry! You guys were talking so much that before I knew it the pizza was gone!” Kel seemed only a little remorseful over the event. Sunny remembered watching it all happen. He had been so impressed with how fast Kel had managed to scarf down an entire pizza that he had completely forgotten to grab a slice for himself while he’d had the chance.

“The last time? Did you guys come here recently?” Basil asked, shifting his grip on his bag. His eyes jumped around the group with a nervous energy that definitely hadn’t been there when they were all younger. 

“No, this was, uh, before Sunny left. During those last days. You were in the hospital visiting your grandmother.” Hero said. Sunny could feel how the group was hesitant to talk about those final days. He hoped to maybe get rid of that energy sometime soon. There were things that needed to be discussed, after all.

“Oh. Okay.” Basil gave an understanding, if awkward smile. Clearly he could sense the same nerves that the others had about the situation.

“...I’ll just go order the pizza, okay? Hey Kel, why don’t you go buy some cookies then? We should be able to eat them here.”

“Not a bad idea! Hero comes up with some great plans.” Kel nodded, completely on board with it. “I’ll head right next door then!”

“I’m coming with you.” Aubrey said. “Last time you got those gross Play-Doh cookies.”

“Hey! Those are good cookies! Man, we used to chow through those like crazy!” Kel huffed.

“They’re all sugar and that’s it.” Aubrey rolled her eyes.

“They’re all just sugar.” He stuck his tongue out at her as he moved towards the door. Aubrey followed after him, the two of them bickering with each other over cookie preferences. Sunny could still kinda hear Kel’s voice through the windows, so he decided to walk over to the jukebox. The CDs that he had bought, found, and had been donated during his last few days in Faraway Town were still in the machine. There were a lot of good ones to choose from.

He was still seriously considering his options when he felt a presence near his shoulder. He glanced over and found Basil there, giving him a smile. He was definitely more relaxed. “Having a hard time choosing?”

Sunny nodded once as he flipped through his choices.

“...What are these strange options? I haven’t heard of most of these.” Basil said, confused. “Were these always here?”

Sunny shook his head. “They’re… indie.” 

“Oh. Um, I guess randomize it?”

Sunny wasn’t sure that was an option with a jukebox. He decided to close his eyes and simply choose one at random. Another song was already playing, so they would have to wait for their queued song to switch on. They went back to their table in the meantime. Sunny glanced over to see Hero waiting patiently in line. He glanced towards Sunny and Basil briefly before looking away once more.

“...It really is good to see you again.” Basil caught Sunny’s attention. He turned back around in his seat to look at him. Basil’s hands played with themselves on the table. There were tiny scars on them. He looked comfortable in his overalls and short-sleeve shirt. There was a thin, pale scar on his cheekbone from where Something had cut him a little deeply. Or maybe it had been Sunny’s fingernail. He still wasn't sure. “I… I’ve missed you. A lot. How’s everything?”

Sunny shifted and pulled his chair in a little bit more at the table. He wondered what exactly to say. He knew that he was probably going to be telling the others a bit more about his life in the city once they were all eating anyway, so he settled on, “Better. Things are better.”

“Yeah.” Basil’s smile got a little wider. “Same here. Um, I know it’s summer vacation but… just remember if you need help with your summer homework, I’m just a phone call away.”

“I know.” Sunny had yet to take too much advantage of his friends’ offerings to assist him with his schoolwork. He was the same age as most of them, but he was far behind in terms of schooling. If he was going to ask anyone to assist him, it would probably be Basil anyway. Hero would be too busy even if Sunny knew he would probably drop everything to help him anyway. That was just the kind of guy he was, whether or not he secretly hated Sunny. Which Sunny didn’t completely believe was true anyway, so that shouldn’t really be a consideration. Kel wasn’t good with academics, and Aubrey, though better, wasn’t as good as Basil was, judging by her and Kel’s interactions in the chatroom.

There was a lull in the conversation, but that wasn’t unusual when Sunny was involved. Basil took it in stride and moved on to the next topic. He lowered his voice a little and asked, “Has it… Has it been weird? With the others, I mean.”

Sunny hesitated, and then shook his head. Because it was true. Things haven’t been awkward. In fact, it felt a lot like it did during those final few days before his and Basil’s fight, and before Sunny had told them all the truth about what had happened with Mari. There were some stumbles with Aubrey and especially Hero, but that just made Sunny feel better. It made it feel less like they were forcing things to be this way and felt more like… like maybe his friends had somehow managed to forgive him. It was a possibility that still felt like it was out of his reach. While he had hope in his heart, he knew his fear wouldn’t abate until he heard their decisions from them himself.

“I’m glad.” Basil’s smile was a little sad. “I was really worried about… well, mostly about Hero. Aubrey and Kel have been great. Better than great. I mean, it was rough for a little while but… I think they might… they might have forgiven us, Sunny.” He laughed a little, though it wasn’t one out of amusement. It was the same flavor of disbelief that Sunny had just been thinking about. “It seems impossible. I thought I’d never get to hang out like this again with everyone.” He paused, then said quieter, “...Mostly everyone.”

Sunny liked to think that Mari was still with them all. He had seen her around many times in this past year: on his couch, at the park, in his bed curled up near him, and sometimes at his mother’s feet as if waiting for their mother to play with her hair much like she had done many times in the past. It most likely was his imagination, but it made him feel better knowing his sister was watching over him. And knowing that she had forgiven him.

He ran his finger over the tabletop, watching as the natural grease on his fingertip left a smear on the shiny wood. “...I’m going to talk with everyone about everything this time.” He confessed. “It’s… I think we need it.”

“...You’re right.” Basil agreed. “We never got to tell them everything, huh?”

“Not just about that day.” Sunny clarified. “The photographs too. And… what I was doing while I had locked myself away. If you all want to hear that. Why I had run away.”

“‘What you were doing’?” He frowned in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Sunny didn’t answer. He wasn’t even sure how to begin to approach that kind of topic. He’d like to discuss it with his friends, but it wasn’t exactly his priority. In a way, it felt like by telling them about Headspace he could apologize to them for being so selfish. He had run away from his problems as far as he mentally and emotionally could have. He still felt guilty for it. A quiet, secret hope was that maybe… maybe his explanation would allow them to sympathize with him more. Or maybe understand just how much Mari’s death had hurt him as well. It was a selfish desire, but one that was there nonetheless. He didn’t like that part of himself, though, so he tried not to think about it.

Basil gave up trying to get an answer out of him. Instead he said, “W-Well… I hope you get to do what you wanted. I’m… I’m here to support you. Right?” 

Sunny nodded in agreement. They were there for each other. No matter what happened during this week, he and Basil had reaffirmed their promise to each other. A new start for them both. There was no more running for them. Both boys reached across the table and grasped hands. A simple squeeze was all they needed before their hands separated once more. Sunny felt at ease.

Chapter Text

Hero returned to the table juggling five cans of soda in his hands. They were all the same basic brand that almost every single kid drank, with the exception of Hero’s drink. He had picked out his own preference. Sunny and Basil grabbed a can for themselves, though Sunny didn’t open his yet. He didn’t want to drink all of it before the food came.

Hero took his own seat with a sigh, sitting down next to Sunny since it was the closest spot. “Man, it’s a little bit busy here today. No surprise considering they have that special going on for lunch.” He laughed a little to himself. “Too bad we have too many people. It’s just cheaper to get a full pie with Kel’s appetite.”

“Hehe, yeah.” Basil agreed. He glanced at Sunny and then back to Hero. There was an air of awkwardness that hovered over them. Sunny wasn’t much of a talker to begin with, and with Basil clearly a little out of sorts with everything it had left them all floundering a little with the small talk. Luckily, Hero was just as skilled in this sense as he was in many other ways. He cracked open his can of soda and then said in a serious tone,

“Hey… I know things are… kind of weird between all of us. It’s not like I don’t get it.” His eyes dropped, lips twisting in a way that broke his façade of confidence. He recovered quickly. “But no matter what… I want to get through this. With everyone.” He smiled a little sadly. “I hope that’s okay.”

“Th-That’s what I want too!” Basil assured him quickly. His hands trembled a little from where they were wrapped around his can of soda. Sunny used his nail to half-heartedly tug at the tab of his own drink. “I… Hero, I can’t apologize enough. I really-”

Hero held up a hand to stop him, and Basil came up short. Hero took a quick breath and released it. His brow softened. “I know.” He said simply. “Look, I, uh, wasn’t planning on really getting into this. Not here, and definitely not now. But you don’t need to apologize. I know you’re sorry. That both of you are.” His eyes darted to Sunny, who met his look head on. He could feel his heart beating a fast staccato in his chest. He couldn’t hold Hero’s gaze for long. “That doesn’t mean everything’s 100% okay. I don’t know if it ever will be. But we don’t need things to be completely okay to still be friends. We made a promise together, and I plan to keep it. I just don’t know about us constantly being at odds. It’s…” his eyes dropped, but his smile didn’t waver, “it’s not what Mari would’ve wanted.”

Sunny felt like crying. But he didn’t.

Basil’s hands tightened a little on his can. “Mari would want us all to be happy. But that doesn’t mean that… I’m hoping we can… I want to talk about this. Just, haha, I guess now really isn’t the time, huh?”

Hero shook his head. “I can’t speak for everyone, but I’m not ready yet. Not yet. Besides!” He visibly gathered himself and attempted to lift the mood. “We’ve got an outing to plan with the others, right? Sunny told you everything?”

“Ye-Yeah!” Basil nodded, taking the out presented before him. “I’ve already gotten permission from my parents and everything! I can give you the money when we get back to my house. Do Kel and Aubrey know yet?”

“Nope, not yet. We were gonna surprise them while eating.”

“Hehe, sounds good.”

Sunny decided to open his can anyway, uncaring any longer about whether or not he might finish it before the pizza got there. He wanted something to wet his dry throat after all of that. A year had passed, but these things were hardly any easier to confront. There was a part of him that continued to whisper that no matter what his friends would always secretly hate him. This acknowledgement from Hero only helped to make that little voice louder. He refused to listen to it for long, though. He had faith in his friends. He was strengthened by the fact that they were still here with him, and that Basil was right across from him supporting him as well. They could do this.

He opened his mouth in order to say one final thing on the matter, but the bell above the door to the restaurant chimed and alerted the group to the return of Kel and Aubrey. They carried with them a paper bag. It definitely looked like more than just some cookies. The proud grin on Kel’s face also told them all they needed to know that the two of them clearly had bought more than expected.

“Oh nice! You got us soda and everything! Thanks, Hero!” He called as he grabbed a seat next to Basil. Aubrey took the free seat on the other side of Sunny and snatched up a soda can of her own.

“We got some pastries.” She explained as she lifted her bag and placed it on the table. “Instead of cookies.”

“Wait, what? The whole point of the trip was for cookies.” Hero said as he pushed the top of the bag down to expose the contents. It was a box of fresh donuts from the bakery along with some croissants. They were still warm and the icing was melting on the donuts when Hero opened the box. Sunny’s stomach growled again furiously. It was loud enough to be heard over the music.

“Pfft! Hahahaha!” Basil laughed before his hand flew to cover his mouth. But his laughter only caused giggles to break out from the others as Sunny felt his ears burn. “S-Sorry, Sunny! You just look so surprised!”

“Here you go, buddy. All for you.” Hero pushed the box towards him. Aubrey grabbed a donut while Sunny took one for himself. The first bite practically melted in his mouth as the warm dough and the sweet icing filled his senses. He hadn’t had fresh donuts in a long time either. Right from the bakery was definitely the better choice than buying them from some food chain. He kinda wanted a little bit of coffee now even though he wasn’t the biggest fan of that either.

“So what made you guys decide against the cookies?” Hero asked as Basil considered his options before picking out a croissant just before Kel snatched the box for himself to take a croissant and a donut into each hand. He took a big bite out of the sweet and spoke around it,

“Well cuz,” munch munch “we thought maybe-”

“We wanted donuts instead.” Aubrey spoke over Kel, shooting him a bit of a glare. She probably didn’t like that he was talking while eating. Sunny finished his donut and stood up to reach across the table to grab a second one. One more, and then he would wait for the pizza. He wanted that glorious cheesiness.

“Okay…?” Hero seemed to be a little doubtful, but didn’t press it.

“Donuts are a good choice.” Basil said. “They’re really fresh.”

“Exactly! That’s why we grabbed them!” Kel agreed.

“Well… as long as we don’t completely fill up on this stuff. Mom’ll be upset if we barely touch the dinner she’s making.” Hero finally relented before he took a donut for himself.

“We can just have leftovers if we need to.” Kel waved his brother’s worries off.

“Riiiiight…” Hero looked less enthused about the idea than Kel did. Sunny took a napkin from the table’s dispenser and wiped his mouth before he said,

“About this weekend.” He waited to be sure he had all of their attention before he continued, “We… We wanted to go to the beach. And stay there. Can you guys come?”

“What?” Aubrey asked, eyes widening, but her voice was quickly overpowered by Kel shouting,

“HECK YEAH! No way, are we really doing it?!”

“Yeah, I already talked with Mom about it, and I’ve already rented the cabin.” Hero cleaned his hands of the remains of his treat. “We talked about it briefly before, but we figured now would be a good time to do it, y’know? We’re all here and in town, so we should take advantage!”

“W-Wait a second!” Aubrey flushed a little, flustered by the announcement. “Even me?! Where did you get this money? I don’t know… if I can pay for this.” She looked a little regretful.

“I paid for it.” Sunny told her. Aubrey’s shocked eyes turned to him. “I… had some money saved up. And it’s a birthday present.”

“What? It’s not even my birthday!” She protested, teal eyes swirling with confusion and a hint of wariness.

“Who cares? Take the gift!” Kel called to her, leaning over the table to wave a hand at her. “We all get to go to the beach again! And this time we get to stay over! Maaaaaaan, do you remember the last time we went? This time there won’t be any parents or anything! This’ll be great!”

“This is really sudden.” Aubrey muttered.

“Are you coming too, Basil?”

“Yeah.” Basil nodded, smiling softly. “I already have permission and everything.”

“Kel, you’ll just have to pay me back in time.” Hero chuckled a little. “Or by getting better grades.”

“Sure, no problem!” Kel easily agreed.

Aubrey still didn’t look too sure. Hero gave her a concerned look. “Is this weekend no good for you?”

“It’s… it’s not that. I’m just… really surprised.” She confessed. “I can go, I’ve just never done anything like this before.”

“Us either!” Kel said. “This’ll be a first for all of us, isn’t it?” He looked around the table. The others nodded. “See? No stress here!”

“Oh, if you’re worried about the sleeping arrangements, we made sure there’s enough room for everyone. You’ll get your own room, Aubrey.” Hero added.

“I wasn’t worried about that!” Aubrey hurried to say. “...But thanks.” Her smile was teasing as she added, “Not sure I could stomach listening to Kel’s snores all night anyway.”

“What?” Kel asked, offended. “I don’t snore!”

“You so do.”

“You really do, Kel.” Hero added.

Sunny nodded in agreement.

“Pfft, whatever!” Kel brushed them off. “You guys are just messing with me.”

The bell dinged at the counter then and a number was called. “Oh, that’s us! Be right back.” Hero got up to go grab the pizza as the group moved the donut box away.

“So, this weekend?” Aubrey asked. “I’m guessing we’ll be leaving on Friday, then?”

“Yup.” Basil said. “Um, we should be back sometime on Sunday, right?” He glanced towards Sunny.

He nodded. His mom would be picking him up a little early on the Monday following the trip, so he needed to be sure he was back there by then.

“Pizza is served!” Hero called as he opened the box and placed the glorious pie before them all. He also brought over the paper plates they would all be using, which the kids were quick to pull apart and separate out. Aubrey slapped Kel’s hands before he could so much as touch the pizza so that everyone else had a chance to grab what they wanted. The pizza was a little too hot for Sunny’s hands, so he let his slices cool a little on his plate in the meantime.

“Hey Hero, do you think my friends can come visit?” Aubrey asked, blowing on her pizza to cool it in her hands.

“At the beach, you mean? Sure! The more the merrier!” Hero grinned as he took a bite of his own slice. He chewed and swallowed it followed by a quick gulp of his soda before adding, “If they decide to stay over, though, I can’t promise they’ll have beds. They’re welcome to stay if they want, though.”

“Hey yeah! We could get a good beach volleyball group going then! There’s always a volleyball net somewhere on the beach!” Kel said.

“I think I still have some of my old beach things…” Basil added. “Um, I can bring a blow-up ball?”

“Should we go shopping sometime before the trip?” Hero suggested. “I’m sure Dad’ll let me borrow the truck and we can head to the outdoor mall or something. I haven’t been to the beach in forever, so I was actually planning on going shopping for some trunks anyway. The ones I have don't fit me anymore.”

“That sounds fun.” Basil said. “Can, uh, I come with you?”

“Yeah, sure!”

“Alright! Shopping trip! I’ll take any excuse to get out of town for a while! Let’s do it!” Kel agreed. “And since we’re going, that means you have to go, Sunny! It’s just weird if you’re staying at your friends’ house when they’re not home, right?”

Sunny huffed a quiet laugh, amused at the image of staying at Kel’s house alone. If it had been his house he would’ve probably just spent the time playing video games, but since his friends were going he wasn’t going to miss his chance to hang out with them. He’d missed out on far too much. “I’ll go.” He agreed.

As the others continued to chat, he couldn’t help the warmth he felt in his chest. He wouldn’t forget just how delicious the pizza tasted as he ate with his best friends and excitedly planned what everyone wanted to do during the week Sunny was in town. Sitting like this, he was certain that Mari was smiling from heaven. He wanted to show her even more happy times with everyone. He was really looking forward to everything that was to come for the first time in a very long time.

Chapter Text

Despite the earlier decision that Sunny would spend the lunch break telling the others about what it was like living in the city and how he was doing there, he’d never gotten the chance. As groups of friends were wont to do, the conversation had flowed from one topic to the next without sticking on any one for too long. Sunny didn’t mind, though. His time would come. His and Hero’s stories about life outside of Faraway Town were exciting for those who hadn’t traveled too far from the small town. Not that Sunny really had much to say on the topic, but that hardly mattered.

Lunch ended and the group of friends headed back to Basil’s house to drop off the stuff they were carrying, including the leftover food that hadn’t managed to be finished off. Kel had all but completely filled up on the donuts, so he hadn't finished all of the pizza. Sunny took a moment to glance around Basil’s house, but it hadn’t changed that much. The only thing that had really changed was the strange, almost oppressing atmosphere that it’d had before. Admittedly, it churned his stomach a little to be in the place at all. The very bad memories of the last time he had been there fought with the warm pleasant memories of their childhood days. He shook his head to clear it.

Kel ended up following Basil to the boy’s bedroom, but Sunny couldn’t bring himself to join. So he, Aubrey, and Hero waited out in the living room. It was nice there. Warm. All the good memories were there, even if it was also the place where Sunny had remembered… everything. He could still see the ghostly images of Hero, Aubrey, and Kel on the couch and floor. In the darkness of that night, he hadn’t been sure what would happen to him. He hadn’t exactly felt completely like himself. Omori had been there in the back of his mind, waiting and coaxing him at the same time. It would’ve been so easy to run away that day. Maybe that would’ve been the easier choice. Sunny didn’t regret his decision to save Basil. They wouldn’t be there now if he hadn’t done it. Losing an eye had been worth it.

“You good?” Aubrey asked quietly as she joined his side. Sunny blinked and had to turn his head all of the way since she had been standing in his blind spot. Though her face didn’t exactly show her worry, Sunny could hear it nonetheless.

“I’m good.” He said. “Just thinking.”

“You still zone out a lot.” She pointed out. “Where does your head go?” Sunny seriously considered telling her the truth, but figured that it wasn’t the time. Later. He simply stayed silent. Aubrey didn’t take any offense to it. His friends were used to his lack of responses.

“It’s weird to be back here.” Hero said then. His tone was low, as if he was trying to keep monsters from hearing him. “In the daytime it’s completely different but… I can’t really imagine how you’re feeling, Sunny.”

The daytime had always been safe for Sunny. The monsters had always come out in the darkness and the shadows. Frankly, he was more concerned for his friends. He decided to spare his friends from the low-lying poison that tainted the memories here. He’d become almost good at doing so. “Do you remember Basil’s birthday here?” He moved over to the couch and sat on it. If he focused enough he could see their younger selves with party hats on and confetti in the air. The sweet smell of cake and icing. The lingering flavor of strawberry. The feeling of Basil’s Gameboy in his hands as he helped Basil defeat a boss he’d been struggling with.

That brought a smile to Hero’s face. “His 12th one, right?” He joined Sunny on the couch. His eyes were sparkling now, enchanted by the shiny memories rather than the dark ones. “It’s almost where everything started, huh? With the taking-pictures stuff.”

“The first was Christmas.” Aubrey corrected. “But Basil got the album on his birthday.”

“That was the best cake you’d made, Hero.” Sunny said.

“Haha, well, I had Mari helping me. She had been really intent on making sure it was perfect since Basil hadn’t had a birthday party like that before.”

“It was perfect.” Aubrey said, voice a little softer with wistfulness. “Basil hadn’t known how to take it. ...That year was the best.” They fell silent for a moment, each of them with their thoughts years away from where they were. Then Hero brought them back,

“Hmm… I know that it was, uh, a source of trouble for us, but maybe we should invest in a new photo album?” He glanced at the others for their thoughts on the idea. “We won’t have enough time to fill a new one, but we could start it off. If Basil’s interested in keeping up his hobby, it could be something we show Sunny the next time he visits? To keep up with everyone?”

Sunny really liked that idea. Though they wouldn’t be his memories, they would be everyone else’s. He had the first photo album, so it only felt fair that the others had one of their own.

“Who uses Polaroids anymore?” Aubrey asked. “We’d have to look kinda hard to find some. And what if we can’t?”

“Then we’ll just use a disposable one!” Hero suggested. “It’s not quite the same, but then we could actually make copies of it. That way we can all have our own. What do you think?”

“...The other album isn’t full.” Sunny said. “I could… put some in there.”

“That… actually sounds really nice.” Aubrey confessed, eyes gentle with desire and love of the idea.

“Then that’s what we’ll do! Since we’re going shopping anyway, we can buy some disposable cameras for cheap. All of Basil’s old pictures helped to remind us all of the good times, so we should continue them.” Sunny gazed at Hero as he spoke and felt his heart swelling in his chest. He loved this idea just as much as the others did. He was excited to buy the disposable cameras. He was glad he had plenty of pocket money both from his mother and from saving up when he had been doing some odd jobs around his neighborhood.

“Sorry for the wait.” Basil said as he and Kel returned. “We got distracted-”

“Dude, have you been in Basil’s room recently?” Kel asked Aubrey as he beamed. He bounced on his toes just a little in his excitement. “It’s like a forest in there! It’s been totally changed since the last time we saw it! I couldn’t believe it!”

“A-Ah, it’s not that bad, haha.” Basil said, rubbing at his head. “I just… I had plenty of room and… yeah.”

“Really? We should check it out next time.” Hero said. 

“Do you want to look now?” Kel asked.

“I thought you were tired of being stuck inside.” Aubrey said. “We’ll look at it later.”

“Yeah, the weather’s too nice to be indoors anyway.” Hero agreed.

Sunny led the way back to the front door and held it open as the others exited. He closed it and Basil locked it behind him since it seemed like Polly wasn’t home. The sun was still pretty high in the sky. There was no point in ending the day just yet, so the group started walking. Their feet automatically directed them to the park where there would be more things to do and less chance of them feeling the need to buy anything.

“So, we were talking while you guys were gone,” Hero began, “and me, Sunny, and Aubrey were thinking about buying some disposable cameras when we go shopping. If you don’t feel like being our cameraman, Basil, then I figured we can all just use our film in any way we want. Then we can choose our favorites and print out the ones we want to keep. What do you think?”

“That sounds great!” Basil cried, eyes widening. “Oh! Um, I still have some film in my camera. We could… start today, maybe? If, uh, I find a good picture.”

“That’s super cool!” Kel agreed. “We can make our own albums and have our own copies! That’s a fantastic idea, Hero!”

“I’ll be right back, then!” Basil said before he ran back towards his house. The others came to a stop to wait for him. 

“...I’m glad you guys all like the idea.” Hero confessed as he watched Basil run off. “It’s just… You know, with going to college and such and with Sunny gone… it’s a little lonely, right? Mom and Dad said it’d be harder to make friends the older you get, and I kinda see what they mean.”

“Aw man, don’t say that!” Kel whined. “You’ve always been great at making friends! You just need to step away from your studies to do it!”

“Haha, right. Not like that Kel. I mean, like, life-long friends.” He rubbed at the back of his neck. “I have buddies in college, but I’m still learning who they are. It’s different with you guys. No matter how much we change, we’re still… us.” He looked to them with quiet hope in his eyes. “Right?”

“...Yeah, I get it.” Aubrey agreed. “I’ve had a hard time making friends since I was little. I can’t really imagine going off to college and having an easier time somehow.”

Kel tucked his arms behind his head with a thoughtful frown. “Is it really that difficult?”

“Shut up! You’re good at making friends. You wouldn’t get it.”

“Nah, I get it though?” Kel shook his head. “It takes time to really get to know someone. It’s not the same as when we were little and we weren’t, like, so grown up. Things were easier back then. The older you get, the less people are real with themselves in the same way kids are.”

The others glanced at him with surprise before Aubrey burst out laughing a little. A smile played on Hero’s lips. “Couldn’t’ve said it better myself, Kel.” Then he threw himself at his brother and wrapped him up in a headlock that had Kel shouting and struggling. Hero laughed as he messed up his brother’s hair. “Luckily, I know I always have you! You can’t get rid of me easily, little bro!”

“AW, WHAT THE HECK?! LET ME GO, HERO!!” Kel shouted, only giving a token resistance against his brother’s loving attack.

Aubrey laughed more at Kel’s plight and Sunny found himself smiling just a bit. It was gone before anyone could see it, though. Sunny didn’t like smiling, but it came naturally to him sometimes.

“I’m back!” Basil called as Hero released his brother. Kel sulked and fixed his messed up hair. “Oh no, it looks like I missed something.”

“Nothing big.” Hero waved him off. “Just messing around.”

“Those are the best moments.” Basil said with a soft smile. “Next time.” He promised quietly, almost to himself, though Sunny heard him.

“We were talking about the photo album idea.” Aubrey said as the group started walking once more. They waited at the crosswalk for a car to pass by before crossing the street. “Now that it’s been brought up, I like being able to bring stuff with me when we all go our separate ways.”

“Don’t say it like that, Aubrey. It makes it sound like we’ll never see each other again.” Kel said. “We’ll be best friends forever! We can have our ups and downs, but that doesn’t change what we have, right?”

“It’s nice to have proof.” Her eyes drooped to watch their feet. Sunny followed her gaze, looking at the different shoes sizes they all had. He could easily tell whose feet were whose. It made him think of that picture in the photo album. Their feet sizes were very different now. “Memories can get hazy with time.”

“That’s true.” Basil agreed, fingering the camera around his neck. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t have a need for pictures.”

“I guess you’re right.” Kel said as his hair blew around his face in the wind. He tucked it behind his ear and out of his face. “I don’t think I need such a deep reason, though. It’s fun just having pictures of us around!”

“Yeah.” Hero agreed. “It’ll be something to look forward to. We’re not all going to be living in the same town all of the time, but that doesn’t mean we’ll forget either. We’ll look back on this fondly.”

“You sound so old!” Kel laughed, punching his brother lightly in the shoulder.

“I’m just saying what I’m thinking!”

Sunny’s eyes drifted away from the backs of his friends to look down the street at the houses they were passing. He and Hero no longer lived in Faraway Town. After summer ended, Basil, Aubrey, and Kel would all be seniors. He wondered if they would be moving away as well. He would really need to get better at talking on the phone or using the computer before then. It was suddenly hitting him exactly what Kel’s dad had meant about it being harder to make friends the older they got. Sunny would have to be proactive in contacting his friends. That, and encouraging them to call him too. Hopefully they would want to after the week ended. He would love to be able to come back and hang out with all of them again.

The sound of a camera snapping and a flash of a light caught his attention as Basil brought the camera down from his face. He had a small, somewhat nervous smile on his face as everyone looked at him. “Hehe, sorry. It looked like a good opportunity.”

“What did you take a picture of?” Kel asked excitedly, already moving behind Basil to look at the picture.

“It’s still developing. Here, I’ll show you guys when we get to the park.”

“Gotta say, the sound is nostalgic.” Hero said as they crossed the street once more and entered the park. There were plenty of people either relaxing or playing in the area and enjoying the day. Sunny walked over to the sandy playground, breaking away from the group with the full knowledge that they’d follow after him. He was a little old to play on the playground near his new apartment because the equipment was kinda small for him, but that didn’t really matter in this park. He planted himself into the worn comfort of the rubber swing seat and prepared to start swinging. The others gathered around Basil to look at the photo.

“Wooooow! Sunny’s looking real photogenic here!” Sunny glanced at them curiously when he heard his name. Kel was grinning as he took the photo from Basil and showed it to Sunny. It was a profile image of Sunny staring off into the distance, the wind blowing his hair from his face and a couple leaves flying around him. The angle it was at didn’t show his eyepatch. He had a wistful look on his mostly-blank face. It was the first time anyone had taken a picture of him in possibly years. He looked good.

“I had almost thought you had caught us while we were walking.” Aubrey said as Basil took the picture back and pocketed it.

“I had thought about it, but I could only see your backs.” Basil said. “Sunny just looked…” he didn’t finish. Nobody pushed him to do so. He liked the picture quite a bit. The first picture of their new photo album. Or maybe Basil would let him add it to their old one. Who knew what the future would bring?

Whatever it would be, it was going to begin with Sunny getting to swing. He loved swinging. So he kicked off of the sand, and he allowed his body to be caught in the familiar back and forth momentum. It was a sensation that brought him right back to childhood. It was very freeing.

Chapter Text

When Sunny had been eight years old he had gotten into a swinging competition with Kel. Mari and Hero had been playing on the basketball court at the time, which meant it had been primetime for their younger siblings to cause trouble. Since Sunny wasn’t the type of kid to start problems on purpose, the role of being a rascal had fallen on Kel. And since Kel was, well, Kel, he was very, very good at being a rascal. 

At the age of eight years old, swinging on a swing set meant that if you managed to get high enough to reach the top bar, you were both extremely high up and also powerful. It had been a lost bet to begin with on who could swing the highest the fastest, but Sunny had agreed to it anyway because he felt he’d had a fighting chance. He remembered how his legs had pumped to get himself higher and higher while Kel had laughed almost manically with his own joy. Sunny had felt like he had been soaring that day and had been doing well. That is, until he really had been flying.

His sweaty hands had slipped from the plastic-covered chains of the swing set and his momentum had launched him from the swings. For just a moment, Sunny had been sky-high. He had been able to see over the top of the playground equipment. He could’ve sworn that he was the tallest kid in the entire world. Maybe he could’ve even landed on the roof of a house if they had been close enough to one. It had been as terrifying as it had been exhilarating.

He had looked beneath him as time felt like it had slowed around him. He had been flying off into space, floating away like the astronauts he had seen on Saturday morning cartoons. If he’d had enough time, he might have tried to do a flip. But reality crashed in on him very quickly, and he had realized the sheer amount of danger he was in. The shocked and buoyant feeling had been replaced with fear as he crashed back to the earth with a shout that had drawn the attention of Mari and Hero.

He had tumbled into the sand, knees, bottom, and hands smarting from the impact before he had rolled to a stop. Tears had welled up in his eyes, and he had cried from the shock of it all. Kel, ever brave and fearless, had leapt right from the swing set to land next to him and ask if he was okay. Mari and Hero had run over soon after, and Sunny had been consoled by his sister with only a little bit of scolding. Hero had berated Kel as well for encouraging the dangerous activity even if neither boy had originally planned to jump off, but Kel had said that he had challenged Sunny to do it in order to take most of the blame for the small accident. Even while being scolded, he had praised Sunny for just how much airtime he had managed to get from the swing. Sunny hadn’t tried to do it again since then, but he had never forgotten that feeling of flying.

He was almost seventeen now, and the peak height that he could reach on the swing wasn’t nearly that high anymore. As his legs kicked and sweat formed on his head, he realized just how short of a distance he had actually managed to go. He was sure that if he jumped off now, he could go much farther. And probably not eat shit along the way.

Kel was, apparently, of the same mind. “Oh, hey! I have an idea!” He climbed onto the cat-shaped jungle gym until he was on the very top of it. He was a good distance from the swing set, but not too far. “Why don’t we have a jumping contest? Winner gets mad props for being awesome!”

“That’s dumb.” Aubrey said from where she sat on the other swing. She had yet to really start swinging, choosing instead to just hang out. She took no mind of Sunny joyfully swinging next to her. 

“It’ll be fun!” Kel argued.

“Wouldn’t the taller people win? You and Hero are stupidly big.”

“Then we’ll sit out!” He held out his hands, laying them flat. “All you gotta do is manage to slap my hand on the way down, and you win!”

“So… it’s not a jumping competition?” Basil asked.

“Actually, I kinda wanna try it.” Hero said. “My height won’t really help me with that extra challenge, right? If anything, it’ll just hinder me. I’m a little big for the swing set.”

“Pfft, is that the real reason you wanted to sit out, Kel?” Aubrey asked with a smirk.

“No.” Kel pooched his lips playfully. “Does that mean you’re in?”

“Yeah sure, I’m in.” Aubrey said. She looked at Sunny. “What about you? You’re already swinging.”

Sunny, much more coordinated now than he had been as a child, managed to give a thumbs up without losing too much momentum. He was going to nail this.

“Heck yeah, that’s the spirit!” Kel cheered. “Basil, try to get a picture of this one!”

“Ah-! Uh, okay? I’ll try.” Basil agreed, startled. Typically he didn’t like staged pictures like this, but maybe he was making an exception here? Sunny didn’t know for sure. Maybe Basil just didn’t have the courage to turn down the request right now. It wasn’t really important to him.

Aubrey kicked off of the ground and began pumping her own legs, attempting to get momentum going and match Sunny’s pace. As she flew past Sunny on the swing, he was able to pick up the faintest floral scent from her pink hair. It distracted him briefly as he turned his head to watch her, eyes wide. She had a determined grin on her face not unlike the Aubrey he used to know. There were a lot of things that had changed about her, but that look wasn’t one of them. His heart skipped a little. She had always been so pretty.

“Who’s gonna jump first?” Hero asked. “Don’t do it at the same time!”

The swing set was rocking a little from the weight of two older teens swinging so vigorously. They would have to jump soon. “I’ll go first.” Aubrey announced.

“I’m ready!” Kel called.

Aubrey leapt from the swing set then, pointing her feet a little to gain more distance. Her hand came down and managed to slap right down on Kel’s palm before she landed a little roughly and had to drop to her knees. She jumped up soon afterwards, eyes alight with her pride, and called, “Fuck yeah!!”

“NICE!!” Kel and her shared a quick high-fived, both equally thrilled, before Aubrey caught herself. She pulled her excitement back a little, but still ended up practically glowing with her joy.

“Great job.” Hero praised, grinning. Sunny was kind of surprised the older boy hadn’t commented on Aubrey’s language, but he wasn’t going to be the stick-in-the-mud about it.

“This one’s not bad, but it’s a little blurry.” Basil smiled as he looked at the Polaroid. Aubrey moved to look at it and clicked her tongue. She looked a little pleased. Sunny would have to wait to look as well.

“Your turn, Sunny!” Kel called, readying himself once more. Sunny’s lips turned down just a bit in a determined frown. He would get this.

“Ready, Basil?” Hero asked.

“Ready!” Basil held his camera up once more. Sunny took another swing before he found the right time and threw himself off of the swing set. For just a moment in time, he was weightless once more. He had managed to get a lot more height than distance, unlike Aubrey. But Sunny couldn’t say he disliked that. He heard the camera snap a picture. It was like time had barely passed from the last time he had done this. He took the opportunity to bicycle his legs for a moment before gravity reasserted itself on his body. As he dropped, he stuck his hand out to give Kel one of the most epic high-fives he could manage. However, he didn’t quite make it that far. His fingers skimmed the tips of Kel’s and he landed on his feet, but he was off-balanced. He stumbled forward and fell face-first into the sand.

“PFFT-! HAHAHAHA!” Kel laughed as Sunny pushed himself to his knees. “THAT WAS GREAT!!”

“Guess I won that one.” Aubrey said.

“Are you okay, Sunny?” Basil hurried over to help Sunny to his feet while Hero grabbed his other arm to assist. Sunny spat out some sand and shook his head. He couldn’t open his eyes. The combination of the sweat on his face and the loose sand ended up giving him quite the facial. Apparently he was funny because the others started to giggle even more at the sight of whatever expression he had. He let them have their laugh before he started brushing the sand off.

“Oh man, you really got it. Do you need the water fountain?” Aubrey asked, helping to brush some more sand off of Sunny’s front.

Sunny shook his head. He was fine, if dirty. He sputtered a little more before he winced for real at a stab of pain. He realized pretty quickly what had happened to him. Some sand must’ve gotten under his eyepatch and into his bad eye. “Ah. Uh oh.” He tenderly tried to brush the dirt off, but it wasn’t really enough.

“What’s wrong?” Hero asked, concerned. Sunny’s hand hovered over his eye, unsure of what to do. He didn’t really want to take off his eyepatch and show the others what was left of the damage to his eye. It wasn’t exactly pretty, especially since the eye itself had to be removed. He didn't like his temporary fake eye and chose instead to wear the patch. This was an unfortunate circumstance.

He couldn’t bring himself to say it.

“Oh.” Hero seemed to realize even without Sunny telling them what was wrong. He squeezed the boy’s shoulder before saying, “Hey, can one of you real quick go to buy a water bottle or something? One that isn’t cold, if you can. I don’t really trust the water fountain to be clean.”

The others picked up pretty quickly on what was going on. “I’ll go!” Kel said. “Be back in a jiffy.”

“Are you alright?” Basil asked, nervous. The grains of sand didn’t exactly feel good to him, but he still gave a thumbs up to reassure him. He didn’t like that look of guilt on his face. He couldn’t help it as tears began to boil up in his good eye in response to the pain. 

“I’ll help you out, Sunny. Don’t worry, okay?” Hero gave him a reassuring smile.

“Is… is the wound still…?” Aubrey was hesitant to really ask. She looked younger than she usually did. There were some things that even she didn’t have full confidence in. Her question only made Basil’s face twist a little further.

“I’m okay.” Sunny reassured. “It’s… uh…” He really didn’t want to have to explain. He didn’t know how much his friends knew about the extent of his wounds. They had no doubt seen the aftermath of his and Basil’s fight, but even Sunny hadn’t known he would completely lose his eye to it until the infection had set in and it had to be removed. It had been the safer choice.

The group moved to the shade of a nearby tree and hovered nervously around Sunny until Kel came running back with some water. “Here you go!” He handed the bottle to his brother. His face was concerned as well. “Are you alright, Sunny?”

“He’ll be fine.” Hero assured them. “Uh, maybe give him some room, though?”

“Right.” Aubrey gripped Basil and Kel’s sleeves. “Let’s go over here.”

For once, the boys didn’t argue. That just left Hero and Sunny. “Can I see?” Hero asked, his voice calm and gentle. It kind of reminded Sunny of that day he had helped to rescue him and Basil from the lake. He reluctantly took off his eyepatch. There was a deep, but healed scar over his eyes now. His hair helped to hide a lot of it, but Hero carefully tilted Sunny’s head back and brushed it away. It was kind of strange to be treated like this by his friend, but Sunny liked it. Hero didn’t react at all to the damage. He slipped off his over shirt then. “I’m just going to try to get the sand out, okay?”

“There’s… My eye, it’s…” Sunny didn’t know how to finish.

That was the first flicker of shock he saw on his friend’s face before it filled with understanding. Then he cleared his expression once more. It was friendly, if a bit clinical. He really felt like a doctor for someone who was still only starting his medical journey. “No problem. This isn’t exactly ideal, but this is the best we’ve got. I’m just gonna do a quick clean. We should head back to my house after this so I can look it over better in the bathroom.”

He gave up then and let Hero take over. He poured the water onto his shirt to dampen it and then stuck his finger into it. Sunny reluctantly opened his bad eye then, exposing the socket to his friend. He kept his other eye closed, cringing a little at the sensation of Hero very carefully cleaning what sand he could get. His fingers were gentle and meticulous, but it was clear he couldn’t do things exactly how he wanted to without a smaller swab.

After a few moments, the pain abated and he seemed to finish. “There.” He said, and Sunny opened his eye to see Hero smiling at him. It was a little strained. “Did that help?”

Sunny nodded and shook the rest of the sand that was stuck to his eyepatch before he put it back on. “Thank you.” He said quietly.

“You’re welcome! Okay, let’s head back to my house real quick.”

“Do we have to?” He felt fine.

“Well… we don’t have to if you think you’re okay.” He sounded a little reluctant to say it, but he was probably just being cautious. He’d always been like that.

“I’m okay.” Sunny decided. He would properly wash his face when they got back. He didn’t want to ruin their fun by returning back to the house now. 

“...Where’s your, um, prosthetic?” He asked. “I’m sure you would’ve gotten even a temporary one, right?”

Sunny looked down. “I… don’t like wearing it. It feels weird.” He knew that he was supposed to, but he often went without wearing it. Most days he was completely fine without it. This was just an accident.

“You should wear it.” Hero scolded. “It’ll help to protect the socket.” Sunny nodded, eyes still looking away. Guilty. Hero only let out a sigh through his nose. “How are you going to go handle the beach?”

“Goggles.” he said simply. He fully planned to keep them on if he was going to go into the ocean at all. He would be fine with the big ones.

“Everything okay?” Aubrey called.

“We’re good over here!” Hero called back, motioning that they can rejoin them. Sunny rubbed the last of the water from his cheekbone and fixed his hair so it covered the top of the scar once more. It seemed his friend was done scolding him.

“...I didn’t realize your eye was still hurt.” Basil confessed, hands twisting around each other.

“It’s not.” Sunny stated, because it was true. His eye wasn’t hurt or anything. The wound was healed. There was nothing else that could be done for it, even if the scar was still pretty dark.

“He’s fine.” Hero agreed. “Though… maybe it’s time to head back. It might be time to start getting the stuff for Mom, and we need the list.”

“Yeah, probably.” Kel tucked his arms behind his head, lips pursed and thoughtful.

Sunny looked away, frustrated. He had wanted to play longer. He’d been having a lot of fun. He hadn’t meant to ruin things. He already knew that Kel and Aubrey were fed up with hanging out at Kel’s house. Forcing them all to go back seemed like a waste. And it was still a little early. 

Basil was watching him. For a while he didn’t say anything, but then he said, “H...How about you two go talk with your mom? I kinda want to hang out here a little longer. Sunny can stay with me?” He suggested.

“I’ll stay too.” Aubrey volunteered, a little hastier than necessary. Sunny blinked at her.

“Oh boo, why do I need to go then? Hero can go alone!” Kel complained.

“Come on, Kel. Help me out.” Hero coaxed, throwing an arm over his brother’s shoulders. He gave them all a smile. “We’ll probably be back in a little bit, then. We can stop by the store together, maybe?”

Sunny and Basil were relieved. Basil was visibly so. “Sure. We’ll be here.” Aubrey held her hand up, and the brothers departed with Kel complaining a little bit longer. Aubrey, Basil, and Sunny decided to go sit under the shade of the tree instead and hang out. The sun was getting pretty hot anyway. Sunny sipped some water from the bottle that Hero left behind. It was lukewarm.

Basil still appeared distressed. He sat with his legs pulled to his chest much like how Sunny sat naturally. Sunny held out his hand to him, then. He wanted to change the topic and make his friend feel better. What was done, was done. He was sure Basil wanted to apologize, but he didn’t really want to hear it.

“Wha… What are you looking at me like that for, Sunny?” Basil asked nervously.

Sunny just curled his fingers a few times, waiting.

“Show us the photos.” Aubrey finally demanded when Basil seemed to stress out a little bit more over not understanding. Her words brought some relief to his face.

“O-Oh! Right…” He pulled out the three photos he had taken and handed them to Sunny. Sunny spread them out on his lap so they could all see them. He didn’t really bother to look at the first one as he turned his gaze to the new ones. As Basil had said earlier, Aubrey’s picture of her jumping off was blurred from the motion but it was still good. Recognizable as Aubrey, at least, rather than a pink and white blur. Her legs were outstretched in front of her and her arms spread behind her with that same determined grin from earlier on her face while she was flying through the air. It looked good.

The newest picture was Sunny also in the air, but he was so blurred out that he might as well be black and white against the sky. It wasn’t a great picture. That one probably wouldn’t be a keeper, but it wasn’t up to him. He still liked it anyway. It added charm. He was sure if they wrote down a description for it, they could laugh about it in the future.

“...Taking pictures was a good choice.” Aubrey decided as she took the Sunny photo from his lap.

“...Yeah.” Basil finally agreed after a moment. His hand tentatively found Sunny’s where it was resting on the ground. Sunny rather liked the warmth of it there. He turned his hand to squeeze Basil’s. Basil relaxed a little, eyes softening. “It was.” He squeezed back. Sunny felt everything balance itself out once more.

Chapter Text

They ended up staying at the park for longer than they had expected with Hero and Kel not returning to meet them. Sunny didn’t really mind, though, as he enjoyed spending time with two of his best friends on either side of him. The three of them were probably the quietest of the group now, but that wasn’t for lack of a conversation. Sunny gladly listened to Aubrey and Basil talk about their school lives together and what had been happening. There was gossip to be heard, and teachers to discuss. Though he had no idea who they were talking about, he couldn’t bring himself to care. He had been out of that loop for years, after all.

What mattered to him was the change between Aubrey and Basil’s relationship. Aubrey had spent years disgusted with Basil and had bullied him as a result. And Basil, who had already been in a bad place, had simply taken it like he had deserved it. Basil was never one who could fight back, not even in Headspace. It made the change between them all the more significant in Sunny’s eyes. Aubrey treated Basil much like she’d used to, and Basil smiled more. It almost felt like everything was okay.

He looked between them when there was a lull in the conversation and the three of them simply people-watched for a while. The sun was really starting to set now, casting an orange glow over the town. The sounds of the cicadas were louder, and crickets joined in on their cacophonous song. There was a cicada somewhere in the tree above them. Sunny’s head tilted back as he tried to spot it. 

“Aubrey.” He called then. He saw Aubrey turn her head to look at him before looking into the tree as well. That wasn’t why he had been calling her attention. He quickly lowered his head and met her gaze. She didn’t show her expression on her face quite as easily as she used to. It was harder to read her. Sunny could feel the push to speak. “I was the one who vandalized the photos.”

“S-Sunny!” Basil cried, shocked and horrified by the abrupt confession. He leaned in, hand coming to Sunny’s arm to squeeze it in warning.

“...What?” Aubrey asked. Her fingers curled into a fist where it was draped over her knee.

“It wasn’t Basil. I destroyed the photos.” Sunny felt fear flutter in his heart. Talking about the truth was still hard. He owed Aubrey this apology. Her and Basil both. But mostly, he wanted her to direct her anger towards him. It was his fault.

“N-No, it was me! I didn’t… I mean, I…” Basil tried to cover for Sunny again, but Sunny shook his head and stared at him. Basil’s shoulders curled a little and fell silent.

“Are you serious?” Aubrey demanded. Her voice was still low. “You did that to the photos? Why?” She swallowed, eyebrows lowering as her anger began to bubble in her voice. “Why didn’t you tell me?! Even when we talked about it, you didn’t say anything! You let me believe Basil did it all of this time!” 

“I’m sorry.” Sunny responded quietly, the thick bog of guilt in him attempting to drown his lungs. “I… I didn’t know that was why you and Basil had fought… and when you told us, I…” He hadn’t remembered, exactly. At that point he had seen bits and pieces of the puzzle of the tragedy that was Mari’s death and the fallout that had occurred from it. His memories had been scattered to protect himself. He had seen the photos scribbled out, but he hadn’t known who had done it. He had suspected, though. It wasn’t until the time was far from right that he remembered everything. And right after that, he had been hospitalized. Confessing to this crime hadn’t been right to do over the phone or over the computer. He had waited for this day.

“You what?” Aubrey demanded, scowling. She looked more hurt than anything else. Her eyes darted to Basil and back to Sunny. “You were too scared?!” Sunny knew he needed to respond, but he didn’t exactly want to lie. His hesitation just made Aubrey push forward, “And what about you, Basil?! Why didn’t you just say something to me?! You made me think for all those years that it was you when we could’ve-” her voice broke, and tears dripped from her eyes. She tried to speak around the pain, “You…! I did that to you… to us…!”

“I’m sorry.” Basil sniffed and wiped at his own eyes. “I… I didn’t want you to hate Sunny. I didn’t want to believe he did it either.”

“But WHY would you do it?!” Aubrey shouted now, choking on her tears. “You of all people, Sunny! How could you? How could you?!”

Sunny couldn’t bear to look her in the eyes. He blinked a little rapidly as tears gathered in his eye as well. He didn’t feel like he deserved to cry, but he could hardly stop it. He had accepted that he needed to be human again. No more locking it away. He needed to tell the truth, so he would. “Because I didn’t want to remember.” He whispered, voice breaking a little. “I was selfish. I didn’t think about anything but… Just forgetting everything. Because I… I had been so angry and in pain. And I didn’t want anything around that would remind me when I had just wanted to forget.”

“You selfish bastard!” Aubrey shouted, shoving Sunny hard in the chest as she stood up. Basil caught Sunny before he could topple to the ground and held him as both boys looked at her with surprise. Her frame trembled as she glared at him. “That was all we had left of her! You had… You had everything! I… I know you wanted to forget, but you’re so fucking selfish! Those pictures were all we had left of her! That’s why I was so mad when I thought Basil had done it! How dare you…!” Her legs gave out then, and she fell to her knees and cried. Sunny didn’t know what to do. He was frozen. Basil’s mouth opened and closed like he wanted to say something. Like he wanted to comfort her. But neither was quite sure how to do it.

Basil was braver than Sunny was. He released the boy and got up to crouch by Aubrey. “I’m sorry too, Aubrey. For everything. It… It may have been Sunny who did it, but I should’ve… I should’ve cleaned the photos. Or held him accountable.” His eyes were pained. “I’m sorry for not doing more.”

Sunny only felt worse hearing that. But he also felt like he needed to feel horrible. “I’m sorry.” He repeated, because there was nothing else he could say. “I’m sorry, Aubrey. I'm sorry, Basil.”

Aubrey didn’t push Basil’s hands away when he helped to steady her, and she slowly began to gather herself once more. Sunny remembered, then, the handkerchief that he had in his pocket. He had started carrying it around again. He pulled it out and held it out to the girl. Aubrey glared at him before the glare broke to expose the hurt girl beneath it. She accepted the offering and used it to wipe at her face. Basil rubbed at her back as she did so. Sunny waited for his verdict.

None of them spoke so that Aubrey had time to calm down. Sunny felt unnerved by the number of eyes that had fallen on them, but it seemed like the situation wasn’t enough to draw people to them. Aubrey sniffed and sat back on her heels as she faced Sunny once more. The hurt and anger were still there, but they weren’t controlling her any longer. Sunny felt like he had just stuck his finger in her wound.

“...You really wanted to forget about everything that badly after… after what you did?” She asked. Sunny couldn’t answer. He hardly needed to. She scoffed quietly to herself. “...I can’t say I don’t blame you. I never thought you were the type of guy to do that, though. Then again, I never thought anything that happened all those years ago would happen. So, what do I know?” She shook her head. Basil stepped away from her, hands slowly lowering to his sides. “...How are the pictures now?”

“They’re… I have them. With my suitcase.” Sunny admitted. He had brought it with him just in case the others wanted to look through it again. He usually took care of it at his apartment. It would sit on his bookshelf where every now and again he would pull it out. He had shown it to his mom and had cried with her over it. Some of the words in it were slightly smeared because of that, but Sunny had traced over them to rewrite what was said.

“Good.” Aubrey finally seemed like she had calmed down. She didn’t try to hide out of embarrassment of her feelings or anything. Sunny admired that about her. Even now he just wanted to hide his face and not be seen. “There’s still a lot you have to explain to us. Both of you. I want to hear it all.”

“Oh…” Basil cringed at the thought.

“I know.” Sunny said quietly. “I… I plan to.”

“It’s not going to be easy.” He said it like it was for Aubrey, but it felt more like it was for Sunny. “But… I want… You all deserve to know.”

“Yeah, we do.” Aubrey said with a scowl. She was silent for a moment before she took the water bottle from Sunny and drank a few large gulps from it. She could have it, he thought. “It’s going to suck, but I feel like we’ve all been waiting. We never got to finish at the hospital. I think… I’m in a better place now. To listen and understand, anyway.” She looked away, frowning at the grass. She brushed her bangs out of her face as the wind caught it. “I don’t hate either of you, even knowing the gist of what you did. Or… I should say I can’t totally hate you. I know there’s more to your story than what you told us. Just saying you and Mari fought and you pushed her… it doesn’t seem right. That’s not everything, I know it. You and Mari barely ever fought. You loved her more than any of us. And we all loved her a lot.” She looked to Sunny then, and her face became blurry with the tears that filled Sunny’s vision. He didn’t acknowledge them as they rolled down his face after he blinked. Basil took Sunny’s hand once more and held it tightly. “It was an accident, wasn’t it Sunny?”

For the longest time Sunny hadn’t been so sure about that. In the weeks following Mari’s death and her funeral, Sunny had played and replayed what happened that day over and over even while his mind had rebelled and tried to make him run far away from it all. Had he done it on purpose? He had meant to push Mari, but did he mean to push her down the stairs? Had he meant to punish her? Had it been an accident? Did he know the stairs had been right behind her when he had pushed? A lot of it had been a blur. He had been so stressed out and overwhelmed. Not only had he gotten angry over failing to live up to his own expectations and Mari’s perfect expectations when it came to the violin, but his sister had ended up shouting at him. Aubrey was right in that Mari and Sunny had rarely fought, but they’d bickered plenty of times. It was the first time Mari had gotten angry like that with Sunny. The last time she had raised her voice at him was out of worry when he had nearly drowned. Her shouting had only added to the stress and frustration he’d already felt. His mind hadn’t been able to comprehend why she hadn’t understood.

Most of what came next was a blur of simple thoughts. He had emotionally checked out under the pressure. His memories were like tunnel vision, but he had been able to face all of them the day he had decided it was time to overcome his trauma. Still, his memories didn’t bring total clarity to his thoughts during that time. Because he wasn’t completely sure if he had even had any thoughts in his head outside of the haze of red.

Sunny couldn’t speak as a sob broke from him and he nodded. No matter what his intentions had been that day, he would’ve never wished his sister dead. None of what had happened had been what he had wanted. There wasn’t a day that went by that he wished that he could take back what was already done. Yes, it really was all an accident.

Basil’s arms wrapped around him, and then Aubrey’s followed. Sunny’s eye popped open with shock. Basil was crying into his shoulder. Aubrey simply held them both even as she still sniffled. None of them spoke. They weren’t sure if there were words to even be said. They didn’t need to speak for Sunny to feel the forgiveness. At least for this, he had done what he had set out to do. One hurdle crossed. He hoped he would be able to hold it together better when they inevitably told the full truth. He could speak of it better than he could back then when he had been bordering on running away.

“Are… you guys okay?” Kel’s voice shocked all of them, and the three friends jumped apart. Kel stood over them with wide eyes, arms laden with bags from the house. “Whoa! Were you crying?! What happened?!”

“YOU-!” Aubrey began as she quickly climbed to her feet with red cheeks. Then she just scoffed. “God, you’re so stupid! Way to ruin the moment!”

“Hey, what did I do?” Kel asked, baffled. Aubrey clicked her tongue and stalked off with the handkerchief clutched in her hand. Kel watched her go with a look of total confusion before he turned back to the others. “Jeez, what’s her problem?” Then his tone became a little more serious with concern as he saw Basil and Sunny wiping their own faces of tears. They had tried to be subtle, but there was no real way of doing so. “What happened?”

Basil shook his head and gave a shaky smile. “We just… Got emotional? Haha… sorry.” He dropped his gaze again. “Um, what’s all that stuff?”

Kel didn't press more. “It’s the barbecue stuff!” He pointed over to the corner of the park that had plenty of shade and the perfect amount of room to set up a picnic blanket. Hero was already over there with his mother, father, and sister helping to lay out the blanket while keeping an eye on Sally. His father was preparing the grill. “We’ve still gotta go back and pick up our order of desserts from the bakery, though. Mom ordered some pie, and dad says he’ll make steaks if we go grab some meat from the deli!”

Steaks. Sunny hadn’t had that in a little while. His mom tried to cook steak, but it was usually very well-done and Sunny liked them a little bit less well-done. His mom didn’t know how to cook any others, though. His dad was the one who used to cook them the best. He wouldn’t mind having one made on the grill.

He sniffed one final time before climbing to his feet with Basil. He was ready to go whenever the others were. “We’ll join you in a moment, Kel.” Basil said, answering in Sunny’s place. “You should give your parents the stuff before they notice you have it still.”

“Oh shoot, you’re totally right! Okay, I’ll be right back! I’m sure Aubrey will circle back around too.” He gave them both a grin and a thumbs up before he hurried off to deliver the goods.

Basil only sighed and looked towards Sunny. His smile was sad. “This… this is going to be really tough, huh?”

Sunny could only nod.

“Yeah, I thought so too.” His sad eyes turned to watch Kel’s family. His smile dropped away, but he looked more resolved than upset. “But I think we need it. It would be closure for all of us. They’ve waited a long time to know what happened. And… And no matter what, we’ll always be friends. Even if we’re friends who never see each other again.” Sunny’s heart clenched at the very thought. He didn’t want that. But he had no choice in the matter. “Everything will be okay.” Basil gave him a tiny, reassuring smile as their hands found each other. “No matter what, we’ll always be here for each other.”

“Right.” Sunny agreed quietly. He squeezed Basil’s hand back. This time he had no plans to run away.

Chapter Text

Kel tactfully did not bring up the fact that he had caught his friends crying when Aubrey had returned and the group decided to go pick up the ordered snacks for their barbeque. If Hero had noticed the red under their eyes, he didn’t say anything either. They collectively decided to not discuss it. Sunny was relieved when Aubrey chose to walk next to him, though her attitude was aloof.

They entered the market and talked about possibly picking up some extra snacks before deciding it would be better to save their money. Sunny learned that despite what he had been expecting, there wouldn’t be a sleepover with everyone involved. That just left him with Kel and Hero. It made him picture the little fort that had been made at his house with the last blankets and pillows that hadn’t been packed away. He wondered if he could make something like that for himself. Though all of his stuffed animals were at his house and mostly weren’t used anymore, he still liked the sensation of sleeping with something and surrounded by the fluffy goodness of pillows. He didn’t move around much in his sleep, so it meant he was cocooned in his own little world.

“Oh! Is that you, Mr. Tutor?” Sunny felt a tap on his arm, which pulled him back from where he had been zoning out in front of the bakery counter. The man who worked behind it was missing, which could only mean that he had gone to get their order. Sunny’s eyes dropped to meet the curious and delighted gaze of a little girl. It only took a moment to recognize her as Joy, the little girl he had tutored during his last couple of days in Faraway Town. “It is you!” Joy said. “It’s so good to see you again!” Her hands clasped in front of her, and she beamed with a gap-toothed smile. Sunny half-expected her to curtsy. “Mr. Kel told me that you had moved away, and Dad said he had sent you a gift when you were in the hospital.” Her face grew concerned. “Um, are you still hurt?”

Sunny wasn’t quite sure how to answer that. Before he could say anything, Kel’s body slammed into his back as he draped himself over the shorter boy from behind. “Nope! He’s fine! Sunny’s just a pirate!”

“Huh?” Joy asked.

Sunny brought his hand up and curled his index finger like it was a hook. Kel laughed and pretended he had a sword, swishing his hand back and forth in a mock battle. “ARRRRR! Be careful there, lassie, or you’ll walk the plank!”

Joy just continued to look confused. “Are you… playing pirates?”

Kel deflated a little. “Aw man. You’re supposed to play along, right?”

“Oh!” She caught onto her mistake quickly. “I-I mean…! Nooo! I don’t wanna walk the plank!”

“Hehehe, you’re in for it now, lassie! Let’s get her, Sunny!” Kel and Sunny jerked forward as if to grab her, and Joy let out a playful squeak before she rushed away to where her dad was walking over. He blinked at the sight of them before he recognized them as well.

“Here’s where you ran off to, Joy. And look! Is that Kel and… Sunny?”

“That’s right! Sunny’s come back for a visit!” Kel patted his friend’s shoulder before he released him entirely.

“It’s good to see you’re well and out of the hospital.” Joy’s father said. He seemed a little more relaxed than the last time that Sunny had seen him. “You were quite the talk of the neighborhood for a few days, considering you were kind enough to help out all of your neighbors before you left. I hope you’re willing to play with Joy again, maybe! Or even help her with her homework again, haha!”

“Sure! We don’t mind, right Sunny?” Sunny didn’t say anything. He didn’t mind, but he also knew that Kel wouldn’t be helping out at all. It could be a good chance to make a bit of money again.

“All done here!” Hero called as he, Basil, and Aubrey met up with the two boys. He brandished the fancy bread rolls and the pie box he had. “Oh, sorry. Did we interrupt?”

“Not at all.” The man said. “It seems we might be interrupting. We’ll leave you be, then. Good to see you kids!”

“Bye!” Joy waved to them cheerfully before her and her father left.

“Who was that?” Basil asked as the group made their departure as well.

“Isn’t that the family of that guitar guy that had been playing outside of Hobbeez a while back? The one we delivered the food and the letter for?” Aubrey asked. Sunny was a little surprised that she had remembered that. 

“That’s right!” Kel said, clearly in a good mood after the encounter. “I’ve helped them out a couple other times here and there, but I got fired from being Joy’s tutor. So now I just play with her once in a while! She’s a cute kid.”

“Don’t tell me… do you babysit her?” Hero asked.

“Pffft, no way! I’m not ready for that kind of responsibility!”

“You babysit your sister all the time.” Aubrey said, deadpan.

“That’s different! Sally’s still a baby. Kids are a lot harder to take care of!”

“So, you were her tutor before?” Basil asked. Sunny missed the air conditioning when they stepped outside into the humid evening air. Everything was coated with the orange of the setting sun. Faraway Town always seemed more peaceful at this time of day. 

“Nope. Sunny was. I’m not good with that school stuff.”

“I thought you said you wanted to go to college?” Basil shifted to be closer to Kel. “Right?”

“Yeah, but only because Mom expects it. I’m planning on riding by on sports and maybe go into basketball.” He frowned thoughtfully. “That’s my plan for now, anyway.”

“Haha, yeah, Mom won’t be too happy if you don’t at least try to get through college.” Hero agreed. “Actually… now that I think about it, you guys are seniors. Wow, time really flies. Are you thinking about what you want to do from here?”

Seniors in high school. It made all of his friends seem so old and mature. Sunny looked at his friends and realized that yeah, they were nothing like they were when they were all twelve. Aubrey looked more like a young woman than ever. Hero’s face had matured, and so had Kel’s. And even if Basil was still the shortest of the group, he still looked like a high schooler. Sunny felt almost static in comparison. The realization that he wasn’t going to be graduating in the same year as his friends was a bitter one. He would have to find another route to finish his own schooling.

“Um… I’m not sure if I’m going to college.” Basil admitted. “I mean… I might. Just to learn, y’know? But… I’m thinking of being a gardener. Or a florist. I don’t really know how much college will help me with that.”

“That’s a great idea!” Hero said. “You’re already there, huh? Maybe you could own your own flower shop!”

Basil’s smile was a little nervous, but hopeful. “That’s what I was thinking too… there’s a flower shop in the town over. I was going to try to get a job there. Once, ah, once I’m ready.”

“It’s still pretty tough for you to deal with people, isn’t it?” Kel asked with a concerned frown. Then he gave him a grin and thumbs up. “You’re doing really great, though! You’ll get there in no time.”

“Thanks, Kel.”

“What about you, Aubrey?” Hero asked. The group slowed in order to draw out the time before they returned back to the barbeque group.

She was silent for a few moments, looking out among the trees as she tucked her hair behind her ear. Her cheeks darkened a little before she asked shyly, “...What if I don’t have a plan?”

“There’s nothing wrong with that.” Hero reassured her. “College isn’t the end-all be-all, and it’s not for everyone.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s that… well, I’m worried about… money.” She seemed even more embarrassed to admit that. Sunny got the impression that Aubrey wasn’t proud of her living situation. Now that he had thought about it, nobody had talked about what they had seen in her home. The group had simply ignored it. As far as he knew, nobody else had gone into Aubrey’s house. He felt a little guilty. Did all of that happen after Aubrey’s father left? Or had it always been like that and they’d just never known? He hoped it was the former, though both options were bad. “That, and… I don’t really know what I want to do in the future.”

“Haha, neither do we, really!” Kel said. “We’re not even eighteen! Who the heck has their life figured out so quickly?”

“He’s right.” Hero squeezed Aubrey’s shoulder then. “And if it’s money you’re worried about, I don’t mind helping you apply for scholarships and such. I’m sure you’ll be able to get enough to help you with school!”

Aubrey brightened at his words. “You think?”

“Absolutely!” He beamed at her. “Just ask me any time, okay? I’ve also got some teachers in my school that can give me some advice on the matter, if you need that! I’m here to help!”

“Ah, me too!” Basil hurried to say. He gave a small smile when Aubrey looked towards him. “I’ve been doing… a lot of research into that stuff too. I can help too.”

“And me and Sunny can cheer you on!” Kel offered.

Aubrey looked visibly relieved. “Thanks, guys. Really.”

“What about you, Sunny?” Basil asked, then. “Um, have you thought of anything?”

Sunny shook his head. The concept of having a career of some sort was so far separated from his current reality that it wasn’t one he could think about. It felt a lot like when his friends in Headspace had been tricked into signing contracts to work at Last Resort. Would having a real job be like that? He would rather work on himself first and save up his money before deciding anything like that. His therapist told him that when he felt stuck or behind his friends that small steps were the way to start so he wouldn’t be so overwhelmed. Sunny had four years of life to catch up on.

“Well… just know that the offer’s open for you too.” Hero told him. “Don’t feel bad about asking us for help. Seriously.”

Sunny didn’t respond, but he appreciated it. The idea of college and university made him feel physically ill. He had hated seeing Mari so focused on college prep during her final few months. Between playing the piano and the studying, he hadn’t spent nearly as much time with her as he used to. He had been spoiled for her attention. He had been a little jealous at how often Hero and Mari had gotten to hang out considering they had been doing preparations together. Thinking about it now only brought back those bitter feelings, but also the sad ones that had encouraged him to take up the violin in the first place. These feelings were what started the beginning of the end for him and Mari. 

His gaze grew dark as he watched the sidewalk turn to grass as they entered the park again. No, college wasn’t something that he wanted to think about. It was an enemy that loomed like Sweetheart’s castle over Pyrefly Forest. He wasn’t ready to face that, nor what it might bring with it. He was at peace with the life he had now: healing and gathering joy from his friends. He supposed that this was an enemy he would have to face head-on at some point, but until then he would focus on the present.

Calm down. Focus. Persist.

He would be fine. One step at a time. He would get there when he got there. His future would always be there. The present was the one to think about for now. He wanted to enjoy his time with his friends. These may be the last days they can easily gather like this.

Sunny thought it would be better to keep that kind of thought to himself.

Chapter Text

As evening began to bleed into night time, everyone decided it was time to clean up and go their separate ways. Sally had fallen asleep on her mother’s shoulder, so Sunny helped to carry leftover trash and supplies back to Kel’s house. Along the way, Basil and Aubrey said their goodbyes. Hero told Basil to go ahead and keep the leftovers from lunch for himself and Polly since it was already late and everyone was pretty tired. Sunny could confess that he was pretty sleepy. Between the good food, the exuberant company, and the most active day he’s had in awhile, he was pretty beat. 

There wasn’t much left to be done by the time they were all back at Kel’s house and they had cleaned up. One by one the boys took showers and returned to the bedroom to set up the space where Sunny would be sleeping during his stay in Faraway Town. It was fun to simply chat with Kel and Hero about a variety of new shows and video games that had come out. Despite it being a fairly one-sided conversation, both Sunny and Hero had enjoyed discussing the new reality cooking show that involved quite a number of silly antics. Sunny was just glad to have found someone who also enjoyed the show so he could discuss it with them. His mother wasn’t very interested in it.

The summer night left a cozy atmosphere to the room and a level of comfort that reminded Sunny of the warm glow of the lantern in the blanket fort that the brothers had made at Sunny’s house. The futon was a lot different and the room was darker, but he felt at ease. He had been concerned that things would be awkward for him on his first night back in Faraway Town. So many memories existed, both good and bad, in those last nights at his old house. It was a little strange to once again share a room with other people.

Kel yawned widely, shifting on his bed before relaxing. “Man, it’s been really fun having you back, Sunny.” He said. The house was quieter than before, but Sunny could still hear some movement from the parents a few doors down. “I hope you won’t mind if Sally wakes you up in the middle of the night. She’s better than she was, but she might still end up crying.”

Sunny didn’t say anything. He has been a heavy sleeper for a number of years, no matter how easily he could wake up under the right circumstances. That being said, he’s had a harder time falling asleep in the past year. If Sally cried while he was sleeping then he doubted he would even hear her.

“If the futon ends up being too uncomfortable, we can rotate out our beds.” Hero added as a suggestion. He sounded a lot more awake than Kel did. “I remember you used to have a lot of trouble sleeping on unknown beds, right?”

Nobody would be able to see him nod anyway, so he didn’t bother to try. “I’ll be okay.” Sunny said. He didn’t feel right kicking his friends out of their beds. Worse came to worst, he might go downstairs and sleep on the couch. It wouldn’t be the first, nor the last time he had done such a thing in both this house and his own house. Kel’s couch wasn’t as comfortable as Sunny’s, but it was still nice.

“Just wanted to let you know the offer’s open.”

There was a comfortable silence that fell over the group. Sunny could hear the crickets outside chirping their evening songs. The sounds of the night were nostalgic and lonely. He couldn’t hear them in the city. At night he could only hear the occasional car passing by, or the sounds of someone walking around in the hallway outside of his apartment. The lights of the city were bright enough that he had to use his curtains to block them out. Here Kel didn’t even lower the blinds much more than he did when the sun was out. When Sunny tilted his head back, he could just barely make out the stars and the edge of the moon outside.

Kel began to snore then, quickly falling asleep like he was wont to do. Hero let out a quiet snicker. Sunny turned his head to look at him. He could only just see the outline of his form in the low light of the room. “He was just talking about how he didn’t think he would be able to fall asleep tonight because he’s so excited for tomorrow.” Hero explained, voice full of wry amusement. “He’s been really looking forward to this visit. I remember that when you first agreed to come over, he called me up to tell me himself like I didn’t already know from being in the same chatroom.” He fell silent for a beat, and then he added, “...He’s really missed you. Not just in this past year, but before that too. He doesn’t really talk about it and most people don’t realize it since he has a bunch of buddies at school, but I don’t think there was a day that went by that he hadn't thought about you. He was pretty lonely.”

Sunny remembered his mother’s message about how Kel had been calling them for a couple months once he had learned that Sunny was going to move away. It all seemed so strange to Sunny now that he had never tried to call Kel back even one time. Time had passed with such a blur that he'd had trouble distinguishing between days back then. What few urges he'd had to do anything outside of sleeping or occasionally playing video games were usually postponed in his mind for a later date because he had never felt up for it. Only those final three days in town were the clearest to him. He was touched that Kel had thought about him.

“I didn’t forget you guys either.” He responded quietly, curling in on himself under the covers a little and tucking the blanket to his lips. He wasn’t sure if Hero could even hear him, but he wanted to say it anyway.

“I’m glad.” Hero rolled over onto his side to presumably look at Sunny. He could just make out the shine in his friend’s eyes. “I’d wonder about you in there all alone. It was all I could think about whenever I looked at your house.” Sunny only watched him. He could feel the air of anticipation around Hero, like the boy was about to take some kind of plunge. Instead, he stepped back from the edge and the moment broke. “A-Anyway.” He cleared his throat. “Sorry, that’s, uh… We’re tired. I didn’t mean to bring it up.”

Sunny didn’t mind. Not really. The night encouraged sincerity and the telling of truths and secrets. There had been a couple of times in the past where they had all slept over in Mari and Sunny’s room, or in the living room of Sunny’s house. Back then when they were younger, everyone had stayed up as late as they could simply talking and giggling in the night from their own giddiness of being in the room together despite Mari and Hero’s encouragement to sleep. They would start to drift off, and then Kel would make a farting noise with his hands, and all of them would start giggling even as Aubrey had yelled about how gross it was. Something about the night was invigorating.

“Good night, Sunny. Good night, Kel.” Hero said instead, snuggling a bit more into his blankets and closing his eyes.

For a long moment, Sunny considered responding. He debated it with himself before deciding that he wanted to. “Good night.” He said back. The small turn of Hero’s lips was enough to make him proud of his response.

Sunny stared at the ceiling fan that turned above them slowly for a little while longer before he allowed it to lull him to sleep.

He wasn't sure what woke him up. Sunny’s eyes opened to darkness still covering the room, meaning the sun hadn’t yet risen. He wasn't very alarmed by his sudden consciousness, though. It wasn’t unusual. He laid there quietly, simply listening to see if he could distinguish what had awakened him, but no cries of a baby reached his ears or any other noises that might alert him to the cause of his consciousness. He was content to try and fall back asleep when something shifting caught the corner of his vision. He turned his head towards Hero’s bed and spotted Mari standing there. Sunny’s heart leapt with shock, though he didn’t react outwardly to the sight of his sister there. His eyes were fully adjusted to the darkness, so he was able to make her out pretty easily. Her back was turned towards him, but it couldn’t have been anyone else. His tongue felt like it was too big for his mouth, suddenly.

What if it was one of those monstrous versions of his sister that he had seen time and time again? They weren’t restricted to only his nightmares, and they weren't gone even if he had left his house. He had been hopeful that maybe they would leave him alone, but he had yet to be so lucky. He was just relieved that he didn’t see them nearly as often as he used to. The shadow of Something that used to follow him everywhere wasn’t there anymore, but the monsters of his mind weren’t as easily placated.

When the night time came, the boundary between what was real and what was imaginary became too dark for Sunny to make out. Even now he wasn’t completely sure he wasn’t dreaming. Maybe he was. Honestly, he should probably be more alarmed than he was, but he wasn’t. He was simply surprised to see Mari there.

“Do you remember when we first spent the night here?” She spoke as if she was talking to Hero, but Sunny knew the words were directed at him. Hero was fast asleep. Mari sat down on the edge of the bed and shot Sunny a small, playful smile. Her hand landed next to where Hero’s was resting. “We were so small that this bed had seemed so big. It always felt like Hero’s and Kel’s parents had known their boys would be really big, so they just went ahead and got them big beds from the get-go!” She laughed to herself. Sunny sat up on his futon and didn’t say a word. He was just so happy to see Mari again. The night air felt full of magic. “We were both excited to stay over. It was the first time you had gone to a sleepover, right?”

He nodded, even if he knew that she knew. His sister paid close attention to Sunny, after all. She’d always loved and had taken care of him. He had been grateful that his sister would be with him for the first time he had stayed at another's house.

“We had stayed up until really late. Or, actually, it wasn’t very late at all, now was it?” She brought her hand to her chin thoughtfully before she dropped it and beamed. “It was probably only until… maybe ten? It felt late since it was past our bedtime!” Her smile softened once more. “For as happy as you were, you also got scared at night. Kel fell asleep right away, but you couldn’t stay asleep. So we climbed into bed with Hero! He was so nervous to have us both there, but when he saw how scared you were you could really see the big brother in him come out.”

Sunny could kind of remember that night. He had been so tired, but the unknown room and the shadows had seemed to creep up on him. He had wanted to sleep with Mari, but there wasn’t a lot of room. Mari had taken the initiative to ask Hero if Sunny could sleep on his bed, but Sunny felt too weird sleeping with Hero then. Mari scooted right in, and the three of them had just barely managed to squeeze together. It had been hot, but Sunny had felt warm and safe. He wondered if Kel had ever had nightmares like Sunny did. He doubted it. Kel had always been really brave.

“We’d never all be able to fit in here now.” Mari ran her hand over Hero’s blanket and over his arm. “You’re too big for that now, and Hero gets so flustered when we snuggle even after all this time.” She looked delighted even as she said it.

Sunny almost reached out to touch her, but decided against it as the girl faded away before his eyes. The mystical feeling of the night faded with her. Even with as dark as it was, Mari’s presence had seemed to bring sunlight with her. He felt better, but not ready to go back to sleep. 

He climbed to his feet instead and walked quietly out of the bedroom and to the bathroom. The house was a little noisy with the sound of snoring from Kel’s parents’ room. Sunny entered the bathroom and glanced in the mirror. For a moment he had thought he had seen something lingering in the dark, but it had only been the towel hanging on the back of the door. His heart had jumped to see it, reminded of Something. He shook the feeling off. Something did not exist anymore. Not in the way it used to, anyway.

He used the toilet and washed his hands before turning off the light and exiting the bathroom. His night vision was shot, leaving him in total darkness. The sounds of snoring and crickets dimmed as white noise became louder. It was a sound he knew he couldn’t make disappear. He just ignored it and walked back into the bedroom.

The futon wasn’t very comfortable, but it was nice. He would rate it a 5/10. It smelled a little musty, but clean. He settled himself into it and stared at the fan once more. The slow turn of it churned the air and glowed a little on the edges from the moonlight. Kel’s snores had become a little louder than before. He wasn’t nearly as loud as his dad. He could barely hear Hero breathing. Sunny felt safe, if a little lonely. He preferred this infinitely more than the long nights he had spent alone in his very, very comfortable bed at his home. He couldn’t hear the haunting giggles of Mari or the thudding of her body rolling down the stairs here. 

Sunny squeezed his eyes shut as a jagged whip of agony struck him at the memory. He shook it off and pictured that night he had been tucked between Hero and Mari when he had been smaller and younger. If he focused, he could still hear the sound of her heartbeat.

His body was used to falling asleep quickly. It didn’t take him long to drop under sleep’s spell once more. He was grateful for the relief.

…………………

………………

……………

…………

………

……

…

…

…

.

Welcome to Headspace.

“Welcome back, Sunny!”

Chapter Text

Headspace had always existed in some form in Sunny’s mind long before it had become as powerful as it once had been. He had gone on adventures in his imagination while both awake and asleep, though the ones while he had been asleep had a much more dreamlike quality. When he was asleep, he couldn’t actively control Headspace. It was a place of its own with denizens of its own that came probably from his imagination and subconscious. He wasn’t entirely sure. He liked unraveling the story.

In the years he had locked himself away and had used Headspace as a distraction from the reality that he had not wanted to face, he had become accustomed to its map and had explored every new avenue and world that had opened up inside of it. Headspace had unrolled with newer and newer layers the longer he had intended to flee from the darkness and truth that had nipped at his heels. If he had forgotten reality, then he could simply be part of Headspace. Maybe when Sunny woke up, then his Headspace counterpart would stay in that world. He had never quite achieved that level, though with the way reality had blended with his dreams so often Sunny was left to wonder if maybe he had achieved it more than he had previously thought. It was just that while he was awake he could only reach the deepest depths of Headspace. Black Space. The place he had wanted to avoid for as long as possible.

A year after choosing to face that darkness head-on and choosing to overcome what he had done, Headspace had shrunk and returned to something similar to its old state. Some nights Sunny never ended up there and instead dreamt of things he assumed were normal for people. Sometimes he had nightmares. Sometimes he had average dreams that left no impression on him at all. But his dreams in Headspace were still always as vivid as reality to him. It was his world, though his conscious control over it was limited at best. He liked it that way. Who wanted to explore a world where he knew everyone and everything in it? It took out the fun of the adventure.

He had his own room now in Headspace. That was where Sunny would often appear whenever he arrived while asleep. It was nothing like White Space where everything was safe but nothing ever happened. It was a hollow in a large tree that had appeared near Neighbor’s Room, seemingly as a replacement for White Space. Unlike before there were no doors that separated his place from his visiting friends. There was no need to draw that line. In his room he had a bed, a clear lightbulb, and strange trinkets that would come and go at random. He suspected that it was the results of his friends bringing him things they’ve found, but he’d never asked and they never told. 

He never woke up in his room. He simply existed, wide-awake and ready to do whatever he wanted to do that day. He didn’t have the same monochrome palette as he’d had when he had worn the costume of Omori over himself. He was Sunny and he was in full color with a white tank top and colorful pinwheel-printed boxers that seemed to have become his new outfit. Depending on the day he sometimes wore inside-out knee-high socks, but other days he was without them. He could never plan on when he would or wouldn’t be wearing them.

“Welcome back, Sunny!” Sunny met the bright smiles of his purple-tinted friends as they poked their heads around the side of the tree’s entrance.

“It’s about time you got here, Sunny.” Aubrey said, cheeks puffing out a little bit as she adjusted her bow in her light hair. She looked particularly annoyed. “Help us decide what we’re going to do.”

“I already told’ja that we’re going treasure island hunting!” Kel argued, crossing his arms. “We already agreed to that!”

“We didn’t. You decided that on your own.” She glared at him. It was strange seeing the real life Aubrey’s expressions on her younger self, but Sunny was growing used to it.

“I think it might be fun!” Basil suggested, fingers fiddling with each other as he watched Kel and Aubrey bicker. “Maybe we can try it?”

“Haha, see?” Kel beamed at the support, proud. “Just give in, Aubrey!”

“Why should I just because Basil sided with you? Sunny! What do you think?” Aubrey and the others spun on Sunny once more. He honestly didn’t really care what they did. If he was remembering correctly, they had all gone camping on Otherworld the last time he had been there. He didn’t remember who had suggested that one.

“He should at least know any other options.” Basil said. “We can’t force him to choose when he doesn’t know.”

“Don’t make me get Mari and Hero involved in this!” Kel added. “I thought you had wanted to go treasure island hunting? What else is there to do when there are so many islands to explore!”

“You’re talking about a make-believe island, Kel, and that’s why it’s dumb.” Aubrey said.

Sunny decided that he didn’t actually want to decide. It was strange enough to not at least see Hero keeping the peace between Kel and Aubrey. Poor Basil was left to be the mediator, and he was never really good at it. Sunny walked forward and exited the tree house and into Neighbor’s Room. The Big Yellow Cat watched over Sunny with bright, intelligent eyes as his friends fell into step behind him, bickering all the way up the stairs and to the exit. 

If Sunny was still older, he was sure they wouldn’t be able to climb out of the hole in the tree trunk that marked the entrance and exit to Neighbor’s Room. It was one of the reasons he was grateful they all still maintained their younger children forms. Not that a new entrance probably couldn't be made, but it was just another reason to choose to stay like they were. They slipped out of the hole and made their way to the edge of the island where a familiar raft sat waiting.

“Where are we going? The playground?” Basil asked as the four of them climbed on board and the raft automatically started making its way to the nearby island. The inky indigo depths of the water sparkled occasionally like stars. It did not reflect the purple night sky above them, but it did show their reflections when they looked into it. The ripples distorted Sunny’s face and he got vertigo from looking down. 

“Mari and Hero?” Sunny asked in response.

“They ran off somewhere together.” Kel said, almost sulking.

“Did you want to go find them?” Aubrey asked.

It felt strange not to check up on them, so Sunny nodded. There wasn’t usually too much trouble that Mari or Hero would get up to and he knew they would be fine alone, but since Sunny was there he wanted to be able to see his sister.

“Man, I know if Mari was here she would side with me!” Kel continued as their raft hit the shore and the group began their search for their older friends. “She was the one who’d told us about it anyway.”

“Never Island isn’t a thing, Kel! That’s a kid’s story.” Aubrey shook her head. “Mari tells us a lot of tales, and not all of them are true.”

“Well… she doesn’t lie about them either.” Kel responded with a frown. “And a lot of her rumors tend to be true.”

“You don’t think it would be cool to find it, Aubrey?” Basil glanced at the girl.

“I-It’s not that I don’t think it’d be cool! I just… I don’t know. The name doesn’t inspire confidence.” She muttered.

They stepped out of the tree line and entered the playground. It was much like Sunny remembered, though not all of the other kids were there. The group did a quick look around and asked the Mailbox Jax if they’d seen Mari or Hero, but it seemed that they hadn’t come through there. 

“A place where you never have to grow up and where adventures never seem to stop…!” Kel’s eyes glittered with the possibility. “It sounds fun!”

“Yeah, if you never want to grow up. I want to be a beautiful adult and get married!” Aubrey said. “Not everyone wants to be a kid forever.”

The irony of her statement wasn’t lost on Sunny. He wondered if his friends would ever actually grow up, or if he would ever tire of this space. He had yet to do so. Despite the fact that they were all little kids here, it didn’t bother him at all. It felt right. He fit in here. Though their personalities were closer to their real life forms now, his friends in Headspace didn’t carry the burden of Mari’s death with them. Even Basil was free from it. Only Sunny and, very rarely, Mari knew the truth. His friends couldn’t know, though. Mari was still alive and healthy and happy here. And this Basil was not cursed to always remember the truth and force Sunny to remember as well. He had saved and freed Headspace Basil from it, even if that meant that Headspace was irrevocably changed forever because of their actions.

“You mean… to Sunny?” Kel raised an eyebrow at her.

Sunny felt his cheeks warm, and Aubrey’s darkened as well as she let out an enraged yelp and punched Kel in the shoulder. “Sh-Shut up!”

“OW! Jeez, it’s not like you weren’t always going on about it before.” Kel whined, rubbing his shoulder. Then he smiled, getting over the jab easily. “If you get married to Sunny, then you’ll probably be my sister-in-law when Hero marries Mari! Hahaha, how does that feel, little sis?”

“I’m older than you, stupid!”

“Aw, I’d be the only one not in the family.” Basil joked.

“We can adopt you!” Kel said easily.

“Haha, that’d be fun, though I don’t think it, uh, works like that, Kel.”

Sunny was still stuck on the embarrassment of Headspace Aubrey’s huge crush on him in the past. Now that he was older, it wasn’t so clear to him that those were actually her feelings. His memories of Aubrey were a rosy hue from his own feelings towards her, but he had no idea if she had ever felt the same way towards him… or if she even had any of those feelings now. Somehow, he couldn’t bring himself to believe that Aubrey would ever like him in that way again. Sunny wouldn’t be able to do it.

“Oh, careful!” Basil grabbed Sunny’s arm before he stepped into a puddle on the ground. Judging by the color of it, it would probably end up taking him someplace. If he was remembering correctly, it would transport him back to the playground. That’s not what he wanted.

“Thanks.” He said.

“You’re welcome!”  

Kel then rushed ahead of the group before spinning around and spreading his arms out. “I have an idea! Maybe Hero and Mari are at the castle cooking?”

“Like, to prepare for a picnic?” Basil asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe?”

It was worth a shot, Sunny supposed. He had nothing better to do than to hang with his friends anyway. He had no problem with simply traveling around Headspace, even if it burnt up all of the time he would spend dreaming. They would go to wherever their hearts desired, and perhaps they would even discover new places. Headspace had changed its shape quite a bit so that not everything was the way it had once been. It made the exploration a lot more fun than before. And it also made him glad that he was no longer scared of drowning.

Between some point of time and the next, Headspace had flooded with the depths of Deeper Well and Black Space. At least, that was what Sunny thought the Inky Ocean was. There were certain aspects of Headspace that remained a mystery even to him, though perhaps he would meet some denizens that would explain some things to him if he could find them. The world he had familiarized himself with in the past had been swallowed by the depths, but some of it had risen to become islands. Otherworld had survived because it was its own planet, and the playground area was still where Sunny had left it. But everywhere else took effort to get to. 

In the year since Headspace had flooded, Sunny had taken short trips into the Inky Ocean but hadn’t had much luck in determining where anything familiar was. Deep Well, Last Resort, and everything that had been down there was left undiscovered once more, if they even existed at all in this new form of Headspace. He still found some of the residents in different areas that he and his friends had explored so their memories weren’t completely gone, but he hadn’t been able to dive far enough to find any kind of ruins.

The islands that had appeared seemed to be created from old and new areas alike. Sweetheart’s Castle no longer existed in its old state, but the ruins had been founded by Mari and so she had claimed it was Mari’s Castle. Sunny still recognized it as Sweetheart’s old castle, but nobody else remembered it that way. It was a relic of a lost time to them like the library had been. Pyrefly Forest had become split into pieces, and Hero still didn’t like going there so they didn’t explore it too often even though they had to travel through some parts of it to get to further islands. The Pinwheel Forest, though, was a large island full of bunnies and sprout moles alike. That place didn’t feel much different than before other than the fact that they could hear ocean waves from anywhere in the forest, but Sunny had a feeling there was more to it that had yet to be explored. He could tell there were new areas to find that they just hadn’t gone to yet. 

To get to most of the islands there were rafts that had appeared that could be controlled similar to the raft inside of Humphrey. The only issue was that they would not survive out on the open ocean, so they couldn’t take it out there. If Kel was talking about trying to find whatever this Never Island was, Sunny didn’t think they would find it by simply hopping on the rafts around them. They would most likely need a ship or some other form of transportation. But that only made him want to do it even more, despite Aubrey’s apparent reservations against it.

“Hey, so… why do you think Hero and Mari are at the castle?” Aubrey asked some time later as she leaned against the pole of the raft. Her hand trailed over the top of the water, adding to the ripples that spread behind them from their movement. In the distance, Sunny could see another raft traveling from Pyrefly Forest to another island that appeared to be covered with fog. Basil took off his flower crown and checked it over before deciding to touch it up a little bit.

“Because I think Hero said something about there being a working kitchen there last time? But I don’t know where he found it! I don’t remember a kitchen there.” Kel said.

“A… kitchen?” Basil gave him a confused smile. “But… they’re ruins. They can’t have power, right?”

“That’s what I thought too!” He nodded quickly in agreement. 

“Maybe it’s a wood stove?” Basil brought a finger to his chin thoughtfully.

“Well… yeah. Maybe.” Kel made a silly face. “But Hero can also just… make food out of nowhere during fights… So, uh, maybe it doesn’t matter.”

“...Good point.” Basil agreed.

“You only questioned this now?” Aubrey asked with some exasperation.

The raft bumped against the shore, and the kids climbed off of it before climbing into the remnants of the old rail car. It was faster than walking across the slightly-flooded bridge that had connected Pyrefly Forest to where the old Sprout Mole Colony had been before it had been completely flooded and all the sprout moles there had perished. Now the rail car just took them straight to the edge of the black forest that led into the castle’s courtyard. The entrance to the black forest used to be blocked by the spiked vines when the castle had still been Sweetheart’s, but since Black Space had blended with Headspace it was simply a dark forest. It was kinda spooky to travel through, but the pathway was direct and if it was followed correctly then it was impossible to get lost.

The ruins of Sweetheart’s Castle appeared under their feet as they stepped onto the bricks of the courtyard. The place was overgrown now, and the giant statue of Sweetheart in the middle of the place was gone. Sunny was surprised to see that the statue was now of Mari instead, and it caused the group to stop and gawk a bit.

“Was… this here the last time we were here?” Aubrey asked, looking a little put off.

“Nope. Where d’ya even find the purple metal to make this thing?” Kel approached it and knocked on the statue. It sounded like piano keys. “Huh.”

“I like it better than the old statue that was here, at least.” Aubrey circled the Mari statue before folding her arms across her chest. “That one was straight-up gaudy. Mari looks good like this!”

“Who made it, though?” Basil asked.

“No idea.”

“Maybe this is a sign that Hero and Mari are here! They’ll know!” Kel decided, rejoining the group. “Let’s head inside!” He, Basil, and Aubrey walked away then and past the statue. Sunny lingered a bit longer, taking in the image of his sister made out of metal. It reminded him of the giant golden statue of Hero that may or may not still be at Last Resort. Mari would probably think it was gross if they somehow found it and brought that here.

Then the statue began to move. Its eyes blinked a couple times before its purple irises fell on Sunny. Though the mouth didn’t move, the Mari statue began to speak, “What’s the matter, little brother? Don’t I look good in metal?” Her voice was laced with the sound of piano keys beneath it. Sunny was a little shaken by it all, but the loud clattering was what really startled him.

He woke up with a shock, eyes flying open and disoriented from the shift in perspectives and location. Bright, early morning sunlight filtered into the room and the sound of multiple people talking came from downstairs. Sunny blinked and rubbed at his one eye before sitting up in his futon. The loss of opportunity to keep dreaming was a little sad, but he supposed that he would have to continue his adventure another day.

He looked around the room, but couldn’t find the source of the sound that had startled him awake. Hero and Kel’s beds were both empty. It wasn’t that late in the day judging by the lighting. If there was talking, then chances were that the family was up. There was nothing for it, then. Sunny would just have to go investigate the sound himself. 

He climbed out of the futon and rolled it up before putting it against the wall next to Hero’s trophy. Alright. Time to begin another day.

Chapter Text

Sunny rubbed his eye as he exited the bedroom and looked around once more. The voices from downstairs were louder. He definitely recognized the sound of Sally’s attempts to talk and the parents talking with her. Hero’s voice occasionally chimed in as well. Sunny could almost make out something about Hero’s love life being discussed, and Sunny firmly decided he wanted no part of what was probably an awkward subject. Just thinking about it was unpleasant for him. So, he continued to search for the noise he had heard earlier.

It didn’t take him long. He knocked on the bathroom door to see if anyone was in there, and the door was thrown open to reveal Kel pulling his shorts on with his toothbrush still in his mouth. “Hwi Sun’y!” He muttered around the foam. It caused some of it to run down his chin. He finished putting on his shorts and held up a finger to tell Sunny to give him a moment before he walked over to the sink and spat out the toothpaste. He scooped up a cup and rinsed his mouth before spitting once more. Sunny entered the bathroom since it seemed like he could. “Ah!’ Kel shook his head and wiped off his mouth. “Sorry about the noise. Did I wake you up? I dropped the soap and it knocked a bunch of stuff over.”

Sunny walked over to the sink and figured that now would be a good time to start brushing his own teeth too since he was already there. He grabbed his toothbrush and rinsed it before grabbing his toothpaste. He gazed at himself in the mirror as he brushed and saw Kel grinning at him from it before he grabbed his brush and began to fix his bedhead. Sunny himself still looked pretty sleepy. He wasn’t wearing his eyepatch, but he had gotten good at remembering to keep his eye closed so he didn’t have to look at it when he was in the bathroom. His hair was messy as well, which helped to cover it. He had marks on his face from his pillow. His outfit was the same one as it had been in his dreams. He couldn’t remember if that was what he had worn to bed or not. He wasn’t very concerned. 

“So! I have a plan.” Kel announced rather suddenly as he pulled his hair back and tied it into a high ponytail. Sunny blinked with surprise. He didn’t believe he’d ever seen his friend with his hair up. It looked really good on him. “Let’s sneak out. The family’s distracted and I just know mom’s gonna make me do some chores or something since Hero’s home and can ‘show me how it’s done’.” He made air quotations with it. “Pfft. It’s not like I don’t know how to do it,” He must have been responding to the look on Sunny’s face, though Sunny couldn’t tell how he had been able to read his thoughts, “it’s just that it’s super boring! What’s the point of doing chores when I know mom’s gonna get on my case about how it’s not up to her standards and then Hero will do them anyway? She’s too picky.”

Sunny could understand that. Mari wasn’t nearly as pushy as Kel’s mom, but she had a very stringent way of doing the chores too. Luckily, Sunny didn’t really mind doing certain chores. They had worked out a pretty good routine between the two of them with Mari taking the ones she knew Sunny hated while also making sure Sunny still knew how to do them. After she had died, Sunny stopped wanting to do anything at all. He was grateful Hero had helped him out on that last day before he had moved out.

“So, I’m thinking we should sneak out. The window in the bedroom should be good, right? Then we don’t have to worry about going through the living room and getting caught! Hehe!” Kel grinned and then put his hands on his hips. He was ready, despite being barefoot. “We’ll sneak around front and then grab our shoes by the front door and make a run for it. It’ll be just like old times, right?”

There had been a couple of times that both Kel and Sunny had snuck out in the late evening in order to go to Hobbeez. The store stayed open pretty late, and the thrill of sneaking out had encouraged both boys to go for it. Sunny didn’t exactly know how Kel had managed to get out of his house in the past considering he was pretty sure his parents went to bed kinda late, but maybe he had been jumping out of the window that whole time. The very thought of it sent chills along his skin. He would’ve never been brave enough to do it.

Sunny finished brushing his teeth and rinsed his mouth before waving Kel out of the bathroom so that he could utilize it for the rest of his morning routine. He had to maintain a routine because it was one of the few things he knew would get him awake and ready for the day. Brush teeth, wash face, sun lotion on skin, use the toilet, count backwards from ten, ensure he was really awake. With all of those checked off without problem, Sunny proceeded to do the one thing he hadn’t really wanted to do but decided he would if only to make sure Hero didn’t worry about him: he put in his prosthesis.

It wasn’t something that was pleasant or easy to do. His mother had had to help him the first few times, and it had frustrated Sunny without fail. It wasn’t the final one that he would be receiving either which would make it look like he had never lost an eye, but he was dreading getting that one too. He didn’t like looking at it. He’d rather just wear the eyepatch. But his mother had insisted that Sunny should at least get the one that looked like a regular eye for the future in case he got tired of wearing the eyepatch and wanted to ‘fit in’ more. Maybe he would. Right now, he hardly cared. He still couldn’t see anyway.

This prosthesis didn’t look like an eye for now, but it would help keep the area healthy. So after struggling with it for a little bit, he got it in and thoroughly washed the area once more before he reapplied the lotion to his face. He should’ve changed up the order he had done the things in, but that was what he got for breaking his routine. Sunny kept his bad eye closed and tried not to let his bad mood show on his face as he exited the bathroom and returned to the bedroom. Kel was already there, shooting a foam basketball into the net above his boombox. He was doing pretty good at it for someone who was sitting down on the floor.

It was only when Sunny was getting changed into clothes he could wear outside did he realize that he had definitely not worn his Headspace pajamas to bed. He pulled on a fresh tee shirt and shorts and tucked his socks into his pocket since the route involved going out of the window. He put on his eyepatch and turned to Kel to show he was ready.

“Ready to go?” Kel asked. Sunny nodded. The taller boy pushed himself up and beamed. “Cool! Okay, lemme show you how it’s done!” He hurried over to the window and pushed the blinds up all of the way and opened the window. It took a little wiggling, but he managed to pop out the screen window as well and put it on the floor inside. “There! Think you can do it? You gotta climb out, hang from the window sill, and then just… drop! It’s not as far you think it is. It’s maybe… two of me? Little bit higher?” Kel measured himself with his hand and then raised it further over his head. “Something like that.”

Sunny poked his head out of the window and gauged the height. His skin prickled a little with the thought of falling before he brushed it off. Though some of that fear still lingered in him, more out of self-preservation than anything, Sunny was no longer afraid of heights. Besides, he’d jumped off of far higher heights than this in Headspace. Although, he hadn’t been able to die in Headspace.

...He was sure he would be fine.

“If you want, I can go first and catch you?” Kel suggested. “Though… you’ll have to be the one to put the screen back in and the window down before you drop…” The longer he spoke, the less confident he sounded. Eventually, the two fell into an awkward silence where they just gazed at each other. Kel pursed his lips. “This is a dumb idea, isn’t it?” Sunny didn’t say anything. “Yeah, it’s dumb. Okay, we’ll just go out the front. We’ll just be sneaky!” Kel went ahead and put the window back to the way it was before. “No worries. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to fit out the window anymore anyway. I’m a lot bigger than the last time I did it. It would’ve been super cool, though.”

The first route for their breakout attempt was scrapped. Kel scooped up his basketball and held a finger to his lips to tell Sunny to be quiet, as if Sunny wasn’t the quietest one of their group, before he led the way downstairs. It was clear that this older version of Kel was a little more experienced in breaking out of the house than his younger, more impulsive self. He walked down the stairs in a particular pattern which kept them from creaking under his weight. Sunny followed in his footsteps. They made it down to the lower hallway without being accosted. But this was where the hard part came in.

The boys took opposite sides of the entryway and peeked out into the living room and kitchen. Sunny could see the back of Kel’s mom at the kitchen counter blending something up and Sally on a high chair nearby. He didn’t see Hero or his father, though. Kel motioned for Sunny to follow him, and together the two hurried across the living room to the front door. Sunny put his socks on quickly while Kel grabbed his shoes to tie them. They didn’t get too far before they were caught.

“Oh, good morning!” Hero called to them as he poked his head around the hallway that led to the dining room. “I didn’t think you’d be up this early, Sunny- Wait. What are you two doing?”

"Oh, Kel and Sunny are awake?" Kel's father called from the other room.

“We’ve been caught!” Kel cried before he threw open the door to the house. “Run, Sunny!” The boy didn’t wait for Sunny, who was still struggling with his shoes, before he ran out of the door and jumped with impatience at the end of the driveway, waving his arms to get Sunny to hurry.

Sunny stumbled as he got his shoes on and then paused to look at Hero. Hero’s face was a little exasperated, but unsurprised. He glanced over his shoulder to see if the parents were coming before waving his hand to usher Sunny to go as well. Sunny closed the front door behind him and ran after Kel. The two of them burst into giggles as they ran all the way to the park before they paused to catch their breath a bit. Sunny felt his skin tingling from the excitement and absurdity of it all. He’d never had to do something like that before. He couldn’t remember the last time he had laughed either.

Kel grinned at him. “Heck yeah! That one deserves a high-five! Good job, Sunny!” He held up his hand, and Sunny met him halfway in his high-five. He felt great. “And look! Nobody’s at the court either. Let’s go play some ball!”

The boys walked over to the basketball court where Kel spun his ball on his finger. It was the same one that Hero had gotten him for Christmas all of those years ago, Sunny thought. It was dark with age and it was clearly worn, but it was taken care of enough that it still rebounded well when Kel bounced it. “I love coming here in the mornings before it gets too hot or the park’s too full. It’s a good time to get some shooting practice in.” Kel informed him before he passed the ball to Sunny. Sunny made sure to catch it and felt very proud that he had managed to do so. His day was looking up already.

He looked up at the basketball hoop. He hadn’t tried to play any kind of sports since his fight with Basil. His depth perception wasn’t the same as it once was. He could still remember the first few months and how difficult it had been to adjust to the new way of life. He was lucky in the sense that he had already been adapting to a lot of different things anyway. The loss of his eye was really just another thing. He had taken it in stride the best that he could.

He moved a little closer to the hoop and bounced the ball a few times. Then he took the shot. It completely missed the entire hoop, flying past it and out of the court to roll to a stop against the fence of the park. Kel ran after it and scooped it up before running back over. Sunny tried not to feel frustrated.

“Haha, you’re kinda rusty, huh?” Kel bounced the ball once before he shot as well. It hit the backboard and went right in. It was a short shot for him. He collected the ball and passed it back to Sunny to try again. Sunny didn’t move from his spot and focused. His next shot hit the board off to the left. He managed to grab it before it went too far. Kel whistled. “You seem to aim for the left.”

Sunny just passed the ball back to him. “...It’s not easy.” He said.

“Hm?” Kel looked at him. Sunny simply pointed at his eye. “Oh!” He looked embarrassed now. “Ah, right. Sorry, I totally forgot those kinds of things really mess with your aim. Don’t worry about it! Just keep trying. You’re really smart, Sunny, so I know you’ll get it!” Sunny felt some of his confidence return with his friend’s encouragement. Kel’s next shot didn’t make it in, but it was close. “Did Hero say anything as you left?”

Sunny shook his head and shot again. It was a little too forceful and it just ricocheted back to them. 

“That’s good. Man, I’m glad I have a brother who actually likes doing housework and stuff. I can’t really stand it.”

“...Do you… dislike your parents?” Sunny asked more out of curiosity than anything. He didn’t think Kel’s family had a bad relationship with each other, but he’d been thinking over Kel’s words about his family life over the past year or so. It seemed like his family had come down harder on him after Hero’s depression and then after he had gone off to college. Sunny had somewhat resented his parents for always comparing him to his perfect older sister even if he had agreed with them as well. He somewhat knew how Kel would feel in that case.

“Nope! Not at all.” Kel shot and made the basket this time. His face was completely open and honest. Kel had never been one to hide exactly what he was thinking. He passed the ball over, and Sunny paused to bounce it a few times. “Does it seem like that?”

Sunny tried to think of how to word his feelings. “They sound strict.” He said instead.

“That’s just cuz of Hero being the favorite.” Kel didn’t look bothered and as he said it. “I mean, Hero’s always been like that. Everyone loves him, but he’s also kind of a pushover because of it. Honestly, I prefer it when mom and dad rely on me more because it means Hero gets to do other stuff instead of caving to everything they want him to do. He likes doing housework, but everyone gets exhausted doing it. Besides, uh… after Mari’s death, I took up a lot of his work. So, I'm not too bad at it.”

Sunny shot the ball. He missed.

“My mom and dad have high expectations for me like they do for Hero. They just show it differently. I think they’re harder on him because they know he can do it, and that he’ll do it happily. But I also think they kinda forced him onto this doctor stuff. He’s been scared of disappointing Mom because he’s such a momma’s boy. Dad’s more carefree about things like me, so he seems to get me more than she does.” Kel backed up to do a long shot and easily landed it. Sunny was impressed. “I’ve never been great at school. It’s super boring. Mom realized that I’m just not really one for school, so she kinda gave up on pushing me as hard as she did for Hero. They still encourage me and stuff, but now it feels more like it’s at my own pace.”

Sunny understood. His own mother had done similarly for him when Sunny had lost interest in going to school. She hadn’t tried to force him when it was clear he was mentally ill. She had continued to try to support him to the best of her ability, but even if they hadn’t helped him he was glad she had been there for him in little ways. It was only with hindsight was he able to see how much his mother had tried while dealing not only with Mari’s death, but also her husband becoming estranged and leaving while her son had refused to leave his room on most days.

“Hero’s always had high expectations for me too without forcing them on me.” Kel added. He continued to shoot the ball when Sunny didn’t seem interested in going this turn. “He and Mari were both alike in that sense. They saw the best in you and me.”

Sunny’s fist clenched. When the ball came back to Kel, he looked towards Sunny with a serious, but gentle face. “That’s what did it for you, wasn’t it? The final straw? Mari’s expectations?”

Sunny stared at him, eye wide with shock. 

Kel’s face fell with his thoughts. “When you told us what happened at the hospital, it kinda just clicked for me. You didn’t have to tell me why. Thinking back on it, I could see your breaking point coming from a mile away. You’d always looked so upset and would try to put off violin practice. At some point you stopped wanting to play for us and had to be nagged to do it. And Mari… she’s always been a perfectionist. It didn’t bother me as much as a kid because that’s just how she was, but I remember there were times I was really annoyed by how she just didn’t want to accept things being a little less than perfect. It didn’t make sense to me.” He fell silent for a moment, just looking down at the basketball in his hand. Sunny had no idea what to say. “I’m sorry, man.” He looked back at Sunny once more, his heavy heart clear on his face. “I think if we had interfered sooner… maybe things could’ve been different.”

Sunny’s eyes fell close. He tried to breathe through it. Keep calm.

He heard Kel’s footsteps before he felt his hand squeeze Sunny’s arm. Sunny opened his eyes once more. Kel’s eyes were sympathetic. “Sunny, just know that I don’t think you’re a bad person for what happened. You or Basil. And we’re still best friends. Always. Get it?”

“Always.” Sunny agreed with a choked voice. He didn’t feel like he deserved forgiveness. It was hard to believe that he was receiving any of it.

“We all loved Mari… and none of us were there for each other when we needed it. We all made a lot of mistakes back then. I hope we can, I don’t know, talk about it and move on. Finally heal and get that peace that Aubrey talked about before.” Kel sighed and then he stepped back. He bounced the ball again, but it seemed more anxious than before. He didn’t seem to know what to do with himself. “I know we all need it. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of ignoring what happened back then for the sake of not upsetting everyone. Sometimes you gotta just cry it out.” He took a jumpshot for the basket. The ball went through the net with a swish.

Sunny quietly wondered if Kel had learned that from his fight with Hero. He didn’t ask. Instead, he watched his childhood friend and thought that Kel had grown up well. He was still a little awkward about things and was a little brash, but he had changed. He believed in Kel’s words. He could keep his wish in mind for when the day came that he had to tell everyone the truth and deal with the consequences as they come.

Chapter Text

Kel and Sunny returned back to the house a little later, mostly drawn by the fact that they were hungry and the possibility that Hero had cooked breakfast. It wasn’t unexpected when Kel was scolded for running off so early, but he’d managed to temper the scolding by explaining that he’d had to get some practice in and that he didn’t have any chores. Unfortunately, that meant that Kel had been given some chores to do instead. Which left Hero and Sunny to hang out for a little while and keep Kel company occasionally.

They took to the couch to watch some television and simply hang out while Kel swept the floor of the living room and cleaned up the various dog toys that were laying around because of Hector. Just because Kel had friends over did not mean he got to escape his duties around the house. Sunny would’ve helped him, but it was all easy stuff and he didn’t like doing chores himself.

“Dad said we can borrow his truck.” Hero said some time later after they had binged two episodes of some game show on the television. The singing and skits in it had been pretty entertaining. “Did we want to go today after Kel is done? It’s still pretty early, so it shouldn’t be too busy.”

Sunny shifted on the couch to sit up a little more. Throughout the show he had slumped further and further into the couch cushions. “Aubrey and Basil?” He asked.

“Oh, right. It’d probably just be easier to go pick them up instead of calling.” He glanced at his watch and considered the time. “We never actually decided on a time we were gonna do this. Or, uh, anything else really. Wow, we’re really winging this, huh?” He laughed a little bit before he stood and turned off the television. “Let’s go see if they want to go now. Kel should be done by the time we get back… hopefully.”

Sunny stood up as well and followed after Hero as he led the way to the backyard where his father was reading while Sally played in a playpen that had been brought out there. “Hey boys.” He greeted with a wave.

“Hey dad, me and Sunny are going to head out and see if Basil and Aubrey are ready, and if they are we’re gonna head up to the store. Is that alright?”

“That’s fine by me! I’ll be sure to tell your mom when she gets back.”

“Thanks!” Hero reentered the house. Sunny hung around just long enough to see Hero’s dad give him a big grin and a, “Drive safe!” before he followed after his friend. 

“We shouldn’t be gone too long.” Hero spoke as the boys put their shoes on at the front door. “Kel won’t even have time to miss us, so lead the way!”

Sunny was a little surprised he was taking the lead, but he didn’t mind it. He was kind of used to it by that point anyway. They left the house and made their way down the street. The air was thick with humidity as the sun rose high into the sky. It was going to be a hot one. He didn’t really want to go outside at all today if it was going to be like that, but maybe they might be able to go to the lake or something and cool off there. It might be nice. Sunny hadn’t been swimming in real life since the day he had very nearly drowned.

“Did you guys have fun at the park?” Hero asked, breaking the friendly silence that had lingered between them as they looked both ways before crossing the street to head towards Basil’s house. “I didn’t expect to see you two trying to sneak out of the house. Usually Kel just went out of the window upstairs.” Sunny looked at him. He’d known about that? His unsaid question must’ve been clear enough for Hero, who laughed in response. “I was actually the one to show him how to do it when we were… I think he was ten and I was thirteen? Something like that. We weren’t sure if we could do it, but we had wanted to try anyway. Two stories isn’t too far until you’re looking at the ground.” They turned the corner onto Basil’s street. “Anyway, we made it just fine, and Kel kept doing it every chance that he got. He actually got pretty good at it too. He stayed smaller a lot longer, though, so after a while I didn’t really want to do it anyway. He still proves how skilled he is at it once in a while, even though he’s almost as big as me now.”

Sunny had little doubt in his mind that Kel could absolutely wiggle his long limbs out of that window and drop to the ground. Hearing Hero admire that about him, though, made Sunny even more impressed by the feat. They should’ve tried it yesterday. Maybe he could convince Kel to show him later.

Hero took the lead and knocked on the door to Basil’s house. Sunny glanced around the yard at the many plants there. If Basil really did decide to become a florist, Sunny knew that the boy would do well at it. He was kind and caring, and handling plants was probably easier than handling people. Maybe Sunny could go and work with him if he never decided on a career for himself. Nothing really called for him.

“Plain, simple, and bulbous, just like Omori.”

Sunny huffed through his nose a little. Plain and simple might be right. Bulbous was a little much, though.

The door opened and revealed Basil on the other side. He was dressed simply today with a tee shirt and shorts. He gave them both a smile. “Oh, hi guys! I, uh, expected you to pop by eventually. What’s up?”

“Hey Basil. We’re thinking about doing the shopping trip today since my dad’s off from work and he gave the OK to take the truck. Are you free?” Hero asked.

“Yeah, I’m free!” He turned around to look back into his house before turning back again. “Um… let me go tell Polly I’m going to be gone for a while. Were… were there any plans for after the trip?”

“Nothing planned.” He looked to Sunny for confirmation before nodding at his own thought. “We’re kinda winging it for today. You’re welcome to hang out with us, if you want.”

“Okay. I’ll be right back. I just need to grab my things.” He closed the door then.

“A whole week you’re here… I don’t really want to waste that time.” Hero rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “But then again, it’s not really a waste of time if we’re all together, right? Since it’s summer vacation and all, I’m sure we’ll be together more often than not. So if there’s anything in particular you want to do, Sunny, just make sure you let us know. There’ll be plenty of downtime in between everything, so don’t worry about anything.”

Sunny thought about what kinds of things he wanted to do. Faraway Town didn’t have much, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t make their own fun. The only strange thing was that they weren’t the same kids they had once been. There were activities that maybe they were too old to do. Especially Hero, who was in college now. Was it weird for him to hang around with younger kids? Knowing Hero, probably not. He went along with whatever they did, but if he didn’t like it then he knew he could just say something. Whether or not he was shot down, though, was almost entirely up to Kel and Aubrey.

“I’m back.” Basil called after he opened the door and slipped out to join them. He had a backpack on. “Ready when you are. Is Aubrey already at the house?”

“Nope! We’re going to pick her up now.”

“Oh… okay!” Sunny took the lead once more as they walked across the street to Aubrey’s house. It still looked about as bad as the last time Sunny had seen it, though the yard looked a bit nicer at least. He knocked on the door and stepped back along with Basil and Hero. They waited, but nobody answered. The boys looked at each other.

“...Try again?” Hero suggested. “I’m… not sure Aubrey’s mom would answer if she was home.” Sunny tried knocking again, but there was still no answer. He decided to look around the side of the house instead. He didn’t see Aubrey’s bike there. She probably wasn’t home. He pointed this out to his friends. “Where could she be, then?” Hero asked as he contemplated it.

“Should we… just wait at your house?” Basil asked.

Hero shook his head. “Let’s just take a look around. We just need to find Aubrey’s bike, right? Then we’ll know where she is. Come on.” The group started towards the park instead. 

Basil glanced back at Aubrey’s house as they went. “...I know this is strange to ask now, but have either of you been in Aubrey’s house? I don’t think I ever have.”

“Oh. Yeah, we went in one time. It was… on Sunny’s last day here. We were going to get the photos back.” Hero said.

“Really?” He glanced down and shifted to grip the arms of his backpack. “I’m surprised she let you in. I… don’t think she likes people going in there. Not even her other friends.”

Hero rubbed at the side of his neck. “Well… I can understand why. She wasn’t very happy we went in there when we did.”

Basil looked sad. “I didn’t ask her because we… stopped talking, but… I’m guessing things were bad after her dad left.”

“Yeah, I think so too.” Hero took a deep breath and then let it out. “But I’m certain Aubrey will be fine. She’s always been strong. And we’re here to help her through it if she ever wants to talk about it.”

“Agreed.”

“Aubrey is like a gladiolus flower.” Sunny said. In his mind’s eye he could see the younger Aubrey kneeling next to the garden of Basil’s gladiolus flowers and beaming at him.

“Gladiolus?” Hero asked, tone curious. “What kind of flower is that?”

Basil laughed a little. “You remembered that too, Sunny? It always impresses me how good you are about that. Gladiolus flowers look like swords, so they represent someone who is strong of character and who is sincere and faithful to their ways. They don’t give up, a lot like Aubrey.”

“That does sound like her.” Hero said, eyebrows raised. “Is that the flower you were growing for her?”

“You mean the ones Sunny mentioned yesterday? Yeah.” He tucked his hair behind his ear. “Though I might have chosen other flowers to represent us now. Except Kel. Kel is still Kel.”

“I think out of all of us, Kel has stayed the same. Him and Sunny.”

Sunny shook his head. “No.” He told them as he watched an orange cat across the street walking away with a bit of trash in its mouth. “I don’t know if that’s true anymore.”

The other two were silent for a moment before Basil said, “I don’t know about that. I think… You’re still Sunny.”

Sunny looked back at his friends and met their eyes one-by-one before his mouth opened. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask if that was really such a good thing before he decided against it. He closed his mouth and turned back around. Instead he said, “Just like how Hero is still Hero, Aubrey is still Aubrey, and Basil is still Basil. The same, but different.”

“...Yeah.” Hero decided. “The same, but different.”

“I guess we all are.” Basil agreed as well.

Sunny wasn’t quite sure why, but it hurt to hear that truth. It was hard to accept that time was still going forward and changing. They weren’t the same as they once were. They weren’t the same people that Mari had known. And he didn’t like that. At all. But at the same time, they were still the same people. They weren’t unrecognizable. So maybe it wasn’t all bad. He wasn’t quite sure yet. He would figure it out with time, he supposed.

It took a bit of searching, but they found Aubrey’s bike at the entrance to Othermart. “She must be in here.” Hero pointed out as they walked in. The wave of cool air from the A/C washed over them, bringing relief to them as they entered deeper into the grocery store. Sunny breathed in the smell of fresh produce and looked around as they went, curious to see familiar faces from last year. He never really knew who or what he was going to run into whenever he came into the place. They searched the aisles, but didn’t spy Aubrey anywhere. So instead they headed towards the candy section to see if they could spot her there.

Sunny walked into the hallway from Othermart and exited into Sweetheart’s Castle on the other side. There were Sweetheart statues lining the southern wall and there was music playing around them. The aisles of candy looked more like bookshelves as maid sprout moles rushed by Sunny’s feet. He ignored them, looking around for Aubrey instead. He almost missed her considering her hair caused her to blend in with the excessive amount of pink in the building.

“Hey Aubrey.” Hero greeted as the boys walked up to her. She wasn’t alone, Sunny realized after a moment. When Aubrey turned to face them, the castle returned to the normal candy store. Next to Aubrey was Kim and Charlene.

“Oh. What are you guys doing here?” Aubrey asked instead of greeting them.

“Ewww, it’s the NERDS!” Kim taunted before she laughed a little. Aubrey nudged her. “I’m kiddin’, I’m kiddin’. How’s it hanging?”

“Oh, uh, good.” Hero said. “Are we interrupting?”

“Nah, it’s fine.” Aubrey glanced at her friends before turning back to Hero. “What’s up?”

“We were gonna go do the shopping today, if you’re free.”

“Really?” Aubrey thought about it for a moment, then asked, “...Is it alright if my friends come?” She motioned with her head to Charlene and Kim. “I was actually going to come ask you later today about it.”

“Sure! There’s room.” Hero tucked his hands into his pockets. “Did you want to go now, or later?”

“What do you guys think?” Aubrey turned to the other girls.

“I’m down.” Kim said. “As long as I’m back before the sun sets, I’m good to go. Charlene?”

Charlene was quiet for a long moment before saying softly, “.........Need to tell my mom.”

“Right! How about we meet’cha? I gotta go home and get money anyway.” Kim put her hands in her pockets, which seemed suspiciously big. She moved around Aubrey with Charlene following along behind her as she moved a little quickly to the store’s entrance. “See you in a little bit, Aubrey!”

Hero watched them go with some confusion, but he didn’t say anything. Basil was the one that asked, “Um… Aubrey… was Kim…”

“Don’t worry about it.” Aubrey said, hands pushing at Sunny and Basil’s backs to get them moving. “Your timing’s good anyway. Where’s Kel? Surprised he’s not with you.”

“He’s finishing his chores. Actually, we should get back before he uses us as an excuse to chase us down.” Hero said. 

“Great. Let’s go then.”

They left the store without any hassle. Sunny noticed that the candy lady was missing, which probably explained how they all managed to get in and out without getting into too much trouble. He didn’t exactly want to stick around to deal with it anyway. She kind of unnerved him.

“Can we really all fit in the truck?” Basil asked as they left Othermart. Aubrey grabbed her bike and walked it alongside her as the group headed back to Hero’s house. “There’s only the front to sit in… right?”

“Well… yeah.” Hero admitted. “But all of you are old enough that we shouldn’t get in trouble if you ride in the bed of the truck. Just as long as you’re all sitting down in it. It shouldn’t be a problem.” Basil gave Sunny a wary look. Sunny didn’t know if there was a law like that, but Hero would be the one to trust with that kind of information. He wasn’t the type to break laws for the fun of it.

“Aw, sweet.” Aubrey said. “I call the bed, then.”

“I… I’d rather sit up front… if that’s okay.” Basil murmured.

“Then I guess that leaves you in the back with the others, Sunny. Hope that’s alright?” Hero asked. Sunny nodded. He was actually kind of looking forward to it. He’d never ridden in the back of a truck before. It made it feel even more like an adventure.

Chapter Text

Sunny closed his eyes as the wind ripped through his hair and he relaxed back against the wall of the truck bed next to Aubrey. With five teens in the back of the truck, there was little room for everyone to stretch out without legs crossing over each other. Sunny sat with his legs bent against his chest so he was fine, but he could see how every now and again Kel and Kim would kick each other playfully to try to steal more leg room. Charlene was kind enough to at least bring her own legs in and sat cross-legged and relaxed with her own eyes closed. The trip itself wasn’t one that would take long. It was only about a fifteen minute drive to the town with the outdoor shopping plaza they were going to be stopping at. Hero was purposefully taking the back roads just in case to not risk any police seeing them even if they were pretty sure they were legal. The sun was nice when there was a good breeze to keep them cool.

“Yo Kel, I gotta ask…” Kim said when a lull in the conversation occurred, “what the hell is up with your brother being so hot?”

“Dunno. He’s always been like that.” Kel said with a shrug. “Mom says he takes after our dad.”

“Okay… not to be weird, but… Aubrey, have you ever… y’know…?” Kim raised her eyebrows.

“Ew! Kim!” Aubrey cried, aghast. “No! He’s like… my big brother or something!”

Kel guffawed, hand slapping against his leg as he threw his head back. “Aubrey and Hero…! That’s hilarious!!”

Aubrey’s cheeks were red. “There’s no way!”

“Hey, I was just asking! There’s nothing weird about it! I’ve had friends who’ve liked my older brother too!” She grumbled a little, though she looked amused at Aubrey’s reaction.

“Sh-Shut up, Kel!” Aubrey shouted when Kel continued to laugh. She reached over to hit him, but he brought up his arms to block her attack. It only made him laugh a bit more. Sunny rather liked the sight of Aubrey’s blushing and angry face. He wished that Basil was back there so maybe he would’ve been able to snap a picture. Though, Sunny wasn’t sure if Basil even had his camera on him.

A sharp couple of knocks on the rear window of the truck grabbed their attention and Hero gave them a pointed look in the rearview mirror. Aubrey pouted, but moved back to her original spot. Kel wiped at his eyes as the last of his giggles escaped him.

“Is it really that weird?” Kim demanded, confused. “I mean… jeez, you’re the only girl hanging out with a buncha boys your age. It’s not a weird question!”

“I mean, it’s not.” Kel agreed as he beamed. “But… Aubrey’s totally not Hero’s type. If he really has one, I mean. He’s only ever dated Mari.”

“Mari?” Kim asked, confused.

Sunny and Kel’s gazes jumped to Aubrey, surprised that she had never told her friends. Aubrey didn’t meet their eyes, but she took the question in stride. “She’s Sunny’s older sister.” Her voice softened a little bit. “She died a couple years ago.”

“Oh.” Kim’s entire tone changed then. Her teasing mood was gone and a familiar sympathetic look appeared on her face and in her eyes. She directed her next words towards Sunny, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“You don’t remember her?” Kel asked. “I mean, it was a while ago and we were all pretty little, but we used to play together at the park before Aubrey moved to town.”

“Nah, I don’t remember much about that time.”

“...I remember her.” Charlene commented quietly. “She was really pretty and nice.”

Kel and Aubrey both smiled. “Yeah, she was.” Aubrey agreed. She looked a little surprised that Charlene was talking so much.

Kim looked in through the rear window of the truck at Hero. The group fell silent, each thinking about their own things, before she said, “I guess it would be hard to compete with Mari.”

“What? Are you interested in my brother, Kim?” Kel asked, shocked.

“What? No! Stupid!” Kim scoffed. “I just meant…” she waved her hand carelessly, “like, in general.”

Sunny laid his head on his arms and knees and stared off the back of the truck, watching the road beneath them disappear into the distance as the shadows of the trees they passed flickered above them. It never really occurred to him that any of them might start dating, let alone Hero. He’d always been someone who had been paired with Mari in his mind. It felt almost like betrayal to both her and Sunny’s memories to think of him moving on. 

He squeezed his eyes shut against the thought and felt sickened once more. His thoughts selfishly turned inward, Omori’s voice whispering to him about how perfect things were in Headspace. It was a voice he heard occasionally, usually attributed to negative emotions, but not one that he liked to indulge. Nevertheless, he was always there. He was part of Sunny.

You’re selfish for wanting everything to stay the same.

He wished that Omori wasn’t so right about so many things.

“Sunny?” Aubrey’s hand touched Sunny’s shoulder, and he startled just a little. Kel and Kim had moved topics. How long had Sunny been zoning out? “You okay?”

“I’m okay.” Sunny responded, though he wasn’t really sure if that was true. He wanted to curl up in his bed and sleep once more to escape the ache in his chest. He hoped that today wasn’t going to be a bad day. He just wanted to enjoy his time with his friends.

Aubrey squeezed his shoulder then. Her light eyes spoke about her worry for him and her understanding. Sunny wondered if she felt a similar ache when talking about Mari. He didn’t know. He wasn’t sure if he should wish for it. He didn’t want to burden his friends. “It’s okay.” Aubrey assured him softly. Though her face didn’t show her expressions nearly as much as her younger self, Sunny didn’t need to see them to hear her emotions in her voice. “It’s okay.”

He decided to trust her, and once again ignored the darkness that hovered on his periphery. Another day, he swore to himself. He would confront that darkness another day.

The shopping plaza in the neighboring town was distinctly bigger than the small one in Faraway Town. There were multiple brand name companies that had set up shop in the area considering the population of the town it was in and the people that it catered to. It was not the first time that Sunny had come to this place, but it didn’t make it any easier to actually buy anything there. It wasn’t that everything was expensive; it was just that high schoolers didn’t tend to make enough money to go on the shopping spree that such a place encouraged. There were so few opportunities to have everything at their disposal when they had grown up in a small town, so being in the shopping plaza caused money to burn in their pockets. Even as Sunny climbed out of the back of the truck, his eyes were glued to the game store just on the other side of the parking lot.

Focus. They had specific things to buy today. Sunny had money, but not enough to go spending it willy-nilly. Not when there were going to be future opportunities to buy things at the beach.

“Here we are!” Hero announced as the group headed to the sidewalk and out of the way of cars driving to find or leave parking spots. “We have a couple of clothing stores to choose from, if we want to look around a bit.”

“Are we only buying clothes?” Aubrey asked. “I want to look around for other stuff too.”

“Up to you guys.” Hero said with a shrug. “We still need to check out the photo albums and some beach things, but other than that I’m not in a rush.”

“Oh, sick!” Kel threw himself at Sunny, wrapping an arm over his shoulder with one arm and pointing with the other. “Sunny! Check out that game store! You think they have the latest Pet Rock game? I heard it was supposed to be out now with better graphics and everything!”

“We could stop by!” Basil agreed. “I, uh, want to look as well!”

“Focus, boys!” Kim reprimanded. “We’re on a mission, ain’t we?”

“Kim’s right.” Hero agreed. “How about we get what we came here for first, and then we’ll wander?” They entered the nearest clothing store that appeared to be one of the cheaper, well-known companies. The shiny tiled floor reflected the fluorescent lights above. The smell of perfumes filled the air from the nearby perfume section. Sunny sneezed.

“Bless you." Aubrey said automatically to Sunny. Then she said to the others with a wave, "We’ll see you guys later. Where should we meet up?”

“Huh?” Kel demanded, surprised. “You’re leaving?! Why? We’re supposed to be shopping together!”

Kim sneered a little, “Ew, who wants to go shopping with you?”

“We’re going off on our own.” Aubrey said. “We’ll meet up later.”

“What the heck!” Kel frowned.

Hero didn’t seem to have a problem with it. “Okay, sure. You have my number, right? Just give us a call when you’re done and we’ll meet up.”

“You’ll probably be finished before us.” Aubrey added. “So we’ll meet you instead.”

“Got it.”

“Hero!” Kel complained.

“Come on, Kel.” Basil patted Kel’s shoulder. “Let’s go.”

“I thought we were all gonna hang together.” Kel shoved his hands into his shorts pockets as the group split into two and went their separate ways. “Why did they bother to come if they weren’t going to shop with us?”

“Kel…” Hero gave his brother that complicated look Sunny was familiar with that just said he was surprised he had to explain this out loud. “We’re going shopping for bathing suits. The girls want to look for their outfits alone.”

“So?” Kel still genuinely didn’t seem to get it. “She’s acting like we’ve never seen her in a swimsuit or something. What does it matter what she picks out now?”

Hero looked to Sunny and Basil as if they might be able to help him explain, but both boys quickly shook their heads. They were staying out of this one. He rubbed at the back of his head. “Well… Aubrey’s not a kid anymore. She was twelve the last time we all went swimming together. I’m pretty sure she and the other girls want to… look good?”

“It’s not like they’re trying to impress us.”

“That doesn’t mean they don’t want to look cute.”

“...I don’t get it.” Kel finally said.

“It’s alright, Kel. You don’t need to understand now anyway. Just… be aware that we’re not kids anymore, okay?” 

Sunny couldn’t help but wonder what kind of bathing suit Aubrey would pick out. She had always been kinda tomboyish, so he felt weird picturing her in anything that would be particularly feminine. But at the same time, the idea of her wearing something distinctly more mature made him excited. The fact that it would remain a mystery to him until the day they all went swimming just heightened that excitement. He was glad that the girls went off on their own. He wasn’t sure how to handle being surrounded by girl clothes anymore.

“You know…” Basil murmured to Sunny while the brothers were talking with each other, “you’ve got that dreamy look on your face, Sunny. The same one you got when you would look at the pictures I took of Aubrey. Are you…?” He trailed off knowingly, a small teasing smile on his face. Sunny felt his cheeks and ears heat up, which only made Basil chuckle a little. “Don’t worry. I’m kinda looking forward to it too, you know? Um… do you still… maybe have a little crush?”

Sunny looked away, unsure. Though his cheeks still burned, he wasn’t really sure what to make of his past emotions for Aubrey. Everything that he felt towards his friends was complicated now. He didn’t think he even had the capacity to untangle the knots of the different feelings he had on the matter of any one person. But he could admit that he still liked all of them. His childhood crush hardly felt different from admiration, so it wasn’t easy to tell.

Basil’s teasing smile softened as he recognized the complicated look on Sunny’s face. “Don’t worry. I get it.”

Sunny was relieved.

They arrived in the men’s section of the store and located the bathing suits. The designs weren’t anything too wild or complicated. Sunny wasn’t looking for anything flashy anyway. Something that was cheap, plain, and comfortable would be enough for him. He looked through the clothes to see if he could find some grey trunks.

“That actually reminds me.” Hero said as he scooted up next to Sunny and looked in the bigger sizes. “Hey Sunny, are you still scared of swimming?” Sunny blinked at him with surprise.

“Huh? Scared of swimming?” Kel asked. “Sunny, you’re scared of swimming?”

“No.” Sunny said. “I… I was afraid of drowning… again.” He confessed.

“What!” Kel yelped. “I had no idea. Man, and I sent you in after Basil that one time too… I’m sorry.”

Sunny shook his head. It was fine. It had all worked out anyway.

“Why do you think I jumped in there so quickly, Kel?” Hero asked, voice just a touch scolding. “Mari didn’t want to let Sunny anywhere near the water after he'd nearly drowned.”

“I mean… I remember that. I just didn’t know Sunny was actually scared of it.” Kel looked a little ashamed.

“I’m not scared now.” Sunny reassured them. “I’m okay.”

“Haha, I wish I could say the same.” Basil admitted. “I still don’t really know how to swim.”

“We’ll just be careful at the beach.” Hero said, pulling off one of the bathing suits from the rack to look at the material inside of it. “We did just fine last time. It’ll be fun.”

“Y-Yeah! I’m going to bring an inner tube anyway. I like the ocean even if I can’t swim well.” Basil said. Sunny walked over to a different rack and grabbed some Hawaiian-print board shorts. He gave them to Basil. That got a laugh out of the boy. “Uh, no thanks, Sunny.”

“Good on you getting over your fears!” Kel praised Sunny as he ruffled his hair a bit. Sunny fixed it afterwards. “Maybe you can teach Hero how to do it!”

“Hey, c’mon. I’m not that bad.” Hero said.

“You… so are, bro.”

Hero didn’t respond, though by the look on his face it was clear he was a little embarrassed about Kel being right. Sunny wished that he really could give some tips on helping Hero get over his fears, but Sunny didn’t really think that the way he had gone about it was something that anybody could simply replicate. Hero would have to find another way.

Chapter Text

Unsurprising to any of them, the boys found their swimsuits a lot faster than any of the girls did. Sunny wasn’t sure if it was just because the girls were taking their time, or if maybe they had harder choices to make. He didn’t envy being a girl. He had remembered going on shopping trips with his mom and Mari and being bored out of his mind while Mari had tried on two tops that had been similar but hadn’t been able to decide between the two. He couldn't to see the difference between them back then, though Mari had explained that one was tighter on her chest than the other and that “Hero might say something”. Whatever that meant. Hero always gave Mari compliments on her new clothes, so he didn't really understand the problem. Sunny never had an issue with shirts. Maybe he never would.

Instead of just leaving the store, the boys decided to walk around and take their time to look at stuff since they had nothing better to do and they hadn’t wanted to abandon the girls in the store. They circled around from the men’s section, to the baby section, to the kids section, before finally ending up in the women’s section. It wasn’t hard to spot Aubrey’s pink hair among the swimsuits there.

“Helloooo!” Kel called as he threw himself at Aubrey. Kim let out a yelp and Charlene had jumped a little at the sudden attack, but Aubrey responded by reflexively punching Kel right in the face. Kel cried out and fell on his butt, holding his nose. “Ow! That hurt!”

“Jesus, Kel!” Aubrey crossed her arms, unrepentant as she glared at him. “Don’t just jump on me like that. How many times have I told you?”

Kel chuckled and rubbed at his face. “I thought I could scare you.”

“You didn’t.”

“You deserved that!” Kim added. “You don’t learn, stupid!”

Hero helped Kel to his feet as Aubrey demanded, “Why are you all here?”

“We got our suits.” Basil said as Sunny pointed to Basil’s backpack. He had brought it to help carry their bought items back and reduce the use of plastic bags. He had another bag inside of it in case they ran out of room in the backpack but still had more stuff to carry. 

“Yeah, we were just walking around.” Hero agreed.

“Well go away.” Aubrey turned Sunny around and gave him a little push to get him going. “We’re not done!”

“Fine, fine!” Kel stuck his tongue out at her. “Then we’re gonna go to another store.”

“What! It’d better not be the game store!” She pointed sharply at him. “Bathing suits weren’t our only mission. Focus on the task at hand, Kel.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Kel pouted, but it was clear at least to Sunny that he had totally forgotten the other half of their shopping objective today.

Hero decided to swoop in and save the day before the two could really begin to bicker by throwing an arm around Kel and yanking him back towards the main pathway out of the clothing section. “We’ll be at the general store a couple doors down! Meet us there when you’re done!” Kel sputtered at his brother’s manhandling, slapping his arm to get him to let go. Sunny and Basil hurried to follow their steps.

“S-See you later!” Basil called to the girls. Charlene waved at them as Kim laughed and Aubrey smirked. When they were far enough away, Basil breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s… kind of embarrassing being around all those girl clothes, huh?”

Hero snickered as he finally released Kel, who proceeded to try to jump on him much like he used to when he had been a lot smaller. It only caused the brothers to both stumble because Hero didn’t catch Kel’s legs to properly piggyback him, and Kel was only looking to topple Hero over. They caught themselves and pulled away from each other when they were given stern glares by a couple of older patrons to the store.

Sunny was amused by their antics. He nodded in response to Basil’s words. “Kind of, yeah.”

“I just find it weird.” Kel admitted.

“That’s because we didn’t grow up with sisters.” Hero said. “By the time Sally is big enough to start wearing… anything close to what Aubrey’s looking at, maybe your opinion will change.”

“Ew, gross!” Kel laughed. “I don’t want to picture Sally wearing those! She’s still a baby, Hero!”

“I’m just saying that it’ll happen eventually.”

They exited the store and headed deeper into the outdoor plaza to find a gigantic chain general store. Sunny didn’t really go out anymore, but he remembered getting utterly lost in a place similar to this one when he had been little. He had ended up in the toy section and had sat on the floor playing with what loose toys he could find until his father and Mari had located him.

“So, what all are we getting?” Kel asked as he immediately got distracted by other things around them as they entered the store. He walked over to the aisle of greeting cards to look over them. Sunny grabbed a shopping cart and pushed it over to the group.

“Let’s see…” Hero counted off on his fingers, “Beach toys and supplies, disposable cameras, photo albums. And… I guess anything else we want? But those are the main things.”

“Oh right!” Kel cried. “We need to get some beach toys! I have no idea what happened to our old ones!” He spun back around on his friends, arms spread with excitement. “Then let’s head over to the toy section!”

Sunny was pretty sure most of their beach stuff had been scattered throughout Faraway Town. He remembered seeing the plastic containers they had used to dig sandcastles and the plastic shovels at the lake and on the playground. But then again, they could’ve easily been someone else’s. The town was so small that for the most part children left their non-beloved toys everywhere.

“What exactly did we want to buy?” Basil asked curiously. “Aren’t we a little, um, old to just play in the sand?”

“Psssssh!” Kel scoffed. “That’s such an old person's way of thinking, Basil! Just because we’re older we’re not allowed to do things that kids do? That sucks! I say we do what we want.”

“Agreed.” Hero said as he checked his phone and then typed out a message to someone. “I think the one thing about getting older that stinks is that we have to ‘act like adults’. Don’t worry about what other people think and do what you want, Basil.”

“Take your own advice, bro.”

“Aw, jeez.” Hero frowned at him. “C’mon, Kel.”

“Just saying.” Kel shrugged. Sunny wondered if this was just a common argument between the brothers now that they were older. It was a bit shocking to him. He had become far too used to the sibling dynamic between the brothers in his Headspace. Back then, Kel and Hero didn’t argue too much at all. It had felt a lot like a caretaker and child role, though it was one that Hero didn’t seem to mind at all and that Kel had fun with. It was different now, from what he could see. Both of them were different in their own ways.

“You’re right.” Basil agreed with a hesitant smile. “I… didn’t really think of it that way. I’ve, uh, never really just done whatever I wanted.”

“Well… do you want to get beach toys?” Kel asked, turning around and walking backwards. They entered the toy section and looked around for where they could find stuff to use outside. “I can still make an awesome sandcastle!”

“Hmm… sure! Oh, actually… maybe we can get a badminton set?”

“That’s what I’m talking about!”

“Great idea!” Hero agreed, beaming. “If we all chip in a little, we can get the one with a net too!”

It was difficult to not want to spend their money on a lot of the stuff they saw in the sports section located near the toys. There were many options that sounded like fun that they could use during the upcoming beach trip. Kel grabbed a volleyball with the insistence that there was always a volleyball net somewhere along the beach. They grabbed a badminton set and threw it into the cart. Hero found a small ball that could be used to skip across the water for some fun that way. They caved in and added two boogie boards to the cart with the decision that they would let Aubrey choose if they needed a third or not. Sunny grabbed an inner tube for himself so that he could float with Basil in the ocean, and he also got a better pair of goggles since the ones that he brought were pretty old and he admittedly didn’t know if they would hold up during the trip.

It was a lot more fun than Sunny had expected. As the group of boys became distracted from their main purpose and reentered the toy section, they found themselves seriously contemplating buying some games to play at the beach house they were renting. And thinking about what could be used at the house only made them daydream about the firepit, roasting marshmallows, and everything in between. Suddenly, the beach trip seemed too far away. Sunny wanted the weekend to come faster and stay as long as possible.

They decided to wait until the girls joined them before potentially wasting their money on more things. Kel and Sunny both set off a bunch of noisy tester toys, which caused all four of them to flee while giggling, hoping to avoid scrutiny from any of the people working or browsing nearby. It really felt like old times.

“Okay, okay.” Hero said as they ended up in the home goods while hiding from the sounds of lasers and little robotic voices. “Let’s not get kicked out.”

Kel was still laughing to himself. “Did you see that lady’s face? I’ve never seen someone so offended!”

“Haha, that was pretty funny, yeah!”

“That was fun.” Basil was beaming, and Sunny couldn’t help but stare wondrously at the sight. It had been a long time since he had seen that face in person. “Where to next?”

“Actually…” Hero thought for a moment and then said, “Basil, Kel, c’mere a second. Hang out there, Sunny.” He waved the boys over while Sunny waited and watched them curiously. They walked only a few paces away before Hero hid his mouth behind his hand and whispered to them. The conversation was short, but ended with Kel and Basil giving him a thumbs up. Basil then jogged back over while Kel and Hero went off with the cart.

“They’re going to go grab something and thought it would be quicker if we split up.” He explained. “So… what do you think? I was, um, hoping to go find something anyway.” He looked a little nervous suddenly. And that was when Sunny realized it was the first time he was completely alone with Basil since their fight. He wondered if Basil was thinking about that too. It occurred to him that his initial hesitation that he’d had when they’d first gone to Basil’s house was gone. He felt at ease around his friend.

He nodded. “Sure.” He said.

Basil looked relieved. Whatever tension he’d had bled out of him as he smiled. “Great! Um, let’s go grab a basket since they took the cart.” The two boys walked back to the front of the store and grabbed a handbasket instead. Sunny followed Basil’s lead since he didn’t know exactly what they were going for. Basil filled him in as they did. “I… wanted to use this opportunity to buy something. I’m… making a gift. F-for Mari.”

Sunny only looked at his friend. Basil’s smile was nervous as he watched his feet while walking. They were back in the toy section and going up and down the aisles looking for whatever it was that Basil was searching for.

“...Do you think she’d want it? I haven’t… I haven’t gone to see her since the funeral. I usually... asked Polly to deliver something for me.” His hair blocked his expression from Sunny’s sight. “...I’m sorry.”

“Hero didn’t go to see Mari until last year.” Sunny said in hope of comforting his friend. Basil didn’t respond, so he kept going, “I think she would like it.” If she could forgive Sunny, she could forgive Basil.

The aisle just seemed to go on forever. Sunny lost focus on the toys they passed and didn’t really take notice of the lack of other shoppers. He could only focus on Basil. 

“I’m scared.” The boy confessed softly. His hands clenched around the basket in his grip and they trembled a little. “After what we did… after what happened…” The store was getting dimmer. There were shadows that leaked from their footsteps across the linoleum. “Do you really think she’d be okay with getting a gift from me? From… from us?”

Sunny’s heart was pounding faster. The words that he’d had to comfort his friend were dying in his throat. He didn’t like this. But he persisted nonetheless. He wished that he could respond.

Basil came to a stop, and Sunny found himself just a step out of touch with him. They stood across from each other. Basil’s shoulders were shivering. Sunny’s hands clenched into fists. “I want to believe she would forgive us.” Basil said, “But… I don’t know if I can really believe that. Because there’s one thing that’s been stuck in my head since that day… the day Mari died…”

Sunny wanted to run.

Basil’s head lifted, and his panicked and terrified eyes were red. His pupils shuddered as he brought a hand to his chest. “Sunny… Do you know? Do you know if… was Mari still alive… when we hung her?”

Sunny felt like his heart might stop. He couldn’t open his mouth to respond. Something darted in and splattered like blood across Basil, and the boy screamed. The appendages shot out at Sunny and Sunny squeezed his eyes shut.

Nothing happened.

His eyes opened and he was completely alone. The store was bright again. And Sunny’s breathing was burdened and aching, like every inhale was against the will of the world around them. He couldn’t really grasp the abrupt transition right away. He took a moment to look around him, wondering where Basil could’ve gone. This was real, right? It was hard to tell. He wasn’t in the toys any longer. He had somehow wandered back to the home goods section.

He turned around and startled to see himself in a full length mirror. He looked pale and sweaty. His eyes were wide and fearful. His stomach churned. Hanging behind him was Mari. Her long black hair seemed to brush against the back of Sunny’s neck. She swayed a little in the breeze. Her arms were limp at her sides and she was too high up for him to see her face.

His heart was pounding in his ears. He covered his face as if he could hide and hold himself back. The world seemed to close in and around him. He wanted to think of nothing and see nothing. He wanted to be alone in a little white, empty room. He wanted to become nothing. But he couldn’t get the image of Mari’s corpse staring at him. He shouldn’t have looked back. He just… shouldn’t have… looked back.

“Sunny?” The voice was so far away. Sunny felt like he was sinking deeper. He wanted to be swallowed up. He curled in on himself. He was afraid. He both wanted to be alone, and not alone. “Sunny!”

There was a hand on his shoulder. He wanted to scream thinking it was Mari, but it sounded nothing like her. It was Basil. Some sick part of him was furious that he was there, but a larger part was so grateful. He pulled his face from his hands as his vision swam half with darkness and half with light. Basil’s face came into focus, just as scared as Sunny felt.

“Sunny…!” Basil’s expression broke as his heart did. His hands squeezed Sunny’s shoulders before he grabbed his hands instead. He felt a little steadier with someone to hang onto. “It’s okay. It’s okay, Sunny. There’s nothing here. There’s nothing here.”

Sunny didn’t know if that was true. He was terrified to look in the mirror once more. Mari was there. She was always with him.

“Trust me.” Basil whispered. “There’s nothing here.”

Out of everyone, Basil would know right?

Sunny closed his eyes again and tried to breathe through it. Calm down, he told himself. Just breathe. It’s not real. Focus on what’s real and let everything else fall away. Basil was real, right? He was here. He was holding Sunny’s hands like an anchor in the storm. He would trust that grasp. They had promised to be there for each other. This time, Sunny wouldn’t fail him.

He calmed down and the world felt like it was back in center. He opened his eyes once more. Basil tried to smile at him, though it was still very clearly shaken. “There you go.” He praised quietly. “You’re okay.”

Sunny could still feel the sweat on his skin as the two of them stood up from their crouches together. Basil hung onto one of Sunny’s hands and grabbed the basket from the floor. Sunny felt steadier, and he risked a look at the mirror. Mari was gone. There was only Basil and Sunny there, staring into the mirror cautiously together. Basil’s eyes drifted back to Sunny.

“...You wandered off when I wasn’t looking.” Basil answered the question that Sunny hadn’t yet formed in his mind. He started walking, taking his friend with him. Sunny went willingly. “What happened to you?”

Sunny wasn’t sure how to possibly explain what happened. “I had a nightmare.” He said instead. “And I had a hard time waking up.”

If it had been anyone else, he was sure he would’ve been questioned. But Basil must have understood what he had meant. “I hate when that happens.”

He wondered at what point the Basil he had been with had stopped being the real Basil. Or if that Basil had been just as real as this one. He was too scared to ask. “Me too. I hate it a lot.” He looked down. “Thank you for finding me.”

Basil squeezed his hand once more reassuringly. “You’re welcome. I know you would do the same for me.”

Chapter Text

Sunny liked to hold hands. It was something he had grown up with and it was a familiar comfort that had extended as far back to when he had first started walking. He didn’t look like it, but he was an affectionate person. He was just awkward about showing it and knew better than to just initiate physical contact out of nowhere. He only hugged people when he really felt like doing it. Mari had loved his hugs. Sunny had adored her hugs even more. She was the one who had gotten him used to holding hands. They were hugs that were more appropriate for any time. So, Sunny liked to hold hands.

He hadn’t held hands in a long time, though. He had actually forgotten about how much he had liked it after Mari had died. He had hated his hands. They were the hands that had killed Mari. They were the hands that he looked at and felt sick about. They were the hands that held knives and threw punches. They were the hands that wanted to kill him just like they had killed Mari. He didn’t want to hold hands with people because of it. 

Basil had held his hand after Mari’s death. Sunny had reacted coldly to anyone’s hugs during that time, so Basil had squeezed his hands instead. They were Sunny’s last grip on what felt like his humanity. He had promised that he wouldn’t let go of that hand. The hands that had pushed Mari fit surprisingly well with the ones that had made the noose to hang her body. The thought of that had sickened him. He had hated Basil. But he had hated himself more. So he had let go of that hand and had not looked back. He had locked everyone out of his mind and he was left completely alone. Mari could hug him in his dreams where his hands were clean of her blood. Nevermind the fact that they had held a knife, simply waiting for the last time he would use it to stab himself and never wake up again.

Basil had never forgotten how much Sunny had loved holding hands. It was clear he enjoyed it as well. Despite the broken promise between them, Basil’s hand still reached out and took his own. The same hand that had destroyed Sunny’s eye. The same hand that had punched Basil in his eye in return. They didn’t fit together as well. Basil’s hand was sweaty and too warm. Sunny’s was too cold and loose. But it was nice. Sunny liked it.

They held hands as they walked around the store and searched for the item that Basil wanted to get. He actually was trying to make a gift for Mari, so that part at least had been real. Sunny left the entire planning to Basil, though, since he had no idea what the boy was up to. It wasn’t until they found the pinwheels did he start to get more of a clue.

“They’re different from the ones we had.” Basil said as he released Sunny’s hand to pick through the container in search of one of the pinwheels he wanted. These were not one solid color like their old ones were. The pinwheels at the store had metallic coloring from the paper they used. Nevertheless, Basil still picked out one in all of their old colors. Sunny got silver, Hero’s blue, Kel’s orange, Aubrey’s pink, Basil’s green, and finally Mari’s purple. He put them all into his basket and let his eyes linger on them. “...It’s hard to find pinwheels nowadays like the ones we had. This design’s more popular. It’s kinda sad.”

Sunny didn’t respond. He picked up his pinwheel and blew on it. It spun cheerfully while reflecting the overhead lights.

“Let’s go pay for these now, okay? Then we can put them in my bag. Um, I hope they survive the trip… remind me not to let anything bend my bag.” Basil took the pinwheel back and the two walked towards the front of the store. Sunny wondered if he should take Basil’s hand again, but decided against it. Idly, he wondered what it would be like if he took any of his other friends’ hands. It was hard to picture.

Sunny stood in the magazine section and flipped through a mildly interesting one while Basil went to the checkout to pay for his items. When he was done, he returned to Sunny’s side and looked through the magazine with him. It was nice to do this, Sunny decided. He felt a lot calmer than he was before. He didn’t feel like there was darkness looming behind him anymore. He wanted to stay in this bubble for a while, so he prompted Basil to tell him about some of the new books he’d been reading. Basil gladly went on about some of his newest favorites. He’d had plenty of time to read books over the past few years, he said, and he knew for a fact there were ones that Sunny would enjoy.

Their conversation lasted up until Sunny spotted Hero back near the entrance of the store. He was alone and looking at his phone once more. He appeared to be waiting. He pointed this out to Basil, and the two walked over to their friend.

“Oh, hey, you found us.” Hero grinned at them. He pocketed his phone. “Or, I guess you found me.” 

“Where’s Kel?” Basil asked, looking around.

“He’s just outside. Aubrey messaged us that the girls wanted to put their things in the truck, so he’s meeting with them so they can do that.”

“Oh. They could use my bag…” He tapped the arm of his bag. Hero just shrugged.

“I guess they didn’t want to carry it?”

“Did you, um, get everything?”

He shook his head. “We didn’t find what we were looking for.” His smile was a bit regretful. Sunny still wasn’t sure what they were talking about. What had they discussed before they had all split up and why?

“Did you need help?” He suggested.

“Haha,” Hero patted Sunny on the shoulder once before winking at him. “Don’t worry about it, okay? Me and Kel’ll just try another time.” Sunny decided to drop it then. If Hero said it wasn’t important, it probably wasn’t.

They heard Kim’s voice as the groups gathered together once more. The sudden noise of his friends all together again helped to push back the last of the black fog that clung to the edges of Sunny senses. He was able to breathe freely again once more. They were too bright to possibly give him a moment to think and remember. He needed the break.

Kel brought the girls over and eagerly informed all of them of the items that the boys had gathered. Sunny soaked in the atmosphere of the playful banter as they once more returned to the toy section. This time Kim and Charlene joined in on Kel and Sunny setting off the toys, causing even more chaos with the sheer amount of flashing lights, tingling music, and robotic voices. Their laughter got them scolded by a nearby employee and Hero had to be the responsible adult to get all the kids in line.

“Alright, I think that’s enough money spent on beach stuff.” The man announced as he relinquished control of the shopping cart to Aubrey to push. Sunny stood on the opposite end so that she ended up pushing him around. Kel originally offered to push, but everyone predicted exactly how that would go and Hero rejected the idea. “Let’s head over to the craft supplies.”

“How many photo albums are we getting?” Kel asked.

“One for each of us.” Aubrey responded. “We’re all going to have a copy.”

“Have you guys considered, I don’t know, decorating them or whatever?” Kim suggested. Sunny blinked in surprise. He hadn’t expected that kind of idea from her.

“You mean like a, uh what’s it called, a scrapbook?” Kel asked.

“That might be fun.” Basil said.

“Yeah, like a scrapbook. If you’re gonna make them your own, you can just get a basic one and then decorate it. Or just do a scrapbook in general.” Kim said. “Charlene did one with Angel a while back, right?”

Charlene blushed a little. “...Yeah.”

“Scrapbooks might be useful, but we’re already spending a lot of money. I think if we decided to go that route, we would end up wasting a lot of money on supplies.” Hero said. He had a thoughtful look on his face, though, as he considered something. Whatever it was, he didn’t get to say it before Kel barreled on,

“They’d basically be the same thing anyway! Photo albums hold up better. I mean, just look at Basil’s! That lasted for years!”

“I don’t think five years is long in the grand scheme of things.” Aubrey rolled her eyes.

“It, uh, mostly sat on the shelf during that time too.” Basil added. “I agree that photo albums hold up better. Let’s go get those and the cameras.”

Sunny enjoyed being pushed around as he took in the store. It was so much bigger than he was used to, but not as big as the clothing store that his mother had taken him to when they had first moved to the city. Everything seemed a lot bigger since they had moved out of Faraway Town. He wondered if it was just because he was used to living in such a small place. His house had seemed far too big not that long ago too. He tried not to think about it.

The group of friends grabbed a disposable camera for each of them plus one extra. They were pretty cheap things to buy, but they predicted that they might burn through the film a lot faster than they would with Basil’s film. They all looked exactly alike as well so they ran the risk of mixing up each other’s cameras. It hardly mattered since they would be sharing pictures in the end anyway. That made Sunny excited.

His heart felt light as he considered many things he would’ve already taken pictures of. He didn’t want to forget a single moment if he could. He doubted he would be as skilled as Basil was with picking out the perfect moment to take a shot. Every little thing seemed important. He hoped that even half of his choices resonated with the others as much as he hoped that they would.

“Oh man, these photo albums are so weird !” Kel cried as they finally came to a stop in the craft section of the store. Kim and Charlene wandered a little to look at other things since they didn’t plan to buy any albums themselves, leaving the group to decide for themselves. Kel pulled out an album that looked like it had padding and flowery cloth over it. There were even bows and frilly ribbon around the edges. “Look at this thing! It looks like something our grandma would have, Hero!”

Hero huffed in amusement. “That actually looks exactly like the material used on her pillows.”

“Exactly!”

“This one’s nice and simple.” Basil pulled out a plain pleather album. It was rectangular and longer than it was tall. Flipping it open revealed plenty of pages and a place to write the owner’s name on the inside cover.

“Eh, it’s okay.” Aubrey shrugged, disinterested. Sunny grabbed one of the smaller photo albums. It looked like each page could hold one photo each, allowing for the ability to flip through it quickly. He frowned and decided he didn’t like it. He wanted to be able to write notes in it. The idea to find an album and decorate it was looking more appealing to him.

“Oh, this one’s for Kel.” Basil had a playful smile on his face as he grabbed a basketball-shaped album and held it out.

“Oh, heck yes!” Kel snatched the album with excitement.

“How would you even put that on a shelf? It looks like it’d roll right out.” Aubrey said. Sunny grabbed another one of the simpler albums. It was a plain black one with a window on the front to allow a single picture to be the cover. It was wide enough that he was sure he could fit something nice in there. He liked it. He put his into the shopping cart.

“Yeah, but picture it!” Kel flipped the album open and pointed. “Look, it has enough room to fit one picture and I can write right below it! Besides,” he snapped it closed and looked proud of himself, “if one day maybe I decide not to play basketball anymore, I’d know immediately when I got this! It’s perfect!”

“That… was actually a lot more thoughtful than I had expected coming from you.” Aubrey seemed honestly surprised.

“Hey!”

Basil laughed quietly. “You’re right, it’s perfect.”

“I think I’m gonna get this one, then.” Hero said as he showed off a thicker album. It had rings on it like a notebook, but the pages were thick enough that they couldn’t easily tear when flipped. It caused the book to look pretty thick, though. “Reminds me of my old cookbooks.”

“I thought you just chose that because you’re a nerd.” Kel snickered and Aubrey joined in.

“I kinda thought it looked like a notebook too.”

“Aw, really?” Hero gave the album a second look.

“I like it.” Sunny assured him. “It’s big, though.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty big. But I think I’ll be saving more pictures in it then you guys, so I wanna have the most room.”

“You really think so?” Basil asked.

“Yeah! I mean, even bad photos have memories with them, right? I’m thinking about making a bit of a collage out of certain moments depending on how we do the pictures. Or maybe I can use the bad photos for something else.”

“In that case, I’ll get this.” Aubrey pulled out a pastel plaid photo album. It had a big place on it to write perhaps a title of some sort on the front. It was a medium-sized book similar to Sunny’s. “This’ll stand out.”

“It’s cute.” Basil said. “I think I like the green one.” He grabbed a forest green album then. “And… I think I want to grab some paint too. So I can decorate the front.”

“That’s a good idea!” Hero said. “Some cheap paints wouldn’t be bad.”

“You’ve become stingier with money since you moved out.” Kel pouted playfully as the group left the aisle to look for the paints. They found Charlene and Kim already there looking over some stamp sets.

“College is hard, okay? I’m lucky if I can afford to make a good meal for myself.” Hero grouched a little.

“I thought it was a time issue?”

“It’s both.” Despite his complaining, though, Hero didn’t look too distressed. “Being a little frugal is just a sign that you’re growing up.”

“I just spend all of my money pretty much right away. I’m glad there’s a lot of jobs I can do for our neighbors. Remember when Sunny was still living in town? He spent his last three days doing all kinds of odd jobs! It was pretty impressive.”

“Oh yeah, I was surprised you had so many part time jobs.” Aubrey agreed as she looked at Sunny. “Helping neighbors I guess I can get behind, but I have no idea how you did the pizza delivery. I filled in for that one time and couldn’t read any of the handwriting.”

“I’m good at puzzles.” Sunny said simply. “I have a lot of experience.”

“You do?”

“You guys done?” Kim interrupted then. “As much fun as this is, I’m itching to get some grub. I can feel my sugar high crashing!”

“Pfft, I didn’t even see you get candy! Watch out or your mom’ll see you!” Kel teased.

“Shut up, stupid! Ugh, don’t you dare tell her!”

“I’m ready to head out too. We can drop everything off at the truck and then, I don’t know-” Hero began when Aubrey cut him off to finish,

“Waste the rest of our time?”

“It’s not wasting time if we’re having fun.” Kel beamed as he leaned on the handlebar of the shopping cart. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m having a great time!”

The group glanced at each other before smiles bloomed on most of their faces. Basil and Sunny’s eyes met, and Basil’s gaze softened. He looked relieved. Sunny nodded in agreement to Kel’s words. “Me too.” He said.

“Then let’s head out! What was that thing you said yesterday, Aubrey? Something about Chinese food? Count me in! I’m so ready to get some greasy lo mein in me!” Kel punched the air once eagerly.

“Ugh, now I’m starving .” Kim whined. “Good going.”

“C’mon, then.” Hero encouraged as they all headed back to the front of the store to go pay for their items. Sunny felt nothing but relief and happiness as he looked at their haul. All of it spoke of the good times that were no doubt to come. He couldn’t wait to start making those memories.

Chapter Text

Running away was something easy for Sunny to do. It hadn’t been easy at first. He had struggled with his guilt and his selfishness. He still did to an extent, but the sharp edges of those feelings were dulled by cotton that filled his mind and blocked out everything else. First, he ran away from what he did to Mari. Then he ran away from any source of sympathy. Then he ran away from his promises, his shattered heart, his memories, and then, eventually, even reality. He ran and ran until he would trip and fall and jostle his feelings enough to feel them through the sweet cotton candy flavor of Headspace. He hid his pains away to places where he couldn’t find them, locked in a closet that didn’t exist in the reality Sunny had run to. But eventually, his tired legs could not run any longer. He’d had to make a choice. And despite the hardships, it had been worth turning around to face the monster that had nipped at his heels.

He had a recurring nightmare of his final night in Faraway Town. In that nightmare, he had never stopped running. He remembered what he had done and his heart hadn’t been able to handle it. He had not been able to forgive Basil, and so he had refused to face reality and had left his friend behind to be eaten by the monster that had hunted them both. In his dream he would wake up while it was still dark, but Aubrey, Kel, and Hero were not sleeping with him any longer. Their blankets were the only signs left of them. The darkness was made of soft white noise.

It usually took Sunny a moment to pick up the sounds of weeping from the hallway. In the hazy atmosphere of the night, he was unable to see into the darkness. He would have to approach for himself to see what the crying was about. And no matter how many times Sunny had the dream, the results were always the same. He never remembered why there was crying. His heart was numbed from the horror of his sleep and his memory recollection of what he and Basil had done. Curiosity drove him to enter that darkness and find what had happened.

The sight of Aubrey and Kel sobbing was not one he had ever wanted to see again. Especially Kel, who never cried from sorrow easily. They both only had one line for Sunny to hear as they repeated it over and over again,

“I’m so sorry, Basil… Please forgive me...”

“Why, Basil…? Why did you do it? Sunny… Why does this keep happening to us?”

Horror like the waters of the lake filling his lungs began to drown him, but still Sunny went on. Heavy legs moved to Hero, whose face was in his hands and turned away from where he stood on one side of Basil’s door. Polly stood on the other, pale with shock and grief. Hero barely appeared to be holding it together, if only because he felt that he had to be strong. When he looked at Sunny, his tear-filled eyes were haunted. He looked so tired. It almost reminded Sunny of the last time he had seen him shortly before Sunny had chosen to never leave his house again.

“Please… Sunny. You shouldn’t be seeing this.” His shaking hand covered his eyes as he turned away, unable to bear facing him any longer. “You’re supposed to be moving out today… On your way to a fresh new start.” He turned back to Sunny once more and lowered his trembling hand. He tried his best and failed to give what was probably supposed to be an encouraging face. “We’ll take care of everything here. Go on ahead… We’ll be okay… I think.” His voice broke at the end, and Sunny refused to look at him any longer. Instead his eyes fell on Basil’s door and what he already suspected lay beyond it. He couldn’t stop himself from looking, though. He needed to see. He needed to understand.

Something was right behind Sunny. He could feel its presence. He didn’t have to turn to see it. It watched him as he turned the knob to Basil’s room and looked inside as the door creaked open. The first thing he saw through the darkness was Something’s eye gazing back at him. Black like blood splattered against the wall and against the front of Basil’s shirt on his slumped form. Something had managed to get him and kill him. It had only been a matter of time.

The door slammed shut of its own accord as Sunny lost feeling in his hands and he backed up. His back bumped against Something. Before his eyes, Basil’s door disappeared. And suddenly, there was nothing to see. There was nothing there. He didn’t understand why his friends were grieving. He only knew that he had one thing to do, and he was no longer needed there.

He left Basil’s house, and he returned to his own. A shiny steak knife sat waiting for him on the kitchen counter. He would need that. He had to wake up from this nightmare. There was only one way to do it.

When he laid down in his bed, he pressed the edge of the knife to his stomach while the spiderweb of Something hovered above him. It was coming for him next. He was going to be eaten as well. He couldn’t run forever. But he could try.

As Something watched him, floating like a corpse in a tree and simply waiting, Sunny pressed the knife in. The sensation was almost comforting.

And he woke up on the floor. Bile pressed against his throat and he hurried from the room to the bathroom. He barely made it to the toilet before he threw up. The bile ran from his nose and blended with his sobbing as he choked on the flavor. Reality was harsh and unbearable. He hated throwing up even if that was also familiar to him. He had gotten better about eating properly, but situations like this just couldn’t be helped.

It was hard to cry like this, but it was harder not to. He let out a quiet whimper when the nausea faded and he used a tissue to wipe at his face and blow his nose. He flushed the toilet and moved to the sink to clean his face and mouth. He was too scared to look at the mirror.

It had been easier before he allowed himself to feel again. The only thing that had broken through the thick, oppressing numbness had been the sharp knife of fear. Everything else had been gone and Sunny had had nothing left. There were days he still wished that he felt like that because everything else felt like it was far too strong for his fragile heart. 

He wiped his face off and left the bathroom. He had almost made it back to his bedroom when the soft keys of a piano tinkled in the night air. He paused and glanced at the gloom downstairs. The piano music was so gentle. It was almost enough that Sunny could sleep to it, but he wasn’t so sure he was going to get rest anytime soon. He risked stepping down the stairs. When nothing attacked him, he felt more confident in walking just a little bit faster. His eyes were already on the entryway leading into the piano room. 

Mari and her piano were at work when Sunny stepped past the door frame. The grass that was in the room was soft against his feet and the moonlight seemed to sparkle as it reflected off of the shiny wood of the piano from the large window. Mari was playing just like she always was. She was wearing pajamas today, as if the night was too busy for her to sleep as well and she felt the urge to spend her energy on something better. Sunny stood there and watched her silently. Her eyes were closed and peaceful with a smile on her face. She was content with the music she was making.

He wasn’t sure if she even knew he was there. His fingers twitched as if he was holding his violin. He closed his eyes as well and felt the weight of it as he got into position to play. When he moved the bow, though, no music played. He was fine with that. He would rather his playing not interrupt hers. He had no idea what the song was anyway and he was only guessing the notes.

“It’s a shame you can’t play with me anymore, even if I understand why.” Mari said with a wistful tone. He opened his eyes and saw her looking at him from the corner of her own eye before her hair fell to block her expression. “I’ve always liked your playing. It wasn’t perfect, but I kinda really liked it for that. I’m sorry I couldn’t realize that in time.”

Sunny didn’t want her apologies. He didn’t want to think about it. Mari didn’t say anymore and continued playing. Sunny lowered his arms and watched her. He memorized the gentle swaying of her shoulders and torso as her hands moved. Her bare feet shifted on the pedals. Even the crickets were silent as they listened to the gentle music. It was enough that Sunny felt his battered heart regain some of the health it had lost.

A hand touched his shoulder then. Sunny jolted and jumped away as the music cut off and he spun around. Hero stood there, eyes a little wide at Sunny’s reaction. He was dressed in pajamas as well, though he looked nothing like Headspace Hero. Too old. He was wearing shorts and a tank top as well. His hair was still messy, though.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you. I wasn’t sure what you were doing out here.” Hero’s face was apologetic. It was a better expression than the last face Sunny had seen him with. The chirping of crickets filled the void that Mari’s piano had left. It suddenly occurred to Sunny that he wasn’t in the piano room of his house. The grass he was standing on was the backyard of Hero and Kel’s house. He wasn’t even in his own house. He hadn’t realized.

He didn’t answer Hero as he looked around himself instead. Hero watched him before he understood Sunny wasn’t going to say anything. So he explained, “I, uh, saw you from the open window. You were just standing out here looking at your old house. Are you... “ He didn’t look like he knew what to say.

Despite the summer air, Sunny felt a little chilly. The grass was damp with dew. The sky was just a bit brighter than it would be in the deepest of nights. Dawn was on its way. “...I had a nightmare.” He said then quietly. “And I thought I heard piano music.” He looked back towards his old house once more. Was this what it was like for Hero and Kel when Mari would practice? Could they really hear her that well?

“Ah… you too?” His eyes jumped to Hero, who smiled a little sadly. “That’s, um, what woke me up. I had thought I heard piano music too. It… I had thought for a moment…” He didn’t need to finish. “Then I saw you.”

It was moments like these that made Sunny think that Mari was still around. Hero could hear her too. His heart was connected to hers as well.

“C’mon over here. It’s not really safe to walk barefoot back here. Kel doesn’t always clean up after Hector.” He motioned with his hand and walked to the back porch to sit at the deck tables there. He had been smart enough to wear slippers. Sunny followed after him and checked his feet to make sure there was only dirt there when he sat down. He had been lucky. The two sat in peaceful quiet for a few moments as they absorbed the undisturbed night air. Sunny could feel the weight of being one of the only two people awake. It felt like they were the only ones in the world.

“Do you have nightmares a lot?” Hero finally asked after a few minutes. Sunny’s eyes drifted back to him. Hero’s expression was hard to read in the shadows where the moon couldn’t touch.

“Sometimes.” Sunny confessed. “Sometimes… it’s hard to tell what’s a nightmare and what’s not.”

“What do you mean?” Everything about Hero’s tone said that his questions were always optional for Sunny to answer. He chose to answer them anyway. The secrecy of the night infected him once more. Hero was, perhaps, the only one of his friends outside of Basil who could understand.

“Everyday I felt like I was suffocating in that house.” Sunny’s hands moved on each other, warming them even though they weren’t actually cold. “Waking up felt like more of a nightmare than being asleep. But when I was asleep, I also had nightmares sometimes. It became… hard for me to tell the difference.”

Hero was struck silent. He swallowed audibly. “O... Oh.”

Sunny decided to rescue him from the conversation he knew that neither of them wanted to have then. Instead he chose a harder topic. “I’m better.” He assured him. “I just… I have a recurring nightmare. One that… isn’t what you think it is.”

“Me too.” Hero confessed, folding his arms across the table. “Do you want to talk about it? I know it’s hard… but I’m here for you.”

Sunny wanted to be there for Hero as well. He could be sacrificial at times. That was why Sunny was careful. Hero wasn’t fragile in the least, but he deserved better than what Sunny could give him. “I dream about that night at Basil’s house. What do you know about what happened that day?” He’d never really asked. He had gathered some information from his friends, but he and Basil had never told them directly what it had been about.

Hero took a breath and released it. He seemed steadier and calmer. He was back to being that strong older brother figure that Sunny had always seen him as. “We know that you and Basil got into a fight while we were asleep. And obviously it was bad. I… Well, I have suspicions about why you fought, but they don’t seem completely accurate with all the clues that were there.” Sunny waited for him to continue. “You were trying to stop him… from killing himself, right?” Hero’s expression became pained. “I mean… we all suspected it. That’s why I thought we should stay. I didn’t ever want to… to think that Basil would do something like that… but, well, it was clear he was struggling. Was that what happened?”

“I’m not sure.” Sunny admitted, but his tone said enough to his agreement. He had assumed that Basil was going to kill himself that night as well. The signs of Something catching up to him was too great. His breakdowns and the hollow look in his eyes reminded Sunny of his own reflection. And Sunny had thought about committing suicide more times than he could count. “I don’t really remember why I went in there. I… didn’t have a plan. I just wanted to talk to him. But it all became too much, and I couldn’t run away.”

Hero frowned. “What do you mean?”

Sunny’s hands were sweaty. He rubbed them on his shorts. “I don’t know.” He hedged instead of answering. “What happened that night… It had been another nightmare. I’m not sure how much of it was real.” Hero was silent in response. Sunny pressed on, “My recurring nightmare is of that night, but I didn’t confront Basil. And he died. And I… I just want to wake up afterwards. So I would… I…” he didn’t finish. He was unable to confess his sin.

“Thank goodness it’s only a nightmare, then.” Hero said. He reached for Sunny’s hand and grabbed it. Sunny startled at his touch. He hadn’t held hands with Hero since they were little. The other man’s eyes were sincere and heartfelt as he gazed at his friend. “As long as you know it’s just a dream. Basil’s here and he’s happy again. You’re both safe.”

Sunny swallowed thickly. “Y...yeah.”

Hero released him and sighed. “That sounds horrifying. My nightmares… they’re not usually like that. But… I did have a dream once that I think shook me more than anything else. Will you hear me out?” Why did that sound so ominous? Sunny nodded. It was his turn to support his friend. “Don’t take me the wrong way, okay? Please. I can’t control what I dream about.” Did he kill Sunny in his dreams, perhaps? That was fine. It was the least he could do for his friends, dying for them in their dreams. “I dreamt that I let you drown. You and Basil both. I… I had known you were both in there, but I just… I didn’t want to jump in.” He brought hand to his mouth and wiped it as if he could wipe the words clean. “I didn’t want to save you. I’m so sorry. It’s… I still can’t believe that I…”

“It’s okay.” Sunny said.

“No, it’s not! It’s…!”

“It is.” Sunny insisted. “I understand. I… I really do.”

Hero looked sick. “...Sunny, um… Do you… Like Basil, did you want to…?”

He wasn’t sure how to answer that, so he kept it simple, “All the time.” Then, quieter and with the weight of it all pressing on him, “All the time.”

“Don’t.” Hero pleaded then. “I… Trust me, I know how hard it is. But please, don’t ever do it. Talk to one of us first. Any of us.” His voice choked up a little. “I don’t want to lose you too.”

Tears sprang to Sunny’s eye at his words. He wiped them away. “I will.” He swore. “I’m better now.”

“If ever you need me, I’ll come to your house right away. Any time, okay? Day or night.” Sunny wasn’t sure he could ever be so selfish as to ask that, but he wasn’t one to deny the offer. So he nodded. This time he was the one to hesitantly reach out his hand. But Hero didn’t just take his hand. He stood up and pulled Sunny into a hug and held him a little too tightly. Sunny closed his eyes and pressed his face to his friend’s chest and hugged him back. Hero sniffed over him but didn’t seem to be crying. He pressed a hand to the back of Sunny’s head and simply held him.

A few moments passed like that. His hand trailed from Sunny’s hair and down to his shoulder as they pulled away. He wiped at his own eyes and gave a huff of a laugh. “I’m glad I could finally talk to you about this. I’ve been worrying about it for a long time. I just didn’t expect it to go like this.”

Sunny nodded in agreement.

“I know that it’s gotta be hard talking about all of this. I know it’s not easy for any of us either. But I hope that it helps you and Basil both. They say that times of hardship have a way of bringing people together.” He smiled a little before his eyes drifted back to Sunny’s old house. His gaze became nostalgic and sad once more, “...I still think of her all the time. And I know you must as well. I’m not really a believer of ghosts or anything, but I can feel her spirit sometimes.” His hand released Sunny and pressed to his own chest. “It feels warm, just like her.”

“Me too.” Sunny whispered. He saw her just in the kitchen window watching them like she had done countless times before. She was smiling. And then she was gone again. 

Hero’s eyes followed Sunny’s gaze, but didn’t see anything. His hand moved to rub at his neck before he sighed. “...We should get some sleep. It’s late. Or, uh, early. If you can’t fall back asleep, then you can just nap during the day. There’s nothing wrong with having a lazy summer day once in a while, haha!”

Sunny gave Hero a soft smile which Hero returned two-fold. No more words were said between them as they went back inside and hoped to get some more sleep.

Chapter Text

He didn’t really know how he got there, but Sunny dreamed that he tried to dip his toes into the Inky Ocean only to fall in instead. The waves wrapped him up and his weight was pulled inexplicably down. His presence barely left a ripple on the surface. Nobody would be able to find him as he sank deeper and deeper. He dreamt of technicolor waterscapes that sparkled and burned across the black expanse like colonies of ants. It reminded him of when he would press his hands too hard against his closed eyes to make the colors bloom there. He was weightless and yet too heavy. He was mesmerized by just how far the darkness stretched out. He wondered if he would ever sink to the bottom and was scared to find out.

Then he began to float upwards, though he had no way of telling what was truly up or down. His body floated and he rose until his eyes opened to the sight of bright sunlight streaming in through the open window. The fan churned above him, moving the too-warm air enough to circulate it but not to cool him. Outside, there was a lawnmower going and birds were chirping. Sunny was suddenly unsure if he had slept at all or if he had only dozed. Did he even wake up in the middle of the night? Or had that been a dream as well? He didn’t know.

What time was it? He rubbed the sleep from his eye as he moved mechanically through his morning routine. He really didn’t want to, but he knew that he needed to. He wanted to go back to sleep again. Fatigue still dragged at his bones. He probably didn’t sleep at all. Hero and Kel’s beds were empty and made up. He wondered if Hero had made Kel’s bed or if Kel actually did it. He hadn’t noticed before.

He felt like he was in a bit of a haze of thought as his body moved on instinct to wash up, brush his teeth, and carefully put his eye in place. Considering how gross his mouth tasted, he had a feeling that last night really had occurred. In the bright daylight of the morning last night’s events felt even more like a dream. He looked… not great as he gazed at himself in the mirror. Familiar bags under his eyes seemed darker. He knew that rather than from lack of sleep, his expression came from his emotional state. It wasn’t as bad as it could be. In fact, he felt like he was in a better place than he had been before. Talking about those things with Hero last night had hurt him, but it had hurt in a way that would help to facilitate healing. That’s what he wanted to believe, anyway. The worst was still to come. He could do this.

He walked downstairs and kept an eye out for his friends. The sunlight was quite bright. He had a feeling he had slept in late. He was proven correct when he found Hero and Kel in the dining room with their sister Sally playing with her toys in Hero’s lap. They were both fully dressed and ready for the day.

“Good morning!” Hero greeted cheerfully. He looked a little tired as well, Sunny thought, but he was better at hiding it.

“Morning…” Kel groaned in stark contrast to Hero. He was hunched over a couple of notebooks with his hand buried in his loose hair. His face was screwed up with concentration and pain. It was a familiar expression on his face. “Argh, this isn’t fair! Why does Sunny get to sleep in while I have to do homework?!”

“Kel, you’re already halfway into summer vacation. You need to do your homework before school starts again. You might as well do it now.” Hero said in a tone that told Sunny he had already explained this once.

“Yeah!” Sally cried, hitting her small stuffed doll on the table excitedly. Hero bounced her in his lap as she giggled.

Kel slumped on the table, lip jutting out in a pout. Then he turned his head to its side to look at Sunny, “Sunny, tell him to let me go! You’re only in town for a little while! I don’t want to do homework!”

Sunny felt for him, he really did. “Are we doing anything today?” He asked, hoping to prompt some ideas.

“Sorry, Sunny.” Hero said. “Mom and Dad are both working, so we’re babysitting today. They’ll be back this evening and then we can do something if you want to go out together later.” He leaned back in his chair and helped Sally stand on his legs when the girl clearly wanted to stand. She shook her diaper butt excitedly, bouncing some. Hero wrapped his arm around her waist to support her. “I figured we can have the lazy day I mentioned before. You were sleeping like a log and Kel has to finish his homework anyway. What do you think?”

That was fine with him. He didn’t mind lazing around the house at all. Kel protested, though, “Noooo! I don’t want to be stuck inside! C’mon, we can do something else!”

“If you finish your homework, then you won’t have to do it later with Mom getting on your case.”

“It’s not difficult!”

“Then there’s no problem doing it now.”

Sunny decided to leave the brothers to bicker with each other and headed into the kitchen in search of food. Hearing their argument made his heart warm. In the past, Hero had been a lot more lenient about making Kel do anything he didn’t want to. That was the main reason why Kel’s grades had slipped. It appeared that Hero was going to be stubborn at least about this. It looked like he had learned to say no to his brother. Sunny also had a feeling that Kel wasn’t as bothered by it as he liked to pretend.

He found some cold waffles and bacon in the microwave with some tin foil over them. He removed the foil and heated the food up while he thought about what he wanted to do. He could just go back to sleep, but he didn’t really want to. He could easily have adventures with his real friends right now and didn’t want to waste it by dreaming. Besides, he wasn’t completely sure he could enter Headspace at the moment. He wasn’t sure if last night was a real dream he had in Headspace or if it was a normal dream. The line was pretty blurry. So for now he would leave it. He was sure things were fine there anyway. He never had to really worry about it any longer.

That actually made him remember that he hadn’t really called his mother back yet. He left his microwaved food to finish heating and went back upstairs to grab his phone and his camera before he forgot that as well. He changed clothes by just putting on some shorts and slipping on a thin zip-up sleeveless vest. He pulled on some socks too so he was ready to go out should he choose to do so. He then closed the window to the boys’ room that he had a feeling Kel had left open. His parents would probably be annoyed about that and wasting electricity. He went back downstairs.

He brought his food over to the table to sit with the brothers as Hero assisted Kel with his homework and made some casual conversation with Sunny while he ate. Sunny liked just spending time like this too. He didn’t need to be doing really anything to have a good time with his friends. It reminded him of lazy Sunday mornings spent watching cartoons before violin practice and then evenings of the younger kids binging their homework that would be due on Monday morning. There had been a lot of copying each other’s notes and work involved and it had been done mostly out of earshot of Hero and Mari who would scold them. It was a lavender-tinted memory filled with the flavors of too-bland tea and pleasantly sweet banana bread.

He decided he wanted to capture this feeling and snapped a picture of Sally and Hero both leaning over to point at Kel’s homework while Kel continued to look frustrated but still determined. It caught the boys’ attention as Sunny lowered the camera and wound the film.

“Oh right!” Kel cried. “I had forgotten about the cameras! Haha, what were you even taking a picture of?”

Sunny didn’t respond and pocketed the camera once more, pleased. He thought that one would turn out well. Basil would like it, he thought.

“Looks like Sunny got to snag the prize of being the first picture.” Hero laughed as he stopped Sally from crawling on the table. The girl was getting antsy, so he put her down. There was a toy box in the corner for her to explore.

“Nah, that still goes to Basil. I’m counting the ones from the playground, after all!”

“Oh right, that’s true. Alright, the first picture on our new cameras.” Sunny was proud to be the first. “Did you have any homework you need to work on too, Sunny? I can help you out with it while we’re here.”

Sunny shook his head. He had work he had to do, but he had already done everything he needed to cover for this week. He hadn’t wanted anything to ruin their fun. Now he kind of regretted it because it would’ve helped to have Hero tutoring him and Kel by his side to struggle.

“I know Aubrey does! Let’s drag her over here to suffer with me! Basil too! We have different classes, but all of our core classes are pretty much the same!” Kel demanded.

“How about it then? Do you want to go pick Aubrey and Basil up?” Hero asked Sunny.

“I’m coming too!”

“No, Kel. Just focus.”

“Ugh!” 

Sunny shrugged and nodded. He didn’t mind going to pick up their friends. 

“Can’t we just message them?” Kel asked. 

“Hmm, that’s true too.”

“Besides, Sunny doesn’t like being alone.” He looked towards his friend. “Right?”

That was still true. Sunny didn’t like traveling alone. The thought of walking around alone when his friends were here only added to that. Whenever he was alone, only bad things happened. However, he was older and he had more experience traveling alone. Aubrey and Basil weren’t that far. A few minutes would be fine.

“I’ll be okay.” He said. The betrayal on Kel’s face was honestly pretty funny. Hero hiding his snickers behind his hand only added to it. Sunny grabbed his empty plate and silverware to bring over to the sink. He didn’t really want to wash it, though. He hated doing dishes.

“I’ll take care of the dishes, Sunny!” Hero called after him as if he could read his mind. Or maybe he just remembered Sunny’s dislike of dishwashing. Hero and Mari had always done it for Sunny. He didn’t mind helping to dry and put the dishes away, though, as long as he had helpers.

“Then I’ll go now.” He said to them. “I’ll be back in a little while.”

“See you later!”

“Take me with you!” Kel cried, but Sunny ignored his friend’s plight to put his shoes on and leave the house. The summer air was sticky again. He pulled a face and thought about how he should probably put on more sunscreen, but he wasn’t even sure he was going to be outside that long. He figured he could risk it as he pulled out his phone to give his mother a quick phone call as he headed for Aubrey’s house.

He wasn’t on the phone with his mother long. Their phone calls rarely lasted longer than five minutes if there wasn’t much to talk about, and Sunny would fill her in on anything important when he got home. He knew that she understood that. She had more important things to do, and Sunny preferred to get on with his day as well. She thanked him for checking in with her. His conversation was over with her by the time he reached Aubrey’s house. He found the girl by her bike, getting ready to go somewhere herself.

“Oh. Hey, Sunny.” She said. Sunny waved to her and looked at her bike. “Sorry, I know you’re only here for a little while, but I have some stuff I gotta do today. We can hang out later.” She paused and then added, “Is that okay?”

He nodded, feeling a little disappointed. He decided to tell her anyway, “Hero is forcing Kel to do his homework right now.”

“Is he? That’s hilarious. I actually had a bet going with my friends on whether or not Kel would actually finish the summer homework before school started. Guess I won that one.” She kicked the kickstand up and walked the bike to the sidewalk with Sunny. “If I could, I’d come over. Hero’s always been really good about tutoring. Sorry again.”

“It’s okay.”

“It’s weird to see you alone.” It was hard to read her expression. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” He looked to the side.

“Liar.” She sighed through her nose and then punched his shoulder once softly. “I’ll see you later. We can mess with Kel about being bullied into actually doing schoolwork.” She straddled her bike, but didn’t immediately pedal off. She looked back at him once more with a less-guarded expression as she frowned. Then she gave him a reassuring smile, “It’s kinda nice knowing that when I get done with my stuff I can go to hang out with you all again. It’s pretty nostalgic. It’s good to have you back, Sunny. Really.” She seemed embarrassed by her confession then and cleared her throat. “Anyway, see you later.” She took off down the street then as Sunny watched her go. He felt his cheeks warm a little. He felt the same way as her, after all. 

Okay, Basil’s house now. He turned and made his way to the other boy’s house. The possibility of Basil having not done his summer homework already was unlikely. He had always been the most responsible of the younger kids. Sunny had always had to be prodded into doing his homework alongside Mari. He never liked to choose to do it first unless he was using it as an excuse to get Mari to make time for him among her busy schedule. Later on it was typically him and Basil doing their homework together instead. Aubrey had liked to pretend that she was responsible with keeping up with her homework, but as soon as she wasn’t thinking about it she usually forgot about it until the last minute like Kel did.

Polly was the one to answer the door when he knocked. She looked pretty with her hair tied in a loose ponytail. “Hello, Sunny! Here for Basil again?” She smiled like she was holding back a secret shared between them. Sunny nodded. “Come on in out of the heat, then. He should be in his bedroom.”

He stepped past the door frame and made his way to Basil’s room. He pointedly ignored the sickening drag of his memories and nightmares as he knocked on the door to Basil’s room rather than simply open it like he had in the past. When Basil opened the door, Sunny was stunned by just how different it looked.

Just like Kel had said, Basil’s room looked almost like a forest. He had completely new wallpaper that made it seem like there were vines that decorated every surface. He had at least three new shelves with all kinds of herbs and flowering plants. There were a couple of potted trees as well that looked like they were too young to put outside. In between all of it were Basil’s usual furniture with his desk, bookshelves, and bed. Everything had been rearranged since the last time Sunny had been there. He was amazed by it all.

“Hi.” Basil greeted as Sunny made no notion of hiding his wonder as he took it all in. “Hehe, it looks a lot different, huh?”

He could only nod.

“It’s a bit much, I think. But, um, after the hospital visit my parents wanted to give me a bunch of presents to lift my spirits. They… well, I think they only know that I like plants. So here I am.”

“That happened to me too.” Sunny informed him. “I got a lot of flowers.” Almost everyone in the neighborhood had given Sunny a get-well present after they had heard he had been hospitalized. Most of the plants died because Sunny just had no idea how to care for them properly, but he still had a couple of them at his house that had survived with Basil’s tips. Also, the cactus was extremely hard to kill on accident. 

Basil laughed a little. “I remember.” They both took a moment to look at the room before he asked, “Um, are Hero or Kel with you?”

He shook his head.

“Oh!” His surprise was clear.

“Hero is forcing Kel to do homework. Did you want to come?”

“Really? I had thought for sure Kel would completely forget… I guess Aubrey wins this time.” He sighed good-naturedly. “Sure! I’ll come over. I don’t really have any homework to do, though. Um… did we have any plans today?”

Sunny shook his head. Actually, looking at these plants reminded him, “Did you want help in your garden?”

“Oh, yeah, of course. But it’s already hot out. How about tomorrow morning?” Sunny nodded. That was fine by him. “So it’s a lazy day?” He asked as he grabbed a messenger bag and placed both his camera and his disposable camera as well as his wallet into it.

“Maybe.” Sunny thought about it as the two of them left the room. “I was… thinking about making some money.” He had admittedly spent a lot already and he wasn’t even halfway through his vacation with his friends. He had anticipated this, though. “Did you want to help?”

“Oh… sure. I don’t know how good I’ll be, though.” He rubbed his arm nervously. It would be good experience for them both. They could split the money, maybe, and Sunny hadn’t gotten to hang out with Basil during his last days in town. The shopping trip was also somewhat of a disaster. He just wanted to hang out with one of his old best friends.

“It’ll be fun.” He assured him even while knowing that it would definitely be a chore. The thought of hitting those irritating flies was already aggravating him. But he was still going to do it anyway if he could.

“Right.” Basil agreed, still looking unsure. His expression cleared just a little bit anyway. “It’s been a while since it was just the two of us… let’s make it an adventure, okay?”

Sunny nodded, already looking forward to it. Burdensome jobs didn’t seem as bad when he had a friend helping him do it.

Chapter Text

Instead of returning to Kel’s house, Basil simply texted them that he and Sunny would be hanging out around town. They both agreed that if they met up with the boys again that Kel would most likely try to escape with them. For the sake of saving Hero from Kel’s imminent escape when he had to take care of their sister, they just went off on their own. It was a fun decision. Talking with Basil was easy. Basil wasn’t too much of a chatterbox, but he was easy to make conversation with. He usually had something to talk about that wasn’t too heavy. As they went around town to gather trash for the recycling lady at the park, Sunny was told of the different things that Basil had been up to.

He had been going to therapy a lot. It had been mandatory for him after he had been institutionalized. He had hated being in the institution, but he explained to Sunny that it had been something he was kind of relieved to do. He hadn’t realized just how bad off he was until he’d had his breakdown, and his guilt had driven him to try his hardest to get better. His therapist in particular was really nice, though Basil had yet to tell her the root of his issues. She had pushed a couple of times, but he had refused to tell her.

Sunny was the same way. He knew that there wasn’t really a way he could get better until he faced it all head on and had guidance from someone who could properly help him, but it just didn’t feel right. He and Basil were in agreement that first and foremost the people who should hear the entire truth should be their friends. Their therapists could come afterwards.

“Do your parents know?” Basil asked a little more casually than his face expressed as he hauled the trash bag over his shoulder.

Sunny shook his head. “No.” He didn’t plan to tell them either. His mother wasn’t fully healed, but her heart had already scarred over. His father was no longer in the picture other than to pay for child support. Telling the truth would break up what little bit of family Sunny had left.

Basil didn’t tell him that he should. He just continued on with his own story. Kel and Aubrey had come to visit him in the institution where Aubrey had proceeded to give a proper apology. It had been very tearful all around. Sunny still remembered Kel telling him about that. Basil had forgiven the girl then and there.

“I didn’t blame her.” He explained as they turned in their trash to the recycling lady. There were a couple of cats about. Sunny decided they would go to get plenty of fish to go around town and feed some of the cats they came across. “I knew she didn’t know the truth but… I guess I kind of wanted her to punish me. I’d rather her be mad at me than at you.”

Sunny shook his head. “You shouldn’t have.” He didn’t deserve to be placed on the pedestal that Basil had put him on. He had been a terrible friend, and a horrible person all around.

“I know. I just wanted to help you.” Basil admitted quietly. Sunny felt ill thinking about it. So Basil went on, pushing past that.

Things became more normal for him. He and Sunny had been in contact and talked every now and again, after all, and at school Basil was brought with Kel to meet many of his friends. Basil was friendly with them, at least, and felt at least not totally awkward around Aubrey’s friends. It had taken some adjustment and some harsh admonishing from Aubrey before they had stopped pushing Basil around. The sudden change wasn’t lost on them. Basil wasn’t completely sure how to act around them anymore. He didn’t see himself as having a friend group anymore, but he was happier now. Kel went out of his way multiple times to make sure he and Aubrey went to visit Basil.

“He told me that he didn’t want to make the same mistakes he did all those years ago.” He said as the boys bought the fish with the money they earned from picking up trash. They also bought an ice cream cone each after they had properly washed their hands. Sunny’s was mint chocolate chip. Basil’s was strawberry. It felt very earned. They were both sweaty and from the sun. They took their treats to go hang out in their secret spot. Sunny hoped they made it before they started melting. “I’m, um, really grateful for it. Honestly! But I feel kind of bad that Kel has to go out of his way for me.”

“He wouldn’t if he didn’t want to.” Sunny assured him. Kel had always been that type of guy. He genuinely wanted to help anyone that he came across and encouraged those he interacted with. Sunny still had the sketch from the budding artist he and Kel had met during those last days of Sunny being in town. That was proof enough for him. “He called my house every week leading up to us moving when he found out.”

“Did he really? That… That sounds like him.” Basil fell silent. They made their way through the underbrush that had become overgrown from lack of people traveling through it. That didn’t mean the old path that had been there since they were kids wasn’t still there though. It took a little more effort to get to now since it was a little overgrown, but that just made it all the more exciting when they arrived. It hadn’t changed very much at all since the last time Sunny had been there. They took a seat in the grass under the shade of a tree and began to eat their ice cream.

So much had happened in this place that it felt almost surreal to be back there. The water no longer seemed threatening to him. The statue that stood in the middle of the lake seemed smaller than ever. The picnic blanket that had been there last time was gone, but the colorful pinwheels were still on the other side of the lake. Sunny gazed at them wistfully, thinking back to when he and his friends had planted them there as a way to mark the area as their secret base.

“...Sunny,” Basil’s voice sounded distant even though he was right next to Sunny. His eyes were a little dark and sad, “I don’t really want to ruin our good day but… I know I probably won’t have another chance to ask you. I don’t think we’ll really have any time alone after this, and I don’t really want to talk about it around the others.” He pulled his knees in a little. His ice cream was slowly melting. He didn’t notice right away. Sunny only waited. Their eyes met. “Why did you break our promise? Was it because… you hated me?” His eyes dropped. “I don’t blame you if that’s the truth. I just… I thought we would be there for each other. But you just… you just disappeared on me. And you were just going to leave town without ever telling me. If Kel had never brought you over that day, I would’ve never known until it was far too late, right?”

This might as well happen to him. Sunny wasn’t quite sure what he had expected when he was finally alone with Basil. And he knew his friend was right too. He could tell that the others were a little hesitant to leave them alone together. Yesterday must have been a test of sorts. Luckily, they had passed. After this he was sure that they would always have someone else around them. And Sunny was actually somewhat grateful that Basil had brought it up no matter how painful it was. This wasn’t something he wanted to talk around anyone else either. Just like before, this was between them.

“You were in denial about what I did.” Sunny said as he watched his ice cream melt across his hand. He didn’t lick it up right away and instead just watched it. “And I couldn’t stand it. I couldn’t stand myself. I wanted to forget everything, but I couldn’t do that around you.” Basil’s eyes never left him. “I hated myself. And I hated you too. I hated everything that had happened. If I was going to forget, I needed to forget you too. So I did.”

Basil flinched. Sunny could see the way his face became pained. “I… I see. Sunny, I-”

“Don’t apologize.” Sunny hurried to say. He didn’t want to hear it.

“ Please .” He begged instead. His hand grabbed the side of Sunny’s shirt. He was shaking a little. “Please let me apologize. I need to.” Sunny finally looked at him. Tears were in the boy’s eyes, but he didn’t cry yet. He looked heartbroken, but determined. “I’m so sorry. All I ever wanted to do was help you, but it seemed like everything I did made everything worse. Even on that day… I just wanted to help.” He shook his head. “We were just kids. I could see you pulling away that day. You’ve always… You always had the same look on your face when you were lost in your head. But I was terrified that day that you would never come back. Even when I saw you again last year… I could tell you never fully did. I just made everything worse. And I’m sorry for that, Sunny. I wasn’t there for you in the way that you had needed me because I couldn’t… I couldn’t accept what you had done. What we both did.”

Sunny’s heart felt hollow. His friend’s words felt like nothing to him. He knew this feeling. He tried not to dissociate from his own emotions again. He had to understand and process this. What was he even feeling? It was far too much for him. His mouth moved without his mind really choosing to speak,

“I know you wanted to help. I don’t think there was anything you could have done that would’ve helped me, though. I had… Mari, she…” he pressed his hand to his eye hard enough to see colors again. It was worse than in his dream. His hand was cold from his ice cream. “I blamed you for part of what happened. Even when I locked myself away, I couldn’t fully forget you. But the sight of you hurt too much as well. I couldn’t handle it. I couldn’t deal with myself. I didn’t want to exist in this world anymore.”

Basil’s hand did not let go of his shirt. Sunny gave himself a minute to simply be overwhelmed before he practiced trying to calm down and steady his emotions. He breathed, held his breath, and let it out slowly. Then he did it again. He did it until he had better control over his thoughts and the chaos in his heart. And then he lowered his hand to blink past the tears and gaze into Basil’s wet eyes. He reached out and held Basil’s shirt in return. “I’m sorry too, Basil. For everything I did to you. And for being selfish. Please… please forgive me.”

“I already have!” Basil dropped his ice cream and threw himself at Sunny to squeeze him tightly. “You’re my best friend.” He whispered through the broken sobs that escaped him. “All I wanted was to be with you again.”

Sunny hesitated before his own arm came up to cling to Basil as well. He finally felt a bit of peace that he hadn’t expected to ever get. Part of him had assumed that Basil would forgive him, but he had never fully believed it. He didn’t feel like he deserved it, but he had felt vindictive in his own self-hatred. If he wasn’t deserving of forgiveness, then Basil didn’t either.

But he didn’t want to listen to that wretched little voice. Mari wanted him to forgive himself. And Sunny wanted to forgive Basil. And he had quietly, desperately hoped that Basil would forgive him for hurting him the way he had. The terrible secret they had shared was both of their burdens. He finally felt like he had someone back on his side. He had one of his friends really back. Putting his faith in them hadn’t been for naught. He could only imagine the relief he would feel if… when his other friends finally knew everything.

He cried as well, gritting his teeth to bite back his whimpers, but most of his tears were those of salvation than of penitence at last. He didn’t want to let go of Basil. They could stay a little bit longer, he figured. They had all the time in the world for now.

Chapter Text

The ice cream was a minor loss that Sunny and Basil barely lamented when all was said and done. Their hands and faces were messy. Considering most of the ice cream was melted or had fallen, they just tossed the scraps into the grass for the bugs and animals to eat. They walked over to the pond and rinsed their hands off.

As they were wiping their faces clean of tears, Basil said, “I… I don’t know if I ever properly apologized for what I did to you either. During our fight, I mean.” Sunny paused and glanced at him. Basil just splashed his face once more and shook the water from it. “Does it still hurt? The other day when you fell, your eye…”

“It doesn’t hurt.” Sunny said. “I just…” He decided to show him. He dried his hands on his shorts before lifting his eye patch away. His prosthetic wasn’t the final perfect one, so it looked awkward on his face. Basil didn’t flinch at the sight, but he did reach out to touch the scar on his cheekbone. “I wasn’t wearing this that day. Some sand got in.”

“Oh no! That sounds… Oh, that sounds horrible.”

“Hero helped me. It was okay.” He covered the eye once more with the patch.

“I still can’t believe I took your eye from you…” He sounded choked up all over again. Sunny just patted his back and stood up. What was done, was done. He didn’t have any regrets during that fight. He didn’t remember a lot of it anyway because of just how… strange it was. “Are you going to always wear a patch?”

“Looks cool.” He said simply as he brushed the dirt from his knees and started to leave their secret area. Basil chased after him to follow.

“It… It does!” He agreed with a tentative smile. Sunny felt like that was resolved.

They went around the neighborhood and helped out with some of the neighbors. Sunny met up again with adults and kids alike that he had become friendly with in the short time that he had been around to help. It was nice interacting with so many different personalities, and Basil was forced to get out of his shell a little more as he took up most of the conversation since Sunny couldn’t. They met up with Joy and her father once more and helped the little girl out with her own summer homework, earning them some money. Sunny also got a note from the Guitar Guy that had been delivered to his old house since he hadn’t known Sunny had moved or what his new address would be. Inside the letter was a copy of a song that Sunny had actually heard a couple of times on television. It sounded like the guy was doing well for himself.

Eventually the two retreated back to Faraway Plaza and took some part-time jobs, splitting up in order to do them themselves. Considering Sunny didn’t like insects and Basil didn’t mind them, he took the job of swatting insects for the fish lady while Sunny took to cleaning the hardware store up. He had gotten pretty good at doing that in the short time he had been around to help. Unsurprisingly, the Fix-It employee still looked too tired and lazy to do it himself. If it made him $30, then he was going to do it. 

They did the pizza delivery job together when they stopped by to grab just a slice of pizza each to sate their appetites. Sunny was surprised at how, well, absent the pizza delivery boy was. But this one was one of the more entertaining jobs to do around town, and with Basil’s help reading the notes it was no problem at all. It was easy money that the two of them split before they sat down to eat their well-earned pizza slices.

“I’m exhausted.” Basil said as they finally left Faraway Plaza and started their way back to Kel’s house. It was getting kinda late. Evening would be upon them soon. Sunny hadn’t realized just how long they had been working and doing chores. “Kel told me that you guys spent most of your last few days doing this kind of stuff, but I’m pretty surprised you wanted to.” He looked at Sunny curiously. “What, um, what brought it upon you to do all of that?”

Sunny wasn’t exactly sure. He had locked himself away for years. He supposed that he was just used to exploring and meeting people because of Headspace. It came naturally to him, and he and Kel had had to find some way to spend their time after they weren’t chasing Aubrey any longer.

He shrugged.

“Hehe, I’m kinda jealous about that part of you. You don’t talk much around people, but you get along so well with them and help them out. I’m glad that hasn’t changed from when we were kids.”

“Kel told you everything?” Sunny asked when their conversation lulled a little bit.

“For the most part.” Basil rubbed at his neck a little. “No matter how it, um, ended up, Kel said he had been so happy with how everything had turned out. He hadn’t expected you to actually come out and meet him when you did. ...I’m grateful that you did as well. We’re where we’re at now because of your courage.”

Courage… Sunny supposed that really was what it was. It wasn’t that he hadn’t tried to leave the house before, he had just grown weary of trying. That monstrous form of Mari sometimes greeted him. He had been haunted by the visions outside of his window facing the backyard. The outside world had become dangerous to him. He wasn’t exactly sure what had compelled him to open the door that day for Kel, but the thought of simply… leaving everything behind without at least seeing Kel had felt wrong. Everything had just bloomed from there.

They arrived back at Kel’s house to see all three siblings out in the front yard with Hector. Kel was teaching his sister to throw the ball for the dog. She couldn’t throw it very far, but Hector eagerly chased it the short distance it would go and would bring it back to her. Hero spotted them first and gave a wave.

“Welcome back. You were gone a lot longer than I had thought. Hi Basil!”

“Hi, guys.”

“You abandoned me!” Kel told them both with a pout. “First Sunny ran away, and then you never brought anyone else back to suffer with me! What the heck, man?”

Hero rolled his eyes good-naturedly. Basil responded, “Sorry, Kel. I didn’t have any homework left, so me and Sunny did some things around town.” Sunny held up his wallet to show that it looked thicker than before. “At least you had Hero to help you and you’re all done, right?”

“That’s what I was saying. Kel did a great job! I knew he could do it. He just needed someone to get him to sit down and do it.” Hero praised. Sally clapped her hands as Hector returned the ball to her once more and licked her face. She squealed and pushed him away. Kel grabbed the ball instead and tossed it, sending the dog after it once more. 

“Yeah, well, at least it’s done!” He agreed cheerfully. The group of friends hung out and chatted while playing with Hector and Sally. Sunny sat on the fence and found his eyes drifting once more back to his old house. It seemed a little different in the daylight. He thought maybe it was a slightly different color than it was before. “What’cha looking at?” Kel asked as he leaned on the fence next to Sunny. “Curious about who lives there?” Sunny didn’t respond, but Kel went on anyway, “They’re an older couple! I’ve actually talked with them a few times. They’re pretty friendly. They’re not, like, super old but their kids are already grown up and out of the house. Their grandkids come over a lot. They actually help us by babysitting Sally when none of us can.”

Ah, so a new family had moved in. The house was definitely too big for just a simple couple. The grandkids must stay quite a bit if they bought such a big house. It was almost surreal to hear about the people living in the house that Sunny and his family had lived in for years. He could still remember when he and Mari had first moved to the neighborhood and had quickly become friends with the boys next door. It felt like a thousand years ago.

“Oh, hey, don’t do that, Sally!” Hero called then, hurrying to his sister to stop her from putting her dirty hands in her mouth. He scooped her up in his arms and said, “I think it’s time to wash up, huh? You haven’t had your afternoon snack and I can hear that tummy growling!” 

Sally laughed a little as she leaned into her brother’s hold. Her pigtails bobbed against her head. “Snackie!” She agreed.

“Snackie for us too?” Kel asked as the group decided to retreat indoors. Hector dashed past the boys to get into the house first, barking excitedly before tackling one of the various ragged stuffed animals on the floor.

“Yes, yes, I’ll grab something for you guys too.” Hero assured them. They all toed off their shoes and placed them on the shoe rack as Hero took Sally off to clean her up. Sunny split off from the others to go upstairs to use the restroom and to properly clean up as well. He wasn’t planning to eat with pond water on his arms. While he was up there, he looked at himself in the mirror. His eyes were still a little red-rimmed and he actually had strawberry ice cream on his shoulder. Ugh… he had been going around like that? Embarrassing. He removed his overshirt and left himself with his tank top. He fixed his hair a little before he went into the bedroom to drop his clothing in with Kel’s dirty stuff. He was assured by Kel’s mother that she would take care of the laundry, which kind of embarrassed Sunny who wasn’t sure how he felt about another’s mother washing his clothes, but he ignored that for now.

The fan blew cool air on him. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes at the sensation of it. He felt relaxed. This was nice, he thought. He liked when he was busy even if he hated getting started on doing anything. There was a feeling of accomplishment that came from a long day of hard work. Now he really felt like he could be as lazy as he wanted without feeling like he was letting someone down. 

While he was in the bedroom he went over to his luggage and dug through it for a few moments. He carefully put aside his folded clothing and grabbed his now-familiar photo album out. His finger ran across the engraving of Basil’s name on the metal nameplate before he placed it aside to put his clothes back away. Then he went downstairs with the book. His friends were split between rooms. Kel was setting up what looked like a large playpen for Sally with Basil’s help. Hero was in the kitchen. Sunny joined him to see if he needed any help. Somehow it seemed he had gotten roped into making something for a snack after he had sat Sally down in her highchair to enjoy her own plate of fruits and crackers. He looked at what Hero was making. It looked like grilled cheese and tomato soup. The scent of it made Sunny’s mouth water. He liked cheesy snacks. He didn’t care if he had just eaten a pizza slice not that long ago.

“Is that Basil’s photo album?” Hero asked as he noticed what Sunny was holding. Sunny held it up to confirm it. A small smile appeared on the other’s face. “I didn’t expect you to bring it with you. Thanks for that. Wanna look through it while we eat?”

He actually had other plans for it as well, but he would surprise his friends later. He was a little nervous about it, after all. He had completely forgotten about his, well, hopefully penitence gift that he had prepared for all of them. He had been so caught up in doing everything else that it had kept slipping his mind.

He put the book aside and pointed at the bread. “Gonna help? Thanks! Here, let me scoot over. I’ll cook, you butter.” He moved over to the stove and allowed Sunny to take his place at the cutting board. He had noticed that he had prepared tomatoes too. If Sunny recalled, Basil and Hero liked tomatoes on their grilled cheese, but Kel didn’t. He began to prep the sandwiches and decided against adding tomato to his own even though he liked to have it on his once in a while. The soup would be enough for him. 

The silence was comfortable between them as they worked. The smell of hot butter and cooking bread filled the air. The sizzling covered up some of the talking from Basil and Kel in the other room. Sunny watched Hero work with hungry eyes, already imagining the flavors on his tongue. He wasn’t exactly sure how his friend did it, but everything Hero made tasted great. The soup even looked like it might be homemade.

Hero glanced at him and a wistful expression crossed his face before it was gone. He covered it up with a smile as he said, “I have to admit, I kinda miss cooking like this. You remember what I said about not really having time to do that in college? It’s still pretty accurate. Between me being more frugal with my money and just always busy between studying and classes, I just forget to really do meal prep. I’ve been scolded about it before.”

Sunny tilted his head a little, curious. Scolded? By who?

Hero clearly could read his question in his eyes. “I’ve made a couple of friends at college. Classmates and roommates, y’know? Some of them… I’m impressed at how they manage their time. I’m working on getting better at it. I just wish they’d stop asking me to go to parties.” He gave an awkward laugh and flipped one of the sandwiches in the pan. It was a pretty golden brown. The cheese was starting to seep past the sides and sizzle. “I’m not really a party college kid. You’ve seen me.”

Despite how charismatic and popular Hero no doubt was, Sunny was certain his friend would just feel overwhelmed and exhausted from going to parties. He could balance talking with a bunch of people in different situations, but if college parties were anything like on television then Sunny was sure it would be a horrible environment for Hero. He wasn’t one who could easily say no to people, and it seemed like he was more reserved than he had been when he had been fifteen.

“This is nice, though. Gathering like this and just hanging out… it’s a lot easier. I wonder if it’s just because I’ve known you guys since we were kids.” Hero flipped the other sandwiches now and placed the finished ones aside.

“Is it weird to you?” Sunny asked.

“Huh?” Hero gave him a curious look.

Sunny shrugged a little and tried to think of how to explain it. “...Hanging out with kids?”

“You’re not really kids anymore though, are you?” Hero chuckled a little. Sunny couldn’t refute that. He didn’t know why, but he didn’t like that answer. “I mean… I don’t think it could ever be awkward. Not in that way, anyway. I had friends growing up outside of our little circle, but you guys were always my best friends. The three year age difference didn’t really feel that big all the time. It… Well, it helped that I had Mari with me. You guys were still kids, after all, so there were some things you just couldn’t understand at that age.”

Sunny thought of his puppy crush on Aubrey and how he had always wanted her to fall in love with him in the way he had seen Hero and Mari looking at each other. He remembered seeing them sneak a kiss in the kitchen while they had been washing dishes and had thought the kids were busy. He remembered how stressed Mari would get over studying for college and her putting aside children’s games in order to be more of an adult. He hadn’t understood it at all back then. He had only felt like Mari had been going somewhere far away and he hadn’t known why or how to catch up to her. The only one who seemed to understand was Hero, and that was part of the reason why the two of them had been so close.

“Yeah, I understand.” He said.

“Now it’s like… I don’t know, really. I think at some point you just kinda reach an age that no matter how much older you get you don’t really feel like an adult? Looking at you and Kel and Aubrey and Basil… You guys seem as mature as some of the others I meet in college.” Hero finished the sandwiches and placed them all onto the separate plates. Sunny pulled some bowls out from the cabinet so Hero could distribute those as well. “So no, I don’t find it weird to hang out with you guys at all. It feels like coming home.”

Sunny was glad to hear it. He felt the same way, after all. He had never found it weird to hang out with Hero despite him being older. That probably came from having Mari as a playmate for a majority of his life. 

He and Hero carried the dishes out to the coffee table and placed them down before returning to get the photo album and Sally. They also grabbed some glasses and juice to pour for them all.  Sally seemed to be finished with her snacks. Hero placed her in the completed playpen before the four boys sat down to eat. “Looks great!” Kel cried, delighted.

“Oh, the photo album!” Basil said as he noticed it in Sunny’s lap. “I didn’t know you had brought that… How nostalgic. I didn’t think to bring the photos I took the other day so you could put them in there, though. Sorry.”

“Eh, we’ve got time.” Kel assured him with a greasy pat on the back. Then he realized what he had done, winced, and grabbed a napkin to wipe his hands with a quick apology. Basil looked like he had given up on his shirt at this point. There were ice cream stains on him too. How had Sunny not noticed earlier?

“Hey so, where’s Aubrey?” Hero asked after a few minutes of them stuffing their faces. “I forgot she wasn’t with you.”

“She had something to do.” Sunny said. “She said she would stop by later, though.”

“So it was just you two hanging out? Lucky.” Kel pouted. “Hey! When dad gets back from work and we can pass Sally onto him, how about we go play that basketball team up I mentioned before? We have the perfect amount!”

“I’m not really good at sports, though.” Basil protested a little.

“Me too.” Sunny agreed. He hadn’t forgotten his terrible attempts the other day.

“We’ll just split you up, then! Between me and Hero, we can make up for any problems!” Kel said confidently.

“And if Aubrey shows up?” Hero asked with an amused smile.

“She can take my place.” Basil offered.

“No way! We’ll do a three-on-two!” Kel took a large gulp of his drink before putting it down with a loud, satisfied sound. “Aubrey and Hero against us three! That’ll be a real challenge!”

Basil laughed a little. “Haha… okay, Kel. Sure.”

“Yeah, I’m down.” Hero agreed.

Sunny didn’t feel very confident, but he was okay with trying, at least. His shoulders felt a little sunburnt, though. He would apply more sunscreen before they went out again that day.

“That actually reminds me… Um, Sunny mentioned wanting to help with my gardening. I was thinking about doing it tomorrow morning. Did you want to come?” Basil asked.

“Hm, sure! Once I finish my morning jog, we can head right over!” Sunny had forgotten that Hero had taken up jogging. Was he trying to increase his stamina? “While we’re at it, maybe you and Aubrey can spend the night? I know we’re going to be staying in the same place this weekend, but it might be easier if we all go over together.”

Basil was startled. His eyes darted away. “I-I, uh, I don’t know. I… would need to ask Polly… I’m not sure if I can…” His voice got softer as he spoke.

“If not today, then maybe tomorrow! You can ask her tonight!” Kel suggested eagerly. His face developed a dreamy expression. “Sleepovers are the best! We can steal all the blankets from Basil’s house and we can make a HUGE fort with it! If we’re smart, we can stretch it between our two beds, Hero! We could even use all your trophies and such for something other than decoration!”

“I’m… not sure how we would manage that, Kel.” Hero said.

“Aw, it’ll be fine!”

“Also, we’d be leaving pretty early on Friday so we can get to the beach at a good time. I’m not sure there would be a point in a sleepover before that.”

“Dang, really? Hmm…”

“Don’t hold back on my account, though.” Basil gave them a timid smile. “You can still ask Aubrey! And we’ll at least have this weekend. It’s not long now!”

“Yeah, we’ll have plenty of time. Don’t worry about it too much, Kel.” Hero rubbed a knuckle quickly into Kel’s hair before he leaned away out of his brother’s retaliating swing. The group laughed to themselves. Sunny had visions of Kel’s grand pillow fort and wondered if they really could somehow achieve it. It might be a fun thing to try out.

Sitting here with all four of them, he understood more what Hero had been saying earlier. None of them were really kids anymore, but he didn’t feel especially old either. All of them had changed and matured in different ways, but he could still see the same group of kids that laughed and played cards together while hiding smiles between bites of cookies. So why did the thought of growing up make his stomach drag a little. And why did the gaps between their sitting spots feel so large when they were already too big to be sitting as they were?

Sunny’s eyes dropped to his grilled cheese and watched the way tomato soup slowly dripped off of it after he had dipped it. The shiny reflection of the daylight coming in from the window looked like an eye in the ripples.

He really missed Mari.

Chapter Text

By the time Aubrey arrived at the house the sun was going down and the job of babysitting had been passed onto the relevant adult. She was told that the boys were still in the house and were upstairs and that she could just go on up, so she did. She didn’t expect to find all of them crowded at the window as Sunny was in the middle of climbing out of it. They all froze and looked at Aubrey when they heard the door shut behind her.

“What… the heck is going on here?” She asked, looking startled.

“Um…” Basil looked back towards Sunny, who met his eyes.

“You see…” Hero began as well, but he was sweating under Aubrey’s sharp gaze. Sunny realized that the situation probably didn’t look great. The angle they were at made it seem like he was being shoved out of the window.

“Hurry up!” Kel called from below, waving his hands up at Sunny. “What’s the hold up?”

“Oh jeez, Kel is down there. I should’ve known.” Aubrey said as she approached Sunny and stuck her head out past him to glare down at Kel. “What stupid stuff are you making Sunny do?”

“It’s not stupid! It’s fun! And I was proving a point!” Kel said with a huff. Sunny struggled on the tiny ledge he was standing on. Kel was right in that it was harder to do this with shoes on. Just a little bit of pushing from Aubrey so she could look past the windowsill was enough for make Sunny’s foot slip. There were cries all around him as hands latched onto his shirt and arms. Panic made his body turn cold as he feared the drop to the bottom and kicked his legs, looking for purchase.

“We got you!” Hero assured him. His hand was wrapped around Sunny’s wrist while Aubrey clung to Sunny’s back. Basil had the girl around the waist from where she had half-fallen out in the effort to catch Sunny.

“We won’t let you fall.” She assured next to his ear.

“It’s not that far, I swear!” Kel called. Sunny could feel the bottom of his feet getting touched. “Just calm down and drop him! I’ll catch him!”

“Are you sure?” Hero asked. Sunny could feel himself calming down a little. He felt like they had firm grips on him. He dared to look down and saw that Kel was right there.

“I’m sure!” Kel looked determined and held his arms up once more. “Drop, Sunny!”

“Okay. Aubrey, you and I’ll let go. Then Basil, you help me pull Aubrey in.”

“Right!” Basil nodded.

“One, two, three!” Sunny was dropped and fell right into Kel’s arms. They wrapped tightly around Sunny’s midsection with only a little bit of clunkiness as his arm hit Kel’s head. Sunny tried to catch his breath and looked up to watch as Aubrey was pulled back in. It really didn’t look to be that far. Then he looked at Kel, who beamed at him.

“Perfect catch! Hehe!” Sunny’s hands were shaking just a little bit from the adrenaline, but he could feel he was secure where he was. His fear was gone. He grabbed Kel’s shoulder and wiggled in a way that clearly said he wanted down. Kel lowered him to standing and made sure he was good to stand before he looked back up at the others and called, “Alright! Next!” His eyes sparkled with pride.

“We’re not jumping, stupid!” Aubrey called back to him now that she was back inside.

“Oh c’mon! I know you’ve wanted to do it, Aubrey! You chicken?”

“I’m not a chicken!”

“We can just take the stairs.” Basil offered, but it was too late. Aubrey was already crawling out of the window. Kel looked thrilled as he laughed to himself but still moved to catch her as needed. “W-Wait, you’re in a skirt!” Basil tried to protest.

“I’m wearing tights. It’s fine.” She said as she climbed outside and stood on the ledge to jump down. Her teal eyes were hard with determination. Sunny stepped out of the way knowing that if he tried to catch her that he would probably be crushed. Better to leave it to Kel who had a lot more strength. “Touch me and you die. Move out of my way!”

“They really don’t change.” Hero complained good-naturedly even as he watched Aubrey carefully. The girl dropped to the ground without needing Kel’s assistance, landing confidently. She stood up and spun on him to point at the taller boy, poking her finger to his chest.

“I told you I wasn’t scared.”

“Haha, don’t act like you haven’t done it before.” Kel stuck his tongue out at her, cheeky. “I knew you could do it fine.” Aubrey huffed and didn’t respond to him as she crossed her arms over her chest. “You gonna do it, Hero? Basil?”

“I’m good.” Sunny knew for a fact that Basil wouldn’t do it.

Hero shook his head. “I can’t get myself out the window anymore. We’ll take the back door.” He put the screen back in the window and closed it before both of the boys disappeared.

“What exactly were you two doing?” Aubrey asked, turning to her friends.

“I was showing Sunny that I could still jump out of the window. We thought about doing it before, but backed down. Was it fun, Sunny?” Kel asked. Sunny hesitated before nodding. He had jumped from higher heights, after all. The scare of falling before he was ready was what had really gotten him. “Oh! Quick, let’s run into the forest before Hero and Basil show up!”

“What? Why-?” She didn’t get a chance to finish her question before Kel was already dashing off into the forest in the backyard. She sighed with exasperation before Aubrey shot a small smirk at Sunny. “Why not, right?”

“They’ll catch up.” Sunny agreed before he glanced behind them. He couldn’t see Hero or Basil yet, so he and Aubrey took off after Kel. Despite how Aubrey had protested, she giggled a little at the devious way they had abandoned the others. Sunny was brought back to when they were eleven and escaping on bare feet into the forest instead of doing homework. The autumnal leaves on the ground had crunched beautifully under their feet. Their colorful clothing had done nothing to camouflage them during their escape, but it was the thrill of the chase that they had liked the most. They had gotten in a lot of trouble, though, because they had ended up getting a little lost and Aubrey had started crying. The parents had found them only about an hour later, but it had felt a lot longer. Now Sunny had a better grasp of the forest and even how to get to the park from where they were.

They ran until they reached a shallow stream. A lot of the flora had grown here and made it more wild in appearance. The stream bed was mostly dried up except for the gentle flow of water that was deep enough to come up to Sunny’s ankles. A tree trunk had fallen across the top of the dried bed and had soft, green moss growing on it. The water was clear, so Sunny hopped down onto the dried part of the bed to kneel and watch the water travel over worn and smooth stones.

“Shit.” Aubrey suddenly cursed as she hopped down next to Sunny. “Maybe running in here barefoot wasn’t the best idea. I got kinda cut up.” Since Sunny was down there, he touched her ankle so he could see. She startled a little at the touch, but lifted her foot. It didn’t look like there were really many cuts, but her foot was a little pink. Sunny could only imagine what she could’ve stepped on while running like that.

“Whoops.” Kel appeared behind them as Sunny gave Aubrey a thumbs up to show her that things looked fine to him. “I forgot you didn’t have your shoes.”

“Should we have just run away like that?” She asked as she glanced back the way they came. There were no signs of Kel’s house any longer. “They won’t even know where to find us.”

“Yeah, they’ll be fine. It’s a straight shot here, and where else would we have gone?”

“The basketball court.” Sunny suggested since that was originally going to be their destination before they had all been caught up with window jumping.

“Oh… yeah, that’s right. Um…”

“Eh, we’ll find them later.” Aubrey stepped into the water and watched the flow roll over her ankles. She shot a small smirk to Kel. “You finish your homework?”

Kel’s cheeks puffed out. “Yeah, no thanks to you! I had been hoping for a partner in my suffering.” Sunny took off his shoes and socks before he shoved his socks into his pocket. He waded into the water as well. It was a bit chilly, but felt good compared to the heat of the day.

“Psh, you’re fine.” Aubrey waved him off. “At least you got it done. I wish I could’ve had Hero’s help. There’s no way I’m doing my homework right now anyway.”

“Just ask him whenever. He’s here until the end of summer since he said he finished his volunteer work.” Kel, not wanting to be left out, also took his shoes off to join them in the water. Sunny decided to climb up onto the tree trunk instead. He wanted to feel the moss on his feet. He slipped a little, but he made it up fine. He felt tall as he stood above his friends.

“Yeah, I probably will. Later, I guess.” She walked a few paces into a slightly deeper section of water so it came up to mid-calf. Kel jumped in the water and made Aubrey yell in shock as she was splashed. “Hey! Watch it!”

Kel snickered, enjoying it too much. “Oh!” He suddenly remembered. “Did you want to spend the night tonight? We’re gonna head over to Basil’s early in the day to work on his garden stuff. Basil’s not staying, by the way. He can’t.”

“Can’t?” Aubrey reached for Kel’s hair and tugged out his hair tie. It came easily. He didn’t seem bothered as she used it instead to put her hair up in a messy bun. Sunny thought she looked cute like that. Mature in a way he wasn’t expecting.

There was a sigh next to his ear as he turned his head to see Mari standing next to him. “Coloring our hair was such a good choice. Aubrey looks so cute with that color pink. I’ve always loved her hair.” When had she gotten there? Well, it didn’t matter. Mari was allowed to go wherever she wanted. It wasn’t uncommon for her to beat Sunny and his friends to places. He wondered if she was really a ghost or if she was Sunny’s imagination. When Mari met his curious gaze, her smile became mischievous, though she didn’t say anything more.

“He can’t ask permission since he’s already going away with us in a couple of days.” Kel shrugged. “What about you? You’re welcome.”

Aubrey was thinking about it when they heard their names called out from not too far away. Sunny was spotted first since he was up the highest. His eyes met Basil’s before the boy pointed out the friend group to Hero. The boys hurried over to join them. “Jeez, don’t just run off like that!” Hero scolded, panting just a little bit. How long had they been searching? It couldn’t have been too long. 

“Hey now, Hero, don’t worry too much. They’re big kids now!” Mari reprimanded, sitting on the tree trunk and swinging her legs back and forth.

“Oh, you brought my shoes. Thanks, Hero.” Aubrey joined the two of them and took her shoes from Hero. She didn’t put them on as she instead chose to hang in the water longer.

“You could’ve told us first.” Basil said. “We almost went all the way to the park first to find you, but we kinda heard Kel’s voice first.”

“It was a spur of the moment.” Kel grinned and tucked his arms behind his head. “I was just asking Aubrey if she wanted to spend the night.”

“Oh yeah?” Hero decided to join the others as he tugged off his shoes and rolled up his pants until they were above his knees. Sunny climbed off of the tree and gave Basil a curious look, encouraging him to join as well. In the end, all the friends ended up in the water. They carried their shoes and followed the water upstream as they talked. “We have to let mom know as soon as possible, then. I think she’s bringing dinner home.”

“I don’t really want to cause a problem…” Aubrey rubbed at the back of her neck. “After all, won’t it be… I don’t know, weird?”

“Weird?” The group spread out a little as the smooth rocks occasionally gave way to much deeper parts of the stream. Sunny tried his best to stay in the way without the risk of it wetting his pants.

She huffed and looked embarrassed to explain. “I’m gonna have to take a bath at your house and stuff… and we’re nearly adults now, so wouldn’t it be…”

“It’s not that weird.” Kel assured her. “I mean, you know we aren’t going to do anything to you, right?”

Aubrey’s cheeks turned red, though now Sunny had the distinct impression there was offense thrown in there. “YOU-!”

Hero hurried to cut in, “And we’ve all basically seen each other naked in the past.”

“Wait, what ?” The shocked cry came from both Aubrey and Kel, who turned to Hero with wide eyes. Hero appeared surprised and then kind of embarrassed that he had brought up the topic at all. “When the heck was this?”

“You don’t remember? Well, uh, I guess it was a while ago. And you were all pretty young.” Hero slipped a little in the water but caught Sunny’s shoulder before he went down. He gave a thankful smile before he said, “It was not long after we met Aubrey and a couple years before Basil moved to town. I think I was… Yeah, I was eleven because it was Mari’s birthday and she was just turning eleven. That must mean you guys were about seven and eight. Our three families got together and decided to go on a hike up some mountain nearby and spend the night at a camping site. I can’t remember exactly why Mari chose that, though. Sunny?”

Sunny shook his head, genuinely curious about the story. He barely remembered this, though he did remember camping with his sister before. He knew his family hadn’t done it very often, though. Neither of his parents had been big fans of camping. It was rare for him to hear stories about events he doesn’t remember well.

“Really? Well, haha, I think you were asleep for a large chunk of it. I guess you wouldn’t really remember. What about you guys?”

“I think?” Kel thought about it. “It was a long time ago and we went camping and stuff a lot. Oh!” he cried out, “I remember there was a really cold stream we went swimming in! There was this huge flat rock that was like a small water slide!” He laughed to himself. “I remember that, and…” He continued to think to himself.

“Yeah, I think I remember that rock! And sliding too far before Mari grabbed me.” Aubrey’s eyes widened further. “Wow, I can barely remember that. That was… Wait. Wait, wasn’t that when…?”

“Yeah!” Hero laughed as the group continued their trek. “It’s coming back to me now. None of our parents told us to bring bathing suits since they hadn’t expected we would want to swim in the freezing mountain water. But the hike had been long and it looked too fun, so we had begged to do it anyway. So dad just said, ‘If you want to swim, then you’ll have to do it in your underwear so you don’t soak your clothes! It’s still a long hike!’”

“Oh my god, and you did it?” Basil asked, smiling as he listened to the story.

Hero nodded. “Kel and Aubrey didn’t even hesitate. I think it was probably that rock you mentioned, hahaha, they just stripped right to their underwear and jumped in only to scream about how cold it was. Didn’t stop you guys at all, though!”

“I’d never swam in a mountain stream before.” Aubrey looked a little flustered.

“I joined you guys because you made it look fun even though I hated how cold it was.” He shuddered at the memory. “Then Mari joined in and tried to get Sunny to join, but he took one step in the water and just said ‘No’ and went back to his parents.” That got all of them to laugh. Sunny could see himself doing something like that.

“Was Mari only in her underwear too?” Kel asked.

“N-No! Not exactly!” Hero didn’t look at Sunny as he spoke, “She, um, wore her shirt.” That didn’t really go against what Kel had asked, though. Sunny couldn’t really see his sister doing something like that, but when they had been younger Mari had been freer to be a little more wild. He could imagine that she wouldn’t want to lose the opportunity to play with the others.

“And that’s the day Hero developed a crush.” Kel teased.

“No! Kel!”

“Wow, Hero, so smooth.” Aubrey rolled her eyes even as she hid her smile behind her hand.

“Ah jeez, don’t mess with me. Things weren’t like that back then.” He took the teasing in stride, though, as the group continued. The sun was really starting to set, then, casting shadows everywhere.

“I just always assumed you and Mari had crushes on each other since forever.” The girl admitted. Basil dashed ahead of them along the bank. “It seemed like it.”

“It… Well, I can’t say you’re entirely wrong?” He sighed at whatever he was thinking about. His eyes turned just a little sad. “It was hard not to like her, you know?”

“Yeah.” Aubrey agreed quietly, giving Hero an unreadable but soft look. “I get that.”

Sunny wanted to change the atmosphere as he saw Basil preparing his camera for a snapshot. So he said, “Mari always had a big crush on Hero.”

“WHAT?!” Hero yelped, cheeks flaring pink immediately. The picture was snapped but it was covered by the sound of Kel’s laughter and Aubrey going “Oooooh!”

Sunny heard Mari giggle quietly from behind them at her brother’s devious decision.

“D-Don’t say that, Sunny! She, uh…” Hero tried, but Sunny clarified,

“She always liked you.” He met Hero’s shaky gaze, “I think in the same way that you mean, though.”

There was a moment where it felt like Hero abruptly pulled away from them, but then he snapped back like a rubberband. Something settled in his gaze, and his embarrassment burnt off to reveal gratitude even under his complicated smile. He ducked his head. Sunny wondered if he had made the right choice saying that.

“That was a good picture.” Basil said as the group caught up to where he was standing. That effectively changed the subject as he held up his camera and smiled.

“I keep forgetting the camera.” Aubrey slapped her forehead. “Dammit.”

“It helps to carry a bag around.” He offered. “Then you always have it.”

“I’ll try to remember that. You took a picture?”

“Hehe, you’ll have to see when it develops!”

They continued in a peaceful silence for a little bit. Sunny purposefully plopped his feet flat-footed into the water just to hear the noise and see the water scatter. The stones were starting to hurt his feet from walking on them for too long, but the cool water helped to soothe them. He didn’t doubt they would be sore in the morning. He would have to soak them in warm water or something later.

“Hold up.” Kel stopped them suddenly, holding his hand out and waving it. “Look! Ducks!” Sunny ducked to look under Kel’s arm to see for himself. A little bit away where the water pooled more, there were a pair of ducks floating. They hadn’t seemed to have noticed the group of them.

Sunny pulled out his camera and took a picture. Hopefully there was enough light to be able to make out the picture later. The flash on the camera didn’t seem to be anything amazing.

“Let’s not disturb them. How about we head back? It’s getting pretty late anyway.” Hero suggested.

“So much for going to the park today.” Basil joked as they turned around and headed back the way they came.

“There’s always tomorrow, right?” Kel didn’t seem bothered. “We’ll play together yet! How about after we do the gardening stuff?”

“For someone who doesn’t want to do it, you sure seem excited.” Aubrey said.

“Gardening’s boring! But as long as we’re hanging out, it’ll probably be at least a little fun!” He beamed. The mood was good as they walked back and simply enjoyed the evening music of the crickets. Sunny could almost imagine they were walking on railroad tracks instead of in the water.

He decided to break the silence himself, “Did I ever tell you all about Headspace?”

“Headspace?” Kel asked.

“Yeah, I remember it. Some, anyway.” Basil said.

“I don’t think I’ve heard of it.” Aubrey said.

“You know it, Basil?” Hero glanced at the boy.

Basil nodded. “It’s like your imaginary world, right Sunny? It’s where he goes when he zones out a lot.”

“Really?” Kel said, surprised. “You have an imaginary world? That’s so cool!”

Sunny nodded and said, “I like going on adventures there that I can’t do in real life. There was one time we all went into a forest like this one. It was called Pyrefly Forest. It was full of spiders.”

Hero visibly flinched. “Uh… Spiders?”

“They were monsters with spider traits. Like spiders that looked like cats, potted plant spiders, bunny spiders…”

He shuddered and covered his ears, “Ugh, no! I don’t even want to think about it!”

Kel rolled his eyes at his brother. “Man, how did you manage to get dream Hero to go into a place like that ? Is he braver than real Hero?”

“He really needs to get over that fear.” Aubrey muttered under her breath.

“Weren’t you also afraid of spiders, Sunny?” Basil questioned. “Are you not scared of them anymore?”

“Not like I used to be.” Sunny still didn’t like spiders, but he wasn’t deathly afraid of them anymore. “And… we went there because we were looking for Basil. He had gotten lost.”

“Aww, that’s really brave of you guys!”

Hero tried to move away from the topic of spiders, “You went on a lot of adventures with us in your head, Sunny?”

“Yeah.” He hesitated and then confessed, “It was pretty much the only thing I did in my house. After Mari, I mean.” The atmosphere changed immediately as Sunny felt all of their eyes on him.

“You… spent that time dreaming?” Kel clarified, sounding confused. “Did you just sleep the whole time, or did you daydream or something?”

“I slept.” Sunny watched his feet so he wouldn’t slip. “I couldn’t bear to do much else.” He tried to steer it away from going too deep into the topic of his rather blatant depression, “We went on a lot of fun adventures.”

“What kind?” Kel seemed to be the only one genuinely interested. The others looked uncomfortable. Sunny regretted bringing anything up.

“Traveling, mostly. I’ll… tell you about them sometime, if you want to know. Later.” He wanted this all to be over.

“Sounds like a plan! I’d love to hear more! You’ve always had a cool imagination, Sunny!”

They arrived back to where they began and dried their feet before putting their shoes back on. They headed back to the house without much to say. Sunny kept his eyes averted. He had opened up about his secret world, and honestly it felt like he had ruined the good mood. He shouldn’t have said anything. He had messed up the timing about it. He should’ve thought things through better.

“I’ve gotta go check on Bun-Bun and get some clothes to spend the night.” Aubrey said as they walked into the backyard. “I’ll come back in a little while, okay?”

“Oh, let me walk with you. I have to head home too.” Basil said quickly. Aubrey didn’t respond but she did nod.

“I can see Mom’s home, so I’m gonna fill her in on the plan tonight. We’ll see you later, Aubrey.” Hero gave her a short wave before he took off his shoes and went inside of the house, announcing that they were back.

“We’ll see you tomorrow!” Kel pat Basil’s shoulder. “I’ll leave the door unlocked for you, Aubrey!”

“Yeah, see you guys.” Aubrey and Basil left then with a wave. Sunny waved goodbye to them as well.

For a few moments neither boy moved. Then Kel turned to Sunny with a small relieved smile. “Today was great.” He said. Sunny finally lifted his eyes to look at him. “It’s really starting to feel like before, isn’t it? I’m really glad you agreed to spend the week here, Sunny. And this weekend’s going to be amazing!” Sunny didn’t respond. Kel threw a comforting arm over his shoulder and walked him to the door. “I’m serious.” He said. “Don’t look like that. Have some faith in yourself, Sunny. Everything will be okay, I promise.”

“I hope so.” He responded quietly. He wanted to believe those words this time.

Chapter Text

It was only as Sunny was finished with his shower and was drying his hair while looking through his luggage that he realized he had forgotten to look through the photo album with his friends. It wasn’t a big deal, he supposed. If they did it this time, he wanted to be sure they were all together. He would rather spend time making new memories than reminisce too much when they would be doing that in the days to come. So, Sunny put the photo album back in his luggage along with his planned present for the others. 

“Okay, so here’s how we’ll do this.” Hero announced as he walked into the room with all of the extra blankets that the house had. He dumped them onto the floor as Aubrey and Kel filed in after him. The night was still kind of early, but since they were all getting up early tomorrow to meet with Basil they had decided to go to sleep early. “Me and Kel’ll sleep on the floor, so you two can have the beds. Is that alright?”

“I call Hero’s bed.” Aubrey said immediately, throwing herself to sit on Hero’s bed. Sunny continued to dry his hair with his towel. He glanced over at Kel’s bed, which at some point had become messy even though Sunny was certain it had been made that morning. “I’m not risking that thing.”

“Hey!” Kel cried. “What’s wrong with my bed? It’s a great bed!”

“At least I know for a fact that Hero’s bed is clean.” Aubrey patted the still-made bed she was sitting on. “Hero’s not a pig like you can be.”

“If eating in your bed makes you a pig, then I don’t want to be right!”

“Come on, Kel, and help me set up our own bed.” Hero said, calling his brother over. Sunny returned the towel to the bathroom before coming back to the bedroom. While the brothers were busy, he decided to check and see if Kel’s bed really was full of crumbs. He was lucky in this case. He supposed that if there had been any kind of food in the sheets, Hero must have cleaned it when he had made Kel’s bed. Either that, or maybe Kel didn’t actually keep a messy bed. Sunny would just have to find out.

Aubrey settled under the covers of Hero’s bed as Sunny did the same. The lights were turned off leaving only the gentle moonlight to come in through the window. Sunny watched the churning of the fan once more. It was nice to have an actual bed instead of the futon. He felt he might sleep better. Kel’s bed wasn’t as good as his own, though. It smelled of his friend. It wasn’t a bad scent. He could recognize the scent of the same shampoo that he had been borrowing for bathing. In the darkness he went ahead and took off his eyepatch and placed it on the bedside table.

The silence was nice. Sunny could’ve probably fallen asleep quickly, but he waited to do so if only because he could tell the others were still wide awake. His fingers gently prodded the scar beneath his eye while he waited. As he expected, Kel broke the silence to ask, “Sunny, can you tell us a story from one of your adventures?”

Sunny swallowed thickly. The atmosphere shifted, but it wasn’t too bad. There was hesitance in every breath that the friends shared. He decided he would tell them a happy story in hopes that it would show that Headspace isn’t meant to be scary. “Um, sure.” He saw on the edge of his vision Aubrey rolling to lay on her side and watch him as Sunny began the story of the time his friends and the playground kids had all been tricked into signing contracts to work at Last Resort. It lightened the atmosphere quite a bit as he talked about Aubrey as a receptionist and how great of a worker Hero was. And how Kel had been sent as a greeter to anyone who arrived. It was fun to talk about.

“I woke up before we left the Resort.” He lied instead of telling them the truth. It was too long of a story, and it would be suspicious if he kept saying that they were searching for Basil when Sunny wasn’t even supposed to know that Basil was in trouble in the real world.

“That’s so creative.” Hero said. “I didn’t realize how… vivid your imagination is. You just thought that up on the fly?”

“It’s not like that.” Sunny rolled over and allowed his hair to fall over his bad eye. He could see Hero propped on his elbow listening while Aubrey’s eyes gleamed across the room. Kel was probably still awake despite his eyes being closed because he had yet to start snoring. “It’s more like a video game. It plays by itself. I only really controlled me.”

“Good, because that receptionist job sounded like hell.” Aubrey said. “Like all customer service jobs.”

“I can’t believe we beat up Pluto.” Kel snickered. “Where were Basil and Mari? Were they there?”

Sunny didn’t answer for a moment and then decided that he would, “Mari was our save point. She had a picnic ready for us to heal up at when we were hurt. And Basil wasn’t on this adventure. He doesn’t like fighting.”

“That’s true. He’s never liked fighting.” Kel agreed.

“A picnic, huh?” Hero said to himself quietly. “She seems more like the type that would’ve joined us in fighting. She would’ve been better than me.”

“She sometimes did.” Sunny admitted. It was only for his last real adventure in that version of Headspace that Omori had regulated her to being a save point instead. She couldn’t die again if she wasn’t part of the battles. “But not that time.”

Kel stretched widely before sighing, pleased. “That was a cool story. Man, I wish my dreams were that vivid! So unfair. Well! Good night!” Within moments, he was fast asleep.

Aubrey snorted, and hid her face a little in her pillow. “Jeez, he never changes.”

“No, he never does.” Hero agreed, also sounding amused. He laid back down as well and pulled the blanket up over him. Sunny rolled onto his back once more. “Hey Sunny?” Hero asked after a moment of silence. “Did you start dreaming like that because… Well, I guess I should ask, did you always have Headspace?”

The fan was nice to watch, Sunny thought. He liked the way the faint shadows from the moonlight fluctuated with the spinning arms of the fan. “It’s changed over time.” He said. “I didn’t always have you guys there. That came later. When I was alone.”

“So you played with fake versions of us instead of coming out of your house.” Aubrey said, though it felt like an accusation to Sunny. It was okay. This was fine. He expected this. This was his guilt.

“Yes.” He said quietly. “Because I couldn’t face reality.” There was more. So much more waited on the back of his tongue, but no. This wasn’t the time. Not without everyone there. When he apologized properly, when he explained his sins, he would do it in front of them all in the light of day without the darkness to hide in any longer.

“Selfish.” Aubrey murmured.

“Aubrey.” Hero scolded quietly.

“It was .” She insisted. “But… I don’t blame you. Not for that, anyway. I think if I had that option in your circumstance, I would have done the same thing.” Sunny turned his head to look at her. She tucked her long hair back over her shoulder. He couldn’t read her expression from where he was. “I think we all ran away from what happened in our own ways. So many bad things happen to us throughout our lives that I think it’s only natural that we want to go somewhere that’s not… this. I know I did when my dad left and my mom just… stopped.”

Hero took a deep breath and released it carefully. “I’m so sorry to hear that, Aubrey. I… I was worried when we saw your house, but I knew we couldn’t really talk about it. We missed our chance on that one.”

“It’s fine.” Aubrey tucked herself a little tighter against her pillow. “It was a while ago. I just… I wish you guys had been there for me. I missed you a lot. But I also can’t blame anyone for not being there. After all, I had run away in my own way as well. It just hadn’t felt like running away at that time.” Neither boy responded, and then Hero reached out a hand to Aubrey. She took it and squeezed it. Sunny couldn’t see well, but he could hear the soft smile in her voice as she said, “You’re here now, though. That’s what matters to me. That goes for you too, Sunny. No more running away.”

“I’m trying.” He promised with more conviction than he had in a long time. He wanted to face everything head on now. The two let go of each other’s hands. “My dad left too.” He said, quieter this time.

“What?!” Kel cried, startling all of them. Hero even yelped, jolting away as his brother.

“Jesus Christ, Kel!” Aubrey hissed. “When did you wake up?”

“Well, it’s hard to sleep when you guys are talking so much.” Kel said with a frown in his voice. He turned his head to Sunny, and the moonlight on his face allowed for him to catch the worry on his friend’s face. “What do you mean your dad’s gone, Sunny?”

“He left.” Sunny said simply, rolling once more onto his side. It was so easy to be honest in the dark. “He left four years ago. I don’t see him anymore.”

“Oh no.” Hero whispered.

“Shit, that sucks.” Aubrey agreed. Hero shot her some kind of look, probably for the cursing, but he didn’t reprimand her.

“I can’t believe it… I’m really sorry, Sunny.” Kel said quietly. Sunny didn’t know how to respond to that.

“It was my fault.” He whispered, almost too low for his friends to catch. “I broke my family. I…” His voice caught and he couldn’t finish. The fact that nobody responded at first only dug the knife a little bit deeper, but then Hero was out of the bed and sat next to Sunny. He turned Sunny’s head so that he could see it properly as the tear that slipped from his eye trailed down past his temple. At this angle, he could see Hero’s expression easily. His eyes were pained but still so gentle. And soon after, Kel and Aubrey were there as well, sitting on the floor by the bed but each with a supportive hand on him.

“I’m so sorry, Sunny.” Hero said in a gentle tone.

“I know it hurts.” Aubrey added. “I know how you feel. None of this should’ve happened.”

“We’re here for you.” Kel assured him, voice serious as he rested his chin on Sunny’s arm and gazed at him. “If you ever want to talk about it, we’re here.”

“Thank you.” It was all Sunny could really say. And honestly, he was painfully relieved and disappointed in turn that none of them had tried to give them false reassurances about Sunny’s role in his father’s leaving. The timing alone was clear enough. Mari’s supposed suicide had destroyed Sunny’s home life. His parents’ relationship hadn’t been able to survive it. And Sunny had suspicions that his father suspected that Mari’s death wasn’t a suicide, but he doubted that he knew the truth either. His father wasn’t the type of man who wouldn’t have confronted Sunny if he knew the truth. He didn’t have the courage to ask his mother what had been the final straw between them.

His friends’ support was enough for him. This was a weight he would have to carry for the rest of his life as well. Maybe one day he would find out the truth to his parents’ divorce, but maybe he wouldn’t as well. As it was, he didn’t think he could handle finding out the truth anytime soon. That was a battle for another day, with a stronger Sunny.

…………

………

……

…

Welcome to Headspace.

Sunny opened his eyes to the black waters of the Inky Ocean. His clothes felt light on him. He was mesmerized by the dancing sparkles of color that buzzed in his vision. Bubbles that looked to be painted in watercolor pastels drifted from his mouth and nose, showing him which way was up from down. He thought he was possibly sinking, but it was impossible to tell. He looked down as he stretched his arms upwards to maybe start swimming, but he forgot to actually try. It was an endless abyss below him, but there were shimmering outlines of something down there. If he wanted to, he could go to check it out. He worried a little about some of the scary fish that might be in the depths, though. He was too scared to go alone.

A hand found his, and he looked up. He could see some of the purple sky as his bubbles caused ripples on the surface. He allowed the hand to tug him upwards as he kicked him feet. He broke the surface to cough up the black water, shaking his head to rid himself of the droplets falling from his hair. He was greeted by the smiling face of his sister Mari.

“There you are, Sunny! We’ve been looking for you!” She pulled him up and helped him onto the ladder she was standing on. It took Sunny a moment to realize they were on some wooden rungs that had been engraved into the side of a ship. Mari’s outfit was one that he had never seen before. Pure white in color with the exception of gold decorations and black boots, she looked like a ghostly lady pirate captain. Her long purple hair had ribbons looped around two small braids that mixed into her hair. She climbed up towards the top of a ship deck. It took no time at all, then, to understand that his friends had managed to find a pirate ship without him around. He followed her lead and climbed up as well. “Mission success!” She called to everyone.

Sunny’s name was cheered from the rest of his friends on the deck. They were all dressed in various types of pirate gear that matched the setting they were in. It was kind of fun to see. “I’m glad you’re okay.” Hero said as he patted Sunny down a little as if checking for injuries. He had his frying pan strapped to his belt like a sword even though his LOL sword was strapped to his other hip. “We heard from the others that you fell into one of those puddles and disappeared! You’ve been gone a while.”

“I was so worried!” Basil agreed, pulling Sunny into a hug.

“You’ve really got to watch out for those.” Aubrey scolded gently with a relieved frown on her face. “They can get you out of nowhere. They seem to really like you, Sunny.”

“But now that everyone’s here, we can really get searching!” Kel cried with excitement. His eyes sparkled with the thrill of adventure. “Let’s get sailing already!”

“Just wait a minute, Kel. We have to make sure Sunny is okay.” Hero said.

“Yeah! And he needs to get changed too before he catches a cold.” Mari added. She turned to her brother. “Come with me, okay? I have some clothes waiting for you.”

“I’m going to hoist the sail, then!” Aubrey said.

“Me too, me too!” Kel agreed.

“I’ll help too.” Basil said with a grin.

“Then… I’ll get on the wheel. Let’s get to work, okay?” Hero clapped his hands, and everyone split up to do their jobs. Sunny followed his sister below deck where he noticed a number of items that reminded him of his house back in Neighbor’s Room. Mari reached into the dresser and pulled out clothing that looked like his own set of pirate gear. There were even some boots. Everyone was so colorful in their outfits with the exception of Mari herself. Nevertheless, she looked really sophisticated and confident. She seemed just as excited for the adventure as anybody else.

“What happened while I was gone?” Sunny asked as he stripped off his wet clothing. Mari politely turned away to let her brother change in peace. His eyepatch just seemed to fit perfectly on his face as he slid it on.

“Well, we went looking for you obviously. But on the way, we ran into some people at the docks who had this ship. We asked them to let us borrow it, but we had to fight them first. So we did, and then we took the ship to go look for you! There were all these neat clothes on board. Haha, being pirates suits us, right?” She giggled to herself. “I’ve always wanted to be a pirate. Now that we’ve found you, we’re going to look for Never Island!”

“Is it real?” Sunny asked, buttoning up his vest and tying a cloth around his waist. His violin was strapped to his hip along with the bow. It was a little clunky, but it wasn’t in his way.

“No idea, but the thought is exciting, right?” Sunny turned to her and she turned to face him. “Wow! You look very cool, Sunny.”

“You too.” He wasn’t sure how he felt about trying to find Never Island. It sounded interesting to be sure. He’d never been treasure hunting before, and Never Island sounded like it had some good stuff on it. They’d probably run into troubles along the way as well. Never growing up was too good to be true, but it would be nice if that was true.

“Now that you’re ready, let’s go start our adventure. Lead the way, little brother, because we have your back!”

Sunny and his sister climbed back onto the deck as the sail came down and the ship began to move. For a time the group of friends prepared everything and played games on the ship deck. Kel climbed down the side ladder and let his hand trail on the waves the ship kicked up. Basil spread his arms and closed his eyes as the salty tang in the air made their hair crisp up a little. Aubrey climbed onto Hero’s shoulders since she wasn’t quite brave enough to climb the mast by herself to gain height. Sunny played his violin, filling the air with sea shanties that he didn’t actually know how to play while his friends danced. Hero pulled Mari close as the girl giggled, holding her hat so it wouldn’t blow away. And everything was perfectly wonderful.

The siblings stood at the railing as the wind blew through their hair and they watched multi-colored dolphins leap from the water next to the ship. The Inky Ocean appeared to go on endlessly ahead of them, but the starlight inspired hope as it glittered on the waves beneath them. Anything could be ahead of them. He wondered what would be in store.

“Did you want to find the island?” Mari asked suddenly.

“Yes.” Sunny said. “The treasure sounds cool.”

Mari hummed thoughtfully. Then she added in a tone in direct contrast to her early excitement, “I hope we never find it, though.” Her eyes met his, and her gaze turned gentle as her smile became wistful, “Things can’t stay static forever, and you have to grow up sometime.”

He was used to this. This was a Mari that knew the truth. The Mari that he saw during the day as well as the night. Every time he saw her in Headspace it filled his stomach with rocks. It was ice thrown down the back of his shirt. He didn’t want to hear those words from her.

“You won’t.” He said softly.

Mari didn’t respond to that. She wrapped her arm around Sunny’s shoulder, and he leaned against her. The warmth of her body did much to chase some of the chill away. He wanted to find Never Island and he hoped that it was real.

Chapter Text

It was probably the earliest that Sunny had woken up since… possibly February. The sun had that gentle radiance to it that came from the sky being a little too light and airy. He let out a yawn as he and his three friends walked along the sidewalks to Basil’s house. Kel and Hero were both wide awake and chipper, though Sunny didn’t know how they managed it. Aubrey appeared to be in Sunny’s position. She had already mumbled something about it being illegal to be awake so early during summer vacation. Kel had his arm wrapped around Sunny’s waist to keep him on his feet. Sunny didn’t mind the contact since he might have actually nodded off otherwise. His vision was swimming with things he knew weren’t actually there considering it appeared to him that the street was filled with inky waters. It looked more like an oil spill in the daylight.

He rubbed at his eyes to try to clear them as Hero knocked on the door to Basil’s house and they were let in by the boy himself. “Try not to be too noisy.” Basil warned softly. “Polly’s still asleep. I didn’t want to wake her up.”

“No problem.” Kel gave him a thumbs up and released Sunny’s hip to take his hand instead. They crossed through the house to take the side door into the backyard. There were multiple large planters in the back, most of which were empty in preparation for the new plants that were to be grown. Some were in the shade of the trees in the backyard, some were in the small greenhouse that took up the back corner of the yard, and some were right out in the direct sunlight. Basil showed them to where he had plenty of gardening gloves and tools to work with.

“There’s, um, a lot of weeds and stuff. Those will have to be removed first. We have a compost box over there. Um…” He anxiously looked around and tried to relay all of his instructions. Sunny just flipped the trowel in his hand and gazed at it idly. Memories of Basil’s garden pruners hit him lack a sack of bricks, shocking him back to reality. Oh right. That was what took out his eye. It hadn’t been Something. A shudder rolled down his back. Spooky.

The group set to work on their separate tasks. For a while it was relaxing. Sunny had never really minded helping Basil with his plants. It was kind of satisfying pulling a weed out fully by the roots. The feeling of fresh soil rolling across his gloved hands was nice as well. The worst part was the smell of the compost heap and the fertilizer once they had to use it. But otherwise, it was all pretty relaxing.

He glanced at his friends and took in the sights. Basil was dressed properly for gardening, including long overalls and sunglasses on underneath his large straw hat. It had a big fake sunflower on it. He was completely in his element. Aubrey wore a tank top that she had rolled up to tie at her stomach as the heat of the day began to kick in. She wore some capri pants and had her hair tied up along with her bow-decorated headband. Earlier that day Sunny had gotten to see her with her colored contacts out, but they were back in now. She needed them since she didn’t want to wear glasses. Hero wore a tee shirt that was darkening with his sweat and some pants. Kel had a tank top on as well and some shorts. Sunny hadn’t brought gardening clothes with him, so he had decided to wear yesterday’s clothes with the expectation of them just getting dirtier anyway. He would change when they got back. He admired Kel and Hero’s slim but muscled forms, a little bit jealous. Not only were they fit, but their darker skin meant they wouldn’t burn as easily. Sunny was just grateful that Basil had had a second straw hat for him to wear or else he would’ve completely burnt his face. He was still far too pale.

It was in the middle of them talking about some hilarious stories that Hero learned in school that Kel decided to snap a picture of them in a group shot of working on the garden together. Basil had been in the middle of laughing and Aubrey’s eyes had been crinkled with amusement. Sunny had been watching Hero with wide, fascinated eyes since he had been engrossed in the strange psychological story. He had barely noticed the picture being taken.

“This sucks.” Kel announced some time later during a lull in their casual conversation and while they were planting the seeds. “I’m bored!”

“Well… We’re almost done.” Basil said. His face showed some of his discomfort. Sunny wiped his arm across his forehead and smeared some dirt there. “Once we get-”

Hero let out a shriek then and cartwheeled his arms as he kicked away from the planter he was at. He fell flat backwards, hitting the ground hard. Everyone looked at him, shocked, when Aubrey let out a scream next and flew to her feet, panicking as she grabbed her clothes and tugged on them. “GET IT OUT!” She yelled.

“What is it?!” Kel yelled, looking to his brother, but Hero looked like he had seen a ghost. Sunny had seen that look one time before.

“Spider.” He said.

“I’ve got it!” Basil threw off his gloves and hurried to Aubrey’s rescue. “Hold still, Aubrey!”

Tears sprang to Aubrey’s eyes as she tried to hold herself still but arched as she felt the spider down the back of her shirt. “G-Get it off… please…!” She whimpered.

“Sorry for this!” Basil lifted up the back of her shirt, exposing her bra, and snatched the spider as quickly as he could before he tossed it over the fence. He hurriedly dropped her shirt as Aubrey hid her face in her arms. “It’s gone! It’s gone!”

“C’mon, Hero, it’s gone now.” Kel assured his brother as he tried to get him to his feet. Sunny went over to help him since Basil was comforting Aubrey. As soon as Hero was to his feet, though, he threw himself at Sunny and hugged him tightly, pressing his face into his hair.

“Oh my god, I saw my life flash before my eyes.” He whimpered. “I was so scared!”

“You?!” Aubrey snapped. “You threw the spider at me!”

“I didn’t mean to!” He swore, lifting his head and sniffling. Sunny saw Kel shake his head in fond exasperation. It was the exact same look Sunny had seen Hero give Kel thousands of times before. He snorted softly to himself and lifted a hand to pat Hero’s back reassuringly. “I-I panicked!”

“That much was obvious!”

“Sorry. There’s a couple of bugs you’ll find here.” Basil said.

“I think I’m done for today.” Aubrey sniffed, shuddering at whatever she was thinking about, and brushed off her legs. “I’m going to go wash up.”

“Alright. I can finish the rest if you guys want?”

“I’ll take Hero back home and we’ll come back, okay?” Kel suggested. “Then we can head over to the basketball court!”

“Hehe, okay. Thank you for the help, guys.” Basil smiled at them. “Um, Hero, you might want to let Sunny go before you smother him.”

“What? Oh! Right! Sorry.” Hero released Sunny finally. Sunny adjusted the straw hat on his head before he just took it off instead.

“I’ll go too.” He said. “I need to change and get some stuff.”

“Oh, um, alright.” Basil said. He looked like he wanted to protest, but held his tongue. Sunny tilted his head a little, curious at the reaction, but he really did need to go and change. They returned their gardening gear. Then Kel led a now-sheepish Hero and Sunny back through the house and back outside. There Kel began to snicker a little.

“That was a pretty funny reaction, Hero! Poor Aubrey getting caught in the crossfire, though.” He didn’t sound very sympathetic, though. Sunny was just glad it wasn’t him. He probably would’ve freaked out as well, phobia or not.

“It’s not funny.” Hero whined a little. “I still get so freaked out by spiders. The shock of that nearly made me pass out. I can’t stand them with all of those legs…! Ugh.” He shuddered. “I feel so bad for Aubrey. I swear, I’m gonna get her whatever she wants as a snack today to make up for this.”

“Aw man, no fair! What about your poor little brother who always saves you from the nasty spiders when you’re here?” Kel attempted to use puppy eyes on his brother, but it wasn’t as effective as he had wanted it to be. Still, it did at least some damage.

“...I’ll get you a soda as thanks.” Hero said, the guilt eating at his good nature enough to cave in.

“Heck yes!” Kel pumped his fist, excited.

It was nice to be back in air conditioning as they returned to the house and went upstairs to do a quick wash-up and change clothing. Kel seemed content to stay in his clothes, but Hero changed his clothes along with Sunny. He felt a lot better now that he was in shorts. He reapplied his sunscreen and grabbed his knapsack to bring with them. This time he remembered his photo album and his present for his friends. Kel remembered to bring his basketball, and Hero grabbed a water bottle from the fridge for each of them before they met back up at Basil’s house.

Aubrey was sitting in the shade next to Basil as the boy filled up what looked like the planter box he had bought from the store the other day. Fresh soil was being gently spread out around a Lily of the Valley flower. The box was too big for the lone plant. Aubrey glanced at the boys from where she had her elbows on her knees, giving Hero a sulky look. 

“I’m really sorry about that, Aubrey. That wasn’t very nice of me.” Hero pleaded for her forgiveness. He offered a water bottle in compensation and added, “I want to make it up to you. So just name what treat you want, and I’ll get it for you.”

“Hmph, you should.” Aubrey looked sharply away as she accepted the water bottle, but then actually thought it over. Sunny could see she was already pretty much over the event. He accepted his water bottle from Hero and sat down on the other side of Basil to watch him work. He had a smudge of dirt on his cheek. Sunny reached over and wiped it off for him, making Basil blush a little and give him an embarrassed smile in thanks. “Hm. I want you to make us cookies. You know, the kind you used to make.”

“Really?” Hero blinked with surprise.

She gave him a somewhat wary look. “Is that… okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, that’s… yeah. It’s fine. I’m just surprised. My cookies weren’t that great.” He rubbed at the back of his head, expression complicated.

“Oh shut up.” She shook her head. “Your cookies were great.”

“Seriously, they were some of the best I’ve had!” Kel agreed as Sunny nodded to show his support.

“Wow, Hero’s cooking… Just the thought of them brings back memories.” Basil added.

“Okay, I’ll correct myself; they’re not as good as Mari’s.” Hero said.

“Both of your cookies were great!” Kel denied with a huff. Sunny kept quiet on this one because he was biased. Hero made delicious cookies, but he definitely loved Mari’s the most.

“So will you make them?” Aubrey pressed.

“I will, I will. I made a promise, didn’t I?” Hero said. When he wasn’t looking, Kel and Aubrey fist-bumped each other. Sunny gave them a subtle thumbs up since he wasn’t close enough to share the fist bump. He was excited for the cookies. “I’ll have to see if we have everything we need back at home. Did you need any more help, Basil?” 

“Nope.” Basil brushed the soil from his gloves and stepped back. He had added a sheer, dark purple ribbon to the planter. “The rest of the garden is ready. Aubrey already watered the seeds for me, so I should be good. Thank you all for the help. That went a lot faster than usual.” It was edging closer to midday and they were all admittedly getting kind of hungry. But Sunny didn’t want to go just yet. He pulled out the album from his knapsack instead.

“I have a present.” He said. Aubrey looked a little surprised to see the photo album.

“Oh, you brought that with you.” She said.

“What’s the present?” Kel asked as Sunny placed the book in between them. They all moved so that it was in the middle and they could all look at it together. 

Sunny ran his finger over the corner of the book repeatedly, feeling the point pressing against the pad. “It’s… I wanted to give something back to you all. I hope you like it.” He was nervous about the gift he was giving and how it would be received. After all, it could possibly backfire on him. But he still wanted to offer it to them. He opened the back of the photo album where there were four bundles of photographs. Each one of them contained copies of the same things. Sunny had used his mother’s digital camera to take individual pictures of every photo in Basil’s photo album before he had cut them all to be the same size. Then he had written each of Basil’s captions on the back, trying his best to mimic his friend’s handwriting.

“Sunny…!” Basil breathed as he took off the rubberband to look at the photographs. The others did the same, various levels of surprise or delight on their faces as they flipped through them, glancing at the backs as well. “You did this?”

Sunny nodded. “I felt bad being the one with the only copies. I… They’re your memories as well. And I wanted you to have them.” The fact that it had coincided with the idea that they’d had on the first day to snap new memories over the course of this week was only happenstance. But it was a pleasant one at that. “I, um, I also added a couple extras. There’s not much but I found a couple old pictures of us too. From my mom’s stuff.” He motioned for them to flip towards the end where the new pictures revealed themselves. Shocked gasps escaped some of them. Hero’s breath caught.

There were only five new photos, each with Mari in them somewhere. There was one where it was a younger Mari along with Sunny and Hero at one of Hero’s birthday parties. Another was Mari doing her nails for the first time, followed by her trying and failing to give Sunny a makeover. The last two were candid shots from some trip or another. Sunny had written in what he could remember from those events similar to what Basil had done in his album. His good memory came in use for something. 

He waited nervously for the response and added, “I know they’re not, um, all from our times together, but I thought maybe you might want some other memories of-”

He didn’t get to finish as Aubrey threw herself at Sunny in a hug, followed by Kel, knocking Sunny down with a surprised noise. “I love it.” Aubrey whispered shakily. “Thank you, Sunny.”

“These are great!” Kel agreed, and for once he sounded a little bit choked up as well.

Basil was next to join the hug as Sunny sat up. He pressed his face to the boy’s shoulder and only said a quiet, “Thank you.”

Sunny looked over Aubrey’s shoulder and saw silent tears rolling down Hero’s face as he stared at one of the photographs. Sunny was the only one who saw him bring his arm up to his eyes, teeth gritted to hold back his tears, before he dropped his arm. His eyes squeezed close, pushing more tears out, before his expression relaxed and his eyes opened once more. He caught Sunny watching him, and a sob finally broke from him as a wet smile pulled at his lips. Then he was hugging all of them as well. He couldn’t bring himself to speak. Sunny was fine with that. He understood gratitude when he saw it.

Aubrey sniffled loudly and tried to pull away first after a few long moments. It forced everyone to unravel. Kel huffed out a laugh as he wiped at his eyes before positively beaming. Sunny hadn’t meant to make them cry, but he was relieved to see that they seemed to like their gift. 

“Hey.” Hero said after a long moment of everyone gathering themselves as they looked over the new pictures and old alike. “How about… After I make the cookies, we go and visit Mari? We can make a picnic out of it. And we can all look at the photo album together this time.”

“That sounds nice.” Aubrey said, eyes soft and just a little melancholic.

“Yeah. I think we should. She would like that.” Kel agreed.

Sunny looked towards Basil, who had frozen. His mouth opened and closed. His red eyes reminded Sunny of last year. But his worry turned into a sad smile, accepting the idea as he nodded. “I… I think it’s about time I visit her.”

Nobody questioned Basil having never gone before. It was understandable considering the circumstances, and none of them were cruel enough to push. Sunny himself had only gone because Kel had brought it up, and then he had gone back with everyone on that third day. Finally it was time for them all to go together. The picnic was just what they needed.

“It’s a plan, then.” Hero agreed.

“First, though, I’m still looking forward to that basketball match. Let’s go play for a bit, and then we’ll have lunch.” Kel said. “We won’t get the chance to do it tomorrow!”

Oh right, Sunny thought, tomorrow was the day they would finally go to the beach. It occurred to him that his time in Faraway Town was already halfway over. It had gone by so quickly.

“Let’s get going, then.” Aubrey said. “But let me stop by my house real quick to pick up my own camera. I’m not missing my chance this time.”

“We should take more pictures.” Hero said. “A ton more.”

Sunny agreed with the idea. He wanted to capture the best moments, but the silly, inconsequential moments were ones that he wanted as well. He planned to make the best of the next few days.

Chapter Text

The basketball game was a good choice for blowing off some steam. Sunny had been kind of hesitant to participate because he knew that he would most likely be a hindrance to the team, but it became abruptly obvious only a few minutes into the game that absolutely nobody was taking it seriously. Absurd rules were created and discarded on the fly, throwing the entire game into the chaos. Kel kept calling ‘Ultimate Moves’. Hero had scooped Basil up at one point to stop him from scoring and tickled his ribs until he dropped the ball. Sunny tried to pass the ball to Kel and ended up hitting him in the head by accident. Aubrey picked up a nearby bat and tried to bat the ball into the hoop, shocking everyone when she actually managed it. They kept that point. It was silly and playful and Sunny had delighted in every second of it. They even managed to snap a few pictures during the game.

Later, the teams evened out when Mikhael arrived. Aubrey had tried to get him to join, but the boy had been stubborn and insisted that he was too good for that up until Kel had jeered him enough to the point he wanted in. They played the game straight that time, but ended up with some severe losses even with Kel on Sunny’s team. It just couldn’t make up for the fact that Sunny and Basil just weren’t good at the sport. The only real downside to the entire event was that now Mikhael had bragging rights, which vexed Kel a little.

Despite the original plan to have a picnic for lunch, the group was far too ravenous to pass up the temptation of another pizza pie when they passed it while headed to OtherMart. Mikhael had needed to pick something up from his family store, so he also bought some fresh rolls and coaxed the pizza man to give them garlic butter to put on top of them while they had their pizza. Sunny had been the one to order this time as he chose to use the money he and Basil had made the day before in order to buy a large pizza. When asked how much cheese he wanted on the cheese pizza, Sunny responded with, “As much as you’re legally allowed to give us.”

They ended up with a pizza that had an inch’s height worth of cheese on the top of it. It was the best pizza Sunny had ever had. Hero took a picture of all five younger kids competing to see who could have the longest stretch of cheese after biting into their pizza. Nobody really won, but all of them got sauce on their shirts. It was fun.

“You know,” Mikhael said when they were done eating and they were walking back to the houses to split up. They paused on the corner where Mikhael would turn to go home while the others were still deciding their next move, “You’re kinda… a lot cooler than I had expected.” He was looking at Sunny.

Sunny just blinked at him.

“Sunny’s always been cool!” Kel said, throwing his arm over his friend’s shoulder and pressing his cheek to the boy’s. Sunny’s expression didn’t change, but he felt his ears warm a little. Kel had started to be more physical like he had as a child.

“He was carrying a knife the first time we met.” Mikhael looked unimpressed. “Sorry if I thought he wasn’t normal.”

“That was a one-off. And an accident.” Kel said.

“Yeah, he didn’t even attack us with it.” Aubrey added.

Mikhael shook his head. “ Anyway , uh… it was fun.”

“You coming to the beach this weekend?” Aubrey decided to change the subject.

“Of course. Where else can I show off my hot body to the desirable ladies?” Mikhael flipped the blond hair of his wig, sparkling as he attempted to do a cool pose but came off more like a tool.

“...Right. We’ll see you then. Bye.” The group waved Mikhael off.

“Uh…” Hero said after a moment. “What was that about a knife?”

“It’s nothing.” She didn’t look at Hero while she spoke. “We all got into some fights last year. That’s all.”

“A knife ? Sunny?” Hero pressed. Sunny swallowed. The ‘older sibling tone’ was one he hadn’t actually heard in five years. He could practically see Mari standing next to Hero with a similar raised-eyebrow of disapproval and crossed arms as she waited with Hero to hear what their little brothers had been getting into. How the heck did he explain this as simply as possible.

“I’m sorry.” Sunny said instead, ducking his head a little. “I…”

The others waited, watching him. Then Kel interrupted, “It ended up not being a problem! I should’ve noticed the knife earlier. Sunny didn’t hurt anyone and I took it away when I saw it.”

“That’s not the point-” Hero cut himself off and took a breath to calm the anxiety and frustration in his voice. Then he said, “Sunny, I need to know, okay? Please.”

His guilt couldn’t hold up to that. He could see by his friends’ faces that they felt just as uncomfortable. It was rare that Hero got stern on any of them. He had to tell the truth. “A knife was my, um, weapon of choice. In Headspace. And I used it to fight the monsters in my nightmares. I… I didn’t realize I was carrying a real one with me.” He wasn’t even sure how to explain that part. “I thought I only had the knife in my dreams. I’m sorry.”

“Only in your dreams?” Basil prompted gently.

“How do you not notice yourself carrying a knife?” Aubrey looked baffled.

“...It was so familiar. Like a part of me.” Sunny admitted quietly. The tension was palpable in the silence that followed.

Hero weighed his words carefully as he asked, “...And now? Do you still use knives on your… nightmares?”

Sunny shook his head. That wasn’t his weapon anymore. It was dawning on him how this probably looked to his friends. He would try to clear up the misunderstanding, but he was also side-swiped by the realization that it wasn’t a misunderstanding. Whatever they were thinking was probably completely correct. Especially Hero, who understood that Sunny’s nightmares didn’t stay in his dreams. Sunny still occasionally dreamed of himself holding a knife and fighting off against shadows. He was careful to check that he didn’t actually have any knives on him. Luckily he hadn’t dreamt of stabbing himself since, well, the last nightmare. But at least that recurring nightmare was one he was used to.

“It’s no longer an issue now.” Kel insisted. “We all got into a couple of fights back then, but they were just, I don’t know, schoolyard stupidity.”

“You pepper sprayed us .” Aubrey pointed out.

“ You guys were bullying Basil and teamed up against us!” Kel shot back. “There was no way we could win six on two!”

“Alright, enough, enough!” Hero broke up the argument that was about to ensue. Sunny watched Basil as the boy’s eyes darkened with memories. Sunny had to look away. “If it’s in the past then… Then we’ll let it go. But Sunny,” Hero turned to face him with a serious frown, “that was extremely dangerous. I know you know that now, right?” Sunny nodded. Hero’s severe expression lightened a little, “Good. Since nobody got hurt and you learned from your mistake, we’ll forget about it. Is that okay with you, Aubrey?”

“It’s fine. I wasn’t really mad at the time anyway. Just a little freaked out.” Aubrey shrugged it off. “Besides, I was in the wrong too. I was the one who attacked them.” Sunny was grateful that his past self had been reluctant to use a knife against his friend and had held back the entire time, even if at the time that had meant that Kel had been the one doing all the fighting. Sunny had stuck to healing his friend instead until Aubrey realized Sunny had been carrying a knife. If the fight had gone on for too long, he might have actually attacked as well.

“What should we do now?” Kel asked. “It’s really hot! Should we save the picnic for later when it’s, I don’t know, kinda cooler?”

“I’m okay with that. We should check the house for ingredients anyway. I think I still remember the recipe.” Hero put his knuckle to his chin in thought.

“How about we head to our secret spot?” Basil suggested. He looked kinda tired in that way that Sunny could feel in his bones. “It’s pretty cool there during the day with all of the trees.”

“Hey yeah! I say we go swimming too!” Kel added, excited.

“We’re going to the beach tomorrow and you want to go swimming today ?” Aubrey asked.

“There’s a huge difference between swimming in the ocean and in the lake.” Kel put his hands on his hips, beaming. “Besides, you don’t have to swim if you don’t want to! I’m gonna do it whether or not I have my swimsuit!”

“Uh, we’re going home anyway, so maybe you should just change there.” Hero pointed out.

“Oh right! Good idea.”

“Erg!” Aubrey gritted her teeth before she caved in. “You know what? Fine. I’m gonna go change, then.”

“Sweet! How about we all meet at our secret spot, then? We’ll kill two birds with one stone.”

“Sounds like a plan. See you guys later.” Aubrey waved as she walked off to head home.

“What about you, Basil?” Hero asked.

“I’ll come with you.” He gave a sheepish smile. “I don’t really feel like getting my inner tube ready and stuff. I’ll sit on the shore.” Sunny quietly wondered to himself if Basil had any lingering fears of the water after Aubrey had shoved him into the lake on accident. He didn’t seem like it. That was a good thing.

“Okay.” The four boys headed back to the house to go change. Sunny decided that he would rather go swimming as well. This time he would make sure to do it properly. The idea of getting into that lake made his skin crawl a little, but he wasn’t willing to cave into those lingering fears. If he drew over those memories with fun times there, maybe he could develop some fond feelings for the place instead. He might even have the confidence to try jumping off of the statue this time. If he could jump from the side of a house, he could jump from a statue.

They changed clothes and exited the house once more to head to the park. The towels were thrown into Sunny’s bag so it didn’t look suspicious for them to be walking around like they were going to the pool. They didn’t want people finding out about their secret spot. It was as they walked that Kel recounted what happened on that first day that Sunny had left the house so that Hero and Basil were both caught up. Hero didn’t support the idea of Kel fighting the neighborhood kids, but he seemed at least a little appeased to know that none of the fights were serious. Basil took Sunny’s hand in silent support. For who, though, Sunny wasn’t too sure.

Aubrey was already there when they arrived. She was in the middle of pulling off her shirt to reveal her bathing suit for the first time. It was a two piece, but the top was long enough that only a little bit of her stomach was exposed. There were frills along the chest that matched the skirt on the bottoms. It was white with pastel pink polka dots which matched her hair. She still wore the teal bow in her hair, and she blushed when she realized the boys had arrived.

“Your bathing suit is really cute, Aubrey.” Basil complimented. Sunny could feel his ears warming. He hadn’t seen Aubrey wearing anything close to girly-girl since they were kids. It struck him that Aubrey was a woman. He was abruptly and uncomfortably aware of the fact that they were no longer kids. He didn’t know how to feel about it.

“Th… Thanks.” Aubrey muttered, still a little shy as she turned her head away and rubbed her arm.

Sunny placed down their stuff and the boys pulled out their towels. Kel didn’t stay long enough to really help out much before he ripped off his shirt and shoes and charged right in. He jumped off of the dock, managing a flip, before hitting the water. Sunny clapped, impressed.

“AH! The water feels great!” Kel called after he surfaced, shaking his head like a dog’s. His hair stuck to his face and he swiped it away with a big grin.

“Make way!” Hero shouted to him as he finally stripped to his own bathing suit and copied his brother. Kel laughed as he was splashed by the landing, and when Hero surfaced he swiped a wave of water at him. The sight alone brought back memories for Sunny, and he found his heart feeling warm as well.

“You coming?” Aubrey asked as she made her way to the shore only to pause and look back. She hesitated, and then held out her hand to him. She was definitely blushing now, but Sunny was too. It would be the first time Aubrey had held his hand since they were twelve. “Don’t worry. I won’t let anything bad happen to you. None of us will.”

And Sunny believed her.

“Come on.” Basil encouraged Sunny, walking forward a little. He was going to follow them to the edge, but he was going to stay on the shore. He had his camera on him so he could snap pictures whenever he wanted.

“Hang on.” Sunny pulled off his shirt, eyepatch, and shoes before he grabbed his goggles. He slipped them on to protect his eye before he reached out and took Aubrey’s hand. She walked with him into the water. The lake was cool much like the stream had been. He felt the sediment on the bottom flare up under each of his steps, and he saw little minnows scurry away from him. There were no seashells like there had been in Headspace. No powder-soft sand either. Just murky darkness that made his heart beat too quickly. He felt safe with his friend’s hand in his, though.

They had just managed to make it deep enough that the water was up to their chests before Kel was throwing himself on Sunny’s back and laughing. With the water supporting most of his weight, Sunny was actually able to stay upright under the bigger boy’s assault. “Gotchu, Sunny!” He cried.

“Kel!” Aubrey snapped. “Leave him alone!”

“Aw, he’s fine! Right?”

Sunny nodded. He was okay. This was nice. He could still feel the bottom. He saw Basil go and sit on the dock with bare feet dipped into the water. Hero dove into the depths and disappeared for a bit, but Sunny saw his feet breach the surface a couple of times.

The four of them swam and played, chatting casually now that the bite of the day’s heat had been soothed by the cool waters. Sunny hadn’t been swimming in real life in a long time, not counting the time he had tried to save Basil. It took some bravery on his part, but he dove beneath the surface a few times. The water was bluer on the deeper side of the lake, but he got too scared when he saw the darkness beneath him. He hurried back to the shallower part of the lake. He didn’t mind swimming anymore, and he wasn’t scared of drowning either, but the lake still made him too nervous.

Kel and Hero decided to attempt to jump off of the statue once more and found it easier than when they were children. They had a competition that was judged based on skill and how big of a splash they could make that was judged by their friends. The loser was forced to endure all four of the others splashing him as much as possible. Hero, unsurprisingly, came up with the cooler tricks. Sunny had laughed as Kel had sputtered under the onslaught of waves forced upon him. Basil’s shorts got soaked from the force of his kicks as he tried to create the biggest waves.

Then Sunny took his turn. It was time for redemption, he thought as he climbed up to the top. All four of his friends watched him closely. “Don’t worry!” Hero called to him as Sunny stood at the top and gazed down. It was higher than he remembered. He froze. “Just jump! It’s not as scary as it seems!”

There was no spider this time. Sunny either had to jump or to climb down. Neither option was pleasant, but he had determination. He could do this. He had jumped off of much higher when he had been in Headspace. He wouldn’t die here. He was okay.

Sunny took a deep breath and jumped.

The fall seemed to last forever. He got a glimpse up at the blue sky before his body impacted with the water and his vision swam. The blue became deeper. The waves pulled him down, down, down, and the darkness crawled in. He felt like he would never surface. He needed to kick his feet. He thought he saw the ghost of Mari diving in after him. Fish swam by just inside his vision, their muddy scales abruptly reflecting rainbows in the sunlight. He reached out to touch Mari’s hand as her black hair swirled around her like a sheer cape. She looked like his guardian angel as her white dress fanned out. Their hands touched as she smiled at him. She wasn’t worried. She was thrilled for him. 

Then the hand in his yanked him upwards and he broke the surface. Hero’s gaze was worried, but it cleared when he saw Sunny was alright. More than alright, actually. He felt good.  “You did it.” Hero praised with a big smile as the others cheered in the background at Sunny’s success. “How did it feel?”

Sunny searched for the word before a smile pulled at his lips. He gave a soft laugh and said, “It was fun.” He no longer felt scared.

Chapter Text

The setting sun brought with it a slight chill that encouraged everyone to go back home and change. The group of five went their separate ways with the agreement that they would meet up at Kel and Hero’s house to assist with preparing for their evening picnic. The mood was light, and Sunny felt the pleasant burn of fatigued muscles. It was just on the edge of requiring effort to keep moving, but he didn’t mind it. He felt good. His heart was at ease.

Once the boys were changed, they retreated to the kitchen. Hero was just starting to pull out all of the ingredients he needed for his cookies while they discussed what else they wanted to make when there was a knock on the door. Sunny left the brothers to go answer it himself. Basil stood on the other side in new clothes and a hesitant smile on his face. He had the planter he had decorated earlier with him.

“Should I just leave this outside?” He asked. “Is Hector out here?”

Sunny shook his head. He knew Hector was in the backyard at the moment where the parents were sharing drinks and playing with Sally. They had been giving the boys plenty of room to enjoy themselves, it seemed. Either that, or the boys’ timing was good for taking over portions of the house. Kel was in charge of keeping his parents informed of their comings and goings. 

“I’ll leave it outside, then. I don’t want to get soil inside of the house on accident.” He placed the planter down near the doorstep and entered the house after brushing a little bit of dirt off of himself. They were met with Kel headed for the door, pulling on his shoes once more.

“Hey!” He greeted. “We don’t have any chocolate chips, so I’m headed to the store. I’ll be back in a bit.” He waved the $20 bill in his hand.

“Do you need any help?” Basil asked.

“Nope, it’s fine! I’ll be quicker alone. I’m gonna run.”

“Oh. Okay.” Yeah, Kel was definitely much faster on his own. The boy shot them a cheeky smile with his tongue sticking out, saluting with two fingers from his head, before he turned and dashed away. Basil only blinked silently next to Sunny before they entered the house and closed the door. They returned to the kitchen to find Hero pulling out everything he would need for the cookies along with some cutting boards. 

“So,” he started when he noticed that he wasn’t alone, “let’s have your guesses. I gave Kel $20 for one pack of chocolate chips. What else do you think he’s going to come back with?”

Basil laughed a little. “Um, I’m not sure. Probably a pack of cards from Hobbeez and thing of soda?”

Sunny shook his head. “No cards. Definitely soda. And chips.”

“Ah yeah, some chips.” Basil nodded sagely.

“If we weren’t on a little bit of a time crunch I would say absolutely to the cards.” Hero agreed as he rolled up his sleeves. He was wearing the thin sweater he had worn last year when Sunny had seen him. “But I don’t think he’ll stop there on the way back. I’m gonna throw in that he’ll buy an extra bag of chocolate chips to eat for himself.”

It was an excellent guess. “What all are we having?” Basil scooted a bit closer to look at what Hero had planned.

“I was thinking sandwiches. Dad bought some bread for subs, so we can make a couple of those. I think that will be plenty for us for dinner. But there are also some leftover steaks from the other day that need to be used.” Hero washed his hands and seemed to be contemplating something. “Actually… I could probably repurpose those steaks. Heat them up and use them with the bread… Yeah, I know a pretty good sauce I could throw together as well. Let me check if I remember it right, though.”

Basil and Sunny shared a look as Hero pulled out his phone to do a quick search. Basil smiled and held his finger to his lips before leading Sunny over to the counter to sit so they wouldn’t disturb their friend. It had been a long time since they had seen Hero eagerly cook the way that he was. They weren’t about to interrupt. They decided to just let him get started, and then they jumped in to gather some disposable plates and forks to pack the picnic basket with.

Some time later, Kel returned with a shopping bag that definitely didn’t contain just one bag of chocolate chips. By his side was Aubrey, who had changed into something more casual. Her hair was still damp, but it was drier than earlier. “I’m back!” Kel called, dropping the bag on the counter. “And I got what we need!” He dug into it and began to pull the items out one by one. A big bag of the mini bags of potato chips in assorted flavors, three bags of chocolate chips, and a six-pack of Orange Joe. Sunny, Kel, Aubrey, and Hero stared at the haul blankly before Aubrey’s face twisted with disgust.

“Ugh! How did you even find that gross stuff?! I thought they stopped selling Orange Joe!”

“It’s not gross!” Kel put his hands on his hips with a frown. “I’ve told you that it’s the best.”

“Um, I thought you were going to buy soda for all of us?” Hero asked with some hesitation.

“It is for all of us.” Kel gave him a confused look.

“Why are there three bags of chocolate chips?” Basil asked as he shifted the bags around. They were all the good kind as well.

“Obviously because two are for Hero to make cookies and one is for me!” Kel beamed. He looked very proud for someone who had bought stuff primarily for himself. “I know for a fact that Mom and Dad will want some. And Sally too!” Sunny looked over the different flavors of chips. At least he liked most of these. He would not be touching the Orange Joe. If it was anyone but Kel, he might have suspected that this was a ploy so that he could have the soda for himself. As it was, though, Kel wouldn’t think to do that.

“I’m having water.” Aubrey said bluntly and dug in the fridge before grabbing a reusable water bottle to fill.

“Same here, please.” Basil said.

“Me too.” Sunny agreed.

“You guys have no taste.” Kel lamented, shaking his head. He put his drinks in the fridge for now. “So what can we help with, bro?”

There wasn’t enough room for all of them to work without getting in each other’s way, so Kel took his place next to Hero to assist in the meal preparation. Sunny, Basil, and Aubrey helped with the packing of the items. When they had run out of the ability to assist, though, because they had nothing else to do they retreated to the living room to relax with the television on. The two groups held separate conversations with only the occasional raised voice to answer one or the other from across the house.

Sunny laid down on the couch and curled up a little so that Aubrey could have room to sit down after she had slapped his legs a little. Then he had to move so that Basil could sit on his other side. It took a momentary decision before he chose to use his friend’s lap as a pillow. It wasn’t as comfortable as Mari’s, but it was… nice.

“You’re still so much like a cat.” Aubrey teased as she twisted on the couch and threw her legs over Sunny’s thighs as she lounged against the arm of the chair. Basil’s hand fell to Sunny’s hair and gently played with it as he gave a quiet laugh. He had thin hair so it had dried faster than the others’ had. “I’m guessing things are good between you two now?”

“...Yes.” Basil said. “We’re… We’re good. Right Sunny?”

Sunny hummed and kept his eyes closed. He wanted to have a nap. The conversations drifted over him like music. He fell into a doze while listening to everything and simply basking in the sounds of being around the people he loved. Like this it was almost like nothing had changed at all. In his mind’s eye he could picture Basil smaller and his voice without that deeper tenor it had developed. He could see Aubrey kicking her feet as she spoke with an enthusiastic smile and turned the television to some old cartoon. Kel would be on a stool so he was closer to his older brother’s height as he carefully cut up tomatoes, one of his teeth missing because he had gotten it knocked out in one way or another. Mari would be at the sink washing up as the boys worked so that way the clean up was occurring at the same time.

Sunny opened his eyes, and it was his reality. In the hazy orange light that came in through the windows he saw Mari and Hero sharing laughter at a joke Kel made. She had her hair braided and she had on a snap bracelet that Aubrey had given her after winning it from a toy capsule vending machine. Sunny settled his head back onto Basil’s lap and imagined that half of his vision was blocked by his hair rather than blacked out entirely. He had homework he would have to do. Mom and Dad would probably call for him and Mari so that they could have dinner. It would be Sunny’s turn to clean out Mewo’s litterbox. Everything was okay.

“What is that for?” Aubrey asked some time later as they walked together to the church. Kel carried the picnic basket while Sunny had the blanket. The cicadas were singing in the trees, filling the air with an atmospheric buzz that filled the hot evenings of summer.

“It’s…” Basil glanced down at the delicate white flowers as they wiggled with each of their steps, “It’s a present. For Mari.”

“Really?” Aubrey gazed at it for a moment. “It’s pretty.”

“Thank you.” He gave her a tiny smile. “I’ve been planning to go see her and I wanted to deliver her present myself. I thought… Well, I thought it would be a good time now. With all of you.”

“It’ll be nice for all of us to be together again.” Hero said. “She’ll be really happy.”

“I hope so.” Basil said under his breath. Sunny put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it once to reassure him.

They entered the church and greeted the pastor when they passed him before they all exited out into the graveyard. They were alone with the exception of the groundskeeper who was cleaning a tombstone in the back corner of the lot. Basil’s feet stuttered under him briefly before he kept pace at the back of their group. 

It was easier this time to come back to Mari’s grave. It was being well-kept. Nevertheless, the constant ache didn’t seem to fade. He still remembered how his sister had looked in her casket. It had been like she had been sleeping, but it was nothing like how she was when she actually slept. Mari smiled in her sleep. She had no expression at all when she had been buried with flowers surrounding her on all sides. His sister had always been the one to show almost all of her emotions for everyone to see. To have seen her without them had felt like the final blow to Sunny. He had ruined that as well. He had broken her.

Darkness swirled on the edges of his vision. His hand clutched at the blanket. He could see her there in the ground. He could see the way her skin melted under the maggots and the stench of rotting flowers. Her face bled away, leaving her eyes blackened by the sockets of her skull. Despite it, eyes still watched Sunny. Accusing him. Staring at him from all sides. Hanging from a tree.

“Hey.” Hero touched Sunny’s arm. Sunny tore his gaze away from Mari's desecrated body to meet his friend’s worried gaze. “We need the blanket, Sunny.”

Mari was gone. Green grass waved softly in the evening breeze. There was nothing under Sunny’s feet. He relinquished the blanket to Hero without a single expression on his face.

“Help me out?” The man suggested with a gentle smile. “It’s kinda big to do alone.”

Sunny had no choice but to follow him. Together they spread the blanket out in the grass in front of Mari’s grave. They smoothed out the edges and pulled out the food and plasticware from the picnic. The group sat down to assist, and the noose around Sunny’s throat slowly loosened so that he could breathe easier. The food looked good. Hero had made a quick hash using some veggies and the leftover steak. It was steeped in a delicious sauce. The subs were filled with the best stuff, and the bags of chips were dumped into the middle of the group. Sunny’s stomach growled. He hadn’t noticed he was hungry.

“Did you want to give her the present?” Kel asked as he realized Basil had yet to present it.

Basil paused and then shook his head. “Not yet. Let’s eat first. Presents always come afterwards, right?”

Nobody could argue with that. They began to eat. Sunny gazed up at the sky as he chewed. He liked the way the trees sounded like ocean waves when a particularly strong gust blew.

“...Is this it, then?” Aubrey asked when some time had passed. Her eyes shined in the low light of the day as she relaxed back on her hands. Sunny pulled his knees in, placing his bag of chips in his lap as he ate slowly. “I think we should talk about it. About something.”

Kel looked around at his friends one by one. The food caught in Sunny’s throat. Basil played with a loose thread on the blanket.

“It’s easier this time.” Hero spoke first then, always taking the lead when necessary. “Last year was the first time I had the courage to visit Mari since the funeral. I had been terrified of it. I don’t think I’ll ever get over her death but… back then I had tricked myself into thinking that it didn’t hurt as much as it used to. Then we all met up again, and it just… it all flooded back. Sunny’s house, the treehouse, the… the place where Mari…” His gaze lowered, and a shadow fell across his eyes. All four of the kids watched him without a word. They were letting him speak his piece. He took a shaky breath and managed to calm himself and lift his head. The pain was there, but he was okay. Sunny wondered just how he was able to do that. He turned his eyes to Mari’s gravestone. “It helped me. I needed to face the things that hurt me. And being here again now just tells me that it’s working. It still hurts but… but not as much, you know? I’m glad we did it.”

“I visit Mari every Sunday.” Aubrey said, brushing her hair from her face. “I keep her gravestone clean. She was… she was the big sister I didn’t have. You all were my family, but better. When I thought of the best days of my life, you were all there. That was why I was so angry when it seemed like everyone had just forgotten about Mari and what happened.” She fell silent. Basil shifted uneasily next to Sunny. He hadn’t heard all this like Sunny had. Or maybe he had. He didn’t know. “Coming here was a reminder. I didn’t want to forget her like I thought everyone else had. I know now that I was wrong and we were all dealing with it in our own ways. Mari’s spent a long time listening to me cry and complain about my old thoughts and ways. Now I’m glad I can tell her about much happier things. Mari was always smiling and so bright. She wouldn’t want us feeling down all of the time.”

“I didn’t know how to handle anything after Mari died.” Kel spoke with a lost look in his eyes before he came back to himself. There were no smiles this time. Just the gentle sharing of wounds. It felt like cleaning a cut with antiseptic while someone blew on it to take the worst of the sting out. “Everyone changed so quickly, and I just didn’t really get it. I think I was too young, thinking back. I know most of us were the same age, but I didn’t know how to process the severity of what had occurred. And Hero…” He looked to his brother as a whisper of shame passed over the man’s face, “Hero had it hard.” He finished instead. “I wasn’t used to being left to figure things out on my own. I didn’t want to make things worse, so I just avoided it all. Aubrey,” he called to the girl, whose eyes were beginning to water a little. Sunny had a tough time eating anymore, “you said that you thought we were ignoring what happened, and I know we were. But it still hurt. Of course it did. I think that the worst thing we did was forget to help each other through what happened.” Tears sprang to his eyes, but he huffed a laugh and wiped at them before they could fall. “We’re all together now. It’s just such a relief.”

The conversation lulled. Sniffles cut through the silence. Basil stood up and picked up the planter box before placing it in front of Mari’s grave. Then he pulled the pinwheels from his bag and brought them over to his friends. He didn’t need to tell them whose was whose. “I bought them.” He said quietly. “So we could all give them to Mari. I’m sorry they’re not like the old ones. Those weren’t around anymore.”

“This is sweet, Basil.” Aubrey’s eyes softened, and she stood up. One by one she, Kel, and Hero stuck their pinwheels into the soil of the planter.

Basil moved to stand over the planter. “I just wanted to help Sunny. That day… The day Mari fell… Sunny was going somewhere far away. And I knew that nothing was going to be the same, but I wanted it to be okay. We… I … couldn’t lose both of them.” His voice was shaky. His hands trembled. He didn’t dare look at any of them as he clutched the green pinwheel. Sunny stared at all of their backs. Kel placed a supportive hand between his shoulder blades. “I’m so sorry, Mari. I was so scared, and I… I’m the one who chose to hang you. I'm the one who did it so that Sunny wouldn't be blamed. I didn't want to believe he had done it. My denial... it made everything worse. I just wanted to protect Sunny. I think about it everyday. I was so stupid. The guilt of it nearly killed me, but I don't think that's the way to handle this anymore. I don’t have much I can do, but I want to earn your forgiveness.” His voice broke as he whispered, “I'll try hard to do better... to be like you were for me when I was so lonely... So, please forgive me…!”

Kel wrapped his arms around Basil as the boy began to weep. And then Aubrey leaned her forehead on his shoulder. Hero hesitated. For a second, bitter anger crossed his face. Sunny was sure he wasn’t allowed to see that. But then the anger snapped under the weight of his grief, and he had to turn away. Kel lifted his head and looked at Sunny first, and then to Hero. Hero caught Kel’s eyes before his gaze dropped to Basil once more. And that grief turned into sympathy before he stepped forward and placed a hand on Basil’s back and rubbed it.

Sunny felt like he was intruding. He couldn’t speak. The darkness pressed further in. The eyes stared at him as white noise filled his ears. Whatever words were spoken next, he couldn’t hear them. They were for Basil anyway. The friends pulled away, and Basil stuck his pinwheel into the soil. Their eyes then landed on Sunny. The irises were red.

Sunny closed his eyes. Then he opened them once more. It was his turn. “I ran away.” He forced the words out. He stood up on weak legs and held the pinwheel like he would a sharp knife. “More than anyone else, I was the worst. I hated myself. I didn’t want this to happen. Never.” His lungs constricted. He had to fight to breathe. It hurt. “I shouldn’t have done that. I made myself forget everything and everyone. I’m told it’s repression. It became too hard for me to bear, and I ran away to Headspace. Where Mari was still alive. And nothing was wrong.” Sunny squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t want to see their reactions. If he did, he feared he might not be able to finish. His shoulders shook as tears escaped his eye and rolled down his cheek silently. He had to speak over the white noise. He hoped he was making sense. “I couldn’t even do that properly. I had to destroy everything along the way. I was selfish. And a liar. Nothing terrified me more than the thought that you all would hate me as much as I hate myself. And I just… I couldn’t…” He didn’t finish the thought. He forced himself to breathe. He wanted to run away. He stood his ground instead. He took a moment to compose himself, and then he opened his eyes once more. They were all watching him. His vision went blurry. He persisted and said, “Mari spoke to me in my dreams. Not the dream Mari. Not the one who didn’t know anything. Our Mari. Or… I think it’s her.” He liked to believe she was. “She wanted me to be strong, and face my fears. It was what kept me going. What brought me outside. What helped me stay strong. I’ve always been weak. And I want to be better. Because… That’s what she wants me to do. Even in spite of everything.”

Violins grated in his ears, and Sunny hunched forward as a sob wracked him. “I just wanted everything to be okay. I’m so sorry it took this long.”

He couldn’t hear anything over the noise. Then a hand touched his shoulder. And another. And two more. They coaxed him to stand upright, and Sunny was hugged tightly. He was surrounded on all sides. The noise cut off abruptly, and only cicadas were heard. He stared at the trees through Kel’s hair.

“No matter what,” Hero whispered, “we’ll be there for each other. We’re not going anywhere, Sunny. Basil.”

“But fuck.” Aubrey agreed with a broken laugh as she pulled back a little bit. She was trapped by Kel and Hero on each side though. She looked terrible with snot and tears covering her red face, but then again Sunny was sure they all looked like that. “Fuck, you two. Just, fuck.”

“God, Aubrey!” Kel laughed as well, wetly.

“Fuck is right.” Basil said.

“Just… Let’s tone down the cursing on church property. Please.” Hero’s words were strained. Sunny bit back a laugh and just hid his face once more on Basil’s shoulder.

“I don’t forgive you guys.” Aubrey said. “I… I won’t do it until I hear everything. But I can’t hate you. Not when I know… I know none of this was supposed to happen. Sunny would never do that to Mari. But I could punch you, Basil. Jesus.”

“I think we’ve all suffered enough.” Hero pulled away, and the group hug broke up. “How about we try something different? Pain isn’t the way to go.”

“Yeah. Let’s focus on being better.” Kel agreed. “Life gets better!”

“One step at a time.” Basil said.

“One step at a time.” Sunny agreed, and he finally walked over to place his own pinwheel in the soil. The Lily of the Valley was surrounded on all sides by the five, colorful pinwheels. A breeze made them spin slowly. “It’s what Mari would’ve wanted.” He whispered to himself. He could feel her presence at his back, but she didn’t speak to him. The evening light made the steely colors of the pinwheels sparkle. The day felt brighter. The darkness pulled away from his vision. He was here. He wasn’t alone. He hoped that Mari was proud. He felt like the rest of the truth would come easier.

Chapter Text

The rest of the picnic was easier. None of them wanted to end their first picnic together in five years on a sad note, so Kel took the lead on lifting the mood. They traded stories that some of them already knew but felt comfortable with repeating now that they were with Mari. Sunny found it difficult to talk at her graveside to her, but found himself keeping pace after some time. He wanted to tell Mari about the progress that he made and how he would keep trying. He didn’t think he could ever live enough life to cover for her as well because she had always been so bright and so much , but he would try to live a life that would make her proud of him. It would take some time, though.

It was only when they were all walking back to Kel and Hero’s house as the sun had gotten a little too low that Basil asked, “Sunny?” He looked towards his friend, “Do you still see Mari a lot? In your dreams, I mean.”

“Yes.” Sunny didn’t have a reason to lie about that.

“When you go on adventures, right?” Kel asked.

“I thought that was over now that you’re not a shut-in anymore.” Aubrey raised an eyebrow, curious.

“Headspace is still around.” Sunny confirmed. “I’ve always had it. And I don’t want to get rid of it. I just… don’t go there as often as I did.” He went there more when he was back at his house. He had a lot more free time there. He wondered if next year he could spend the summer in Faraway Town like Hero did. He didn’t know if he could impose like that, though. Maybe his friends could stay with him? His apartment wasn’t gigantic, but they could try. And the city had a lot more that they could do.

“What’s the current plotline there?” Kel looked a lot more eager to find out than the rest of their friends. Sunny wasn’t sure how he felt while talking about Headspace out loud. He had only really talked about it with Basil in the past. He was glad that the thought of it didn’t seem to hurt his friends like it had at the stream, though.

“We’re pirates.” Sunny shifted the blanket to his other arm. “Kel and Basil wanted to go find treasure on an island Mari mentioned. Everyone stole a ship while I wasn’t there, and we’re sailing to go find the island.”

Giggles bubbled out of his friends. “Pirates!” Kel said. “Because I said we were pirates to Joy?”

“...Maybe?” Sunny’s tone was more amused. Maybe that was why he had started dreaming of that? He didn’t exactly control the narrative. He wasn’t Omori.

“So it continues on without you there.” Hero said. “That’s so fascinating. I.” He paused, and then continued, “I’m kinda jealous you can just… see her like that. Whenever.”

Sunny didn’t answer. He got the impression that Mari didn’t think he should go there a lot.

“That’s his vivid imagination for you.” Kel tucked his arms behind his head with a sigh. “Sunny’s always been like that.”

They arrived back at the house and entered, calling a greeting to Kel’s parents as they did. The teens didn’t stick around, not ready to be stuck inside, and exited out into the backyard instead. Kel sucked in a deep breath and let it out with a loud sigh and a grin. “This time tomorrow, we’ll be on the beach! The salty air, the ocean waves, the watermelon, the sand in unspeakable places… It’s gonna be great ! Just what summer needs!”

“Pfft, do you remember the last time we went?” Basil hid his smile behind his hand. “When Sunny was changing out of his swimsuit, I think a cup’s worth of sand came out of it. He looked so shocked.”

“Ew.” Aubrey said, but her face broke with her own amusement. “That’s because we buried him in the sand.”

“I kept getting shells in my trunks because I tried to boogie board and kept sliding against the ground!” Kel snickered.

“Does anyone remember where that really cool ice cream shop was at? We passed it with the adults while we were walking around town.” Aubrey tried to remember. “It was like… astronaut ice cream or something?”

“I don’t know. I was totally wiped.”

“Did Hero rent a place that close to where we went last time? I think this is a different beach.” Basil said. “I don’t really remember rentable cabins there.”

“What’re you guys talking about?” Hero asked as he finally discovered their location. “The beach?”

“Yeah. Is it the same place as we went last time?” Kel asked.

“Oh, no.” He shook his head. “I couldn’t find anything available there. It’s further down the coastline, so the trip will take a bit longer to get there. That’s why we’re leaving really early tomorrow. The beach should be nicer, though. It was kinda pricey.”

“Shit- Uh, I mean, shoot.” Aubrey quickly corrected her language at Hero’s lingering look. That was funny. She still caved under Hero’s direction. She really did have a soft spot for him. “It’ll be fun to see a new place, but that’s a lot of money. Sunny, are you sure I can’t pay you back?”

Sunny shook his head. He didn’t want her to. 

“I’m going to get my revenge.” She stated, turning away once more. 

“Anyway,” Hero said with a smile playing on his lips. All of their eyes were still red and swollen from crying earlier, “just remember to get to bed early tonight. And pack too. Sunny, Kel, we’ll need to have the car packed and ready by seven. So Aubrey and Basil, we can pick you up then or you can come to the house. Your choice, okay?”

“It feels so real now that we’re talking about it.” Basil murmured as he and Aubrey nodded.

“The trip will take about two hours, which’ll correspond with the rental company opening so we can get the key. Then we can hit the beach or whatever. Personally I think we should do some shopping first because we’ll need some food, but we can save that for later if we get tired or something. We have the rental until Sunday afternoon.”

“Oh man! I’m so stoked!” Kel jumped, fist thrown into the air, and landed while trembling with excitement. “It’s gonna be a ton of fun! Plus, we can experience what it’s like to be housemates.” He snickered to himself.

“Are you hinting at something for college?” Hero asked with a wry smile on his mouth. “Aren’t you tired of sharing a room with me?”

“Nah, that’s what makes it even better.” Kel said as he wandered into the yard and over to the fence. “We’re already used to each other. But we can rent, like, an actual apartment or something.” He glanced at Sunny and winked. “Then when Sunny graduates, he can join us.”

“Pfft, that’s if he even wants to.” Aubrey said. Kel’s hands gripped the top of the fence. “What are you doing?”

“I’m gonna check out the treehouse. We probably won’t get another chance.” He hefted himself up, muscles straining just a little bit, before he got a leg over. “It’ll be too late afterwards!”

“Kel! You can’t just-” Hero tried to stop him, but Kel was already up and over. Sunny ran over and peeked through the slots between the fence. He saw Kel’s smiling face beaming back at him. “Kel!” Hero called again as the others joined him. “C’mon. Get back here.”

“Don’t worry! Nobody’s home anyway, I think. This won’t take long.” They heard his feet run off. The group looked at each other, weighing their options.

“Alright.” Aubrey leaped up and grabbed the fence. She was definitely stronger than she looked as she kicked her feet a bit before managing to haul herself onto it. The wooden boards wiggled under her weight. “I’m going as well.” She dropped onto the other side and hurried off as well.

“Can’t we just go around the front yard?” Basil asked a little nervously.

“We might get caught.” Sunny said. 

“Jeez.” Hero scratched at his hair before he turned to them. “Do you guys want to go?”

“Ah, I don’t have that kind of upper body strength.” Basil said.

“I’ll help you out.” Hero smiled and ducked down a little, hooking his hands together. “Here’s a boost.”

Sunny took the option and stepped into the cradle of his hands. Hero assisted him up, and Sunny toppled over onto the other side with only a little scratch on his leg from the fence. Not graceful, but it had gotten the job done. He glanced around his old backyard. They were among some of the trees that were closer to the forest in the back. He’d never had the ability to jump the fence before. Basil hopped down next to him a moment later, then Hero grunted as he went over the fence to join them. 

“No sign of them.” He shaded his eyes with his hand as the setting sun blinded them. It was low enough now that the trees were starting to look more like shadows. “They’re probably already at the treehouse.”

“Hehe, it kind felt like we were breaking out by doing that.” Basil smiled a little. Then the smile fell as the three of them headed for the clubhouse. The darkness from the trees seeped into his eyes. The last time he had been there had been the day of the accident. Sunny, at least, had time to get used to this. It didn’t make his stomach feel any better, though. He was relieved that at least Something was no longer there.

“It’s kind spooky out here this late.” Hero pointed out as he glanced around them. The trees were looming over Sunny. They arched inward as they grew and attempted to block out the sun. He told himself that the eyes he thought he was seeing weren’t real. Just focus. Focus.

“Haha, so you jumped the fence anyway.” Kel laughed as he saw them arrive. He pointed at them and then up at the treehouse where he and Aubrey were waiting. “Ready to go?”

Hero’s face softened into something a little longing. “Yeah.” One after the other the three climbed up into the treehouse. But Sunny and Basil both hesitated. He glanced over at the other boy and saw fear in his face. Basil’s eyes were squeezed shut, and his breathing was slow and purposeful. Sunny could see the way the tree branches were reaching down towards him. A mouthful of teeth spun in the shadow of the treehouse.

Sunny reached out and he uncurled Basil’s fist before taking his hand. The boy’s eyes snapped open and darted to Sunny. Sunny attempted to clear his own fear from his face, but it was difficult. It wasn’t scary, he told himself. He’d been in the treehouse before. It would be okay. This time there was no elevator for him and Basil to ride on. And he wasn’t angry either. They could do this.

“It’ll be okay.” He said. “It’s almost like how it used to be.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” Basil whispered back, but squeezed his hand. “C-come with me?”

Sunny nodded and released his hand before taking the first step himself. The rope ladder was still sturdy under his feet as he climbed up. The darkness faded as he opened his eyes when he entered the treehouse. Despite the shades of grey that had come over it from the sunlight barely entering, it was still homey. His friends were already exploring some of the old things left inside of it once more. He assisted Basil up into the treehouse as well and watched as his eyes went wide before softening with nostalgia. But it wasn’t all exactly the same.

Sunny walked around and searched the floor. The jacks that were left on the ground were gone along with the cookbooks that had been there. Mr. Plantegg was being patted by Aubrey to release some of the dirt from time being caked on it. The table had some board game that had been left on it, and there was a soccer ball in the corner. 

“Have you noticed?” Hero asked as he caught Sunny’s eye. “Someone else has been here.”

“Didn’t Kel say that the new owners have grandkids?” Aubrey said. “I’m sure they’ve been in here.”

“It’s cleaner than last time.” Sunny agreed.

“But it’s still the old treehouse.” Basil said softly as he trailed his fingers over the cabinets they’d put into place. He leaned to look out of the window. “Look, Aubrey. The paper plants we made are still here.”

“I’m shocked that they lasted.” She admitted as she pinched one of the paper leaves.

“They’re pretty well-shaded from any rain.” Hero said. Sunny gazed at the board game as he crouched down by the table. It was still the perfect size for him. If he had cards, he would’ve suggested playing a few rounds. It may be pretty dark, but that just made it more fun.

Silence fell over the group, each reminiscing a little and lost in their own thoughts. Then Sunny decided to pull out the photo album once more and placed it down on the table. He gently folded up the board game that was currently there to make room.

“You still have the photo album with you!” Kel cried as he saw it. He hopped right over and sat down on one of the old pillows with a big grin. “How about we all take a look at it together? One more time, huh? Just like last year.”

“Yeah, sure.” Aubrey agreed as she joined them. Hero and Basil followed soon after, and Sunny opened the album. Hero turned on the flashlight on his phone so that they could see it clearer.

Looking through the photo album no longer hurt Sunny the way it had. The ache was there, but the edge was dulled from the shock being removed. He had looked through the photos so much when he had been creating his presents for his friends. Nevertheless, it still made him think of those warm nostalgic days. He wanted to go back to the time when he would walk in the rain with his friends to go to school. He wanted to battle Pet Rocks and try to search things on the internet by chicken-pecking with his fingers on the keyboard. He missed all of his stuffed animals and the way all four of the younger kids could cuddle in his bed together.

But he lived alone in the city now and didn’t really go out on rainy days without a purpose. He had forgotten his Pet Rock at home and he wasn’t even sure if the battery worked any longer. He could type well on computers that looked almost nothing like the first one he had owned, and even the websites he had known were updated and modern-looking. His stuffed animals had been donated a long time ago, and his bed was far too small for the four of them anymore. Things had changed. Sunny still felt like he had barely grown up at all.

They laughed together at how small Kel had been, and how sleepy Sunny could be. They talked about how they had stayed out late one summer evening in hopes of seeing shooting stars. Hero recounted a story about a high school science teacher who had done crazy things that apparently didn’t work at the school any longer. Aubrey brought up the idea of dyeing the ends of her hair purple. Sunny listened and got swept up in the moment. He enjoyed every second of it and tried not to think about Mari sitting behind him and rubbing his back. He couldn’t see her, but he knew it was her. He could almost smell the soft perfume she started wearing when she was fifteen.

“Who’s up there?” A strange voice called, and all five kids startled. Panicked looks crossed their faces as they looked towards each other before Kel crawled across the floor to peek out of the treehouse. Sunny closed up the photo album and put it away. “Who’s that?” The voice called again.

“Oh! It’s just me, Mr. Heinzburg!” Kel waved his hand quickly.

“Kel? What are you doing up there? Who’s with you?”

“It’s just me and my friends!”

“Well, get down here!”

Kel glanced back at the others. He seemed completely unphased or concerned. “Looks like time’s up, guys. Let’s go.” He turned and climbed down the ladder. Aubrey ran a hand over her face, but got up to follow. The rest of the boys followed suit.

Mr. Heinzburg shined his flashlight on them. It was dark enough now that it was basically night time. He frowned at all of them. “Did you all break into our backyard? Aren’t there better places to hang out than my grandkids’ treehouse?”

Hero stepped forward and cleared his throat as he turned on the charm. Sunny imagined that he was sparkling and could still hear the sound effect that his brain had supplied in his dreams. He wasn’t quite as smooth with it as he used to be as a kid, but it made him feel a little less fake because he wasn’t being too hammy about it. “Pardon us, sir. You see, this actually used to be our old treehouse! Sunny was the one who lived in the house before you, and he’s come to visit for a short time. We sincerely apologize for sneaking in without your permission. We wanted to reminisce for a little bit before Sunny was to leave. Please forgive us.”

It worked perfectly. Mr. Heinzburg’s stern gaze relaxed and he even smiled. “Is that so? Then that’s alright. I understand. However, next time please just ask. It’s far too late for any of you to be here. It could be dangerous. I suggest you head back home.”

“Right, we will.” Hero agreed. Sunny felt the tension in his shoulders release a little. “Can we have a few more moments, though? Just to check to make sure we didn’t leave anything in the treehouse.”

“That’s fine. I’ll head back first. You should do so as well. You can use the gate door.” The kids all voiced their agreement before Mr. Heinzburg went back through the trees and disappeared.

Hero breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh man, I thought we were going to get in trouble.”

“Nah, I told you they’re nice people.” Kel laughed a little as he tucked his arms carelessly behind his head. “Good going getting us out of that one, Hero.”

“I don’t know how you manage it.” Aubrey said. “You have some insane charisma.”

“Haha, so I’ve been told.” Hero scratched at his cheek sheepishly.

“Why did you ask for more time?” Basil asked curiously. “I don’t think we left anything up there.”

“Well… I wanted to… stop by. Where we made our promise. Without being watched.” He struggled to simply speak the words. Basil was left only more confused, but the rest of them understood.

“Oh, right.” Aubrey murmured. “Let’s go before he comes back, then.”

Sunny took Basil’s hand once more in an effort to keep his friend calm. His palm began to sweat as they made their way through the trees once more. He was nervous. He knew Basil was even more so. The last time they had been there had been when Sunny’s guilt had bubbled out. His friends had promised to stay together, but the weight of Sunny and Basil’s secret had nearly crushed Sunny. He had discovered that his actions had hurt their friend group even more and had isolated Basil completely. If he hadn’t been so scared and sucked into the conversation, his feet might have allowed him to flee. He had been left frozen instead until their group hug had warmed him up enough to give him some of his courage back. 

Aubrey’s pinwheel was right where she had left it on the tree stump, though someone had drawn some things on the wood with what looked like crayon as well. The two pinwheels that had been in the ground were gone. The grandchildren had been active in the backyard. A tiny part of Sunny resented them for changing things. 

They came to a stop in front of the stump and were silent for a while. Basil’s free hand was clutched to his chest as he took in the sight. What was there to really say? Sunny felt like they were all holding their own thoughts in their throat. They had all spoken their pieces at Mari’s graveside already. They were exhausted emotionally.

“Hey Hero.” Aubrey said after the moment passed. She glanced towards the spot where the pinwheels used to be, “I’ve always kinda wondered… That was yours and Mari’s pinwheels that had been there, right? They were blue and purple. Why were they there?”

Hero snapped from his distant look at the call of his name. They moved from the stump to instead start heading back. It was completely dark now. The stars were out. “What?” He asked. “Oh. Uh.” He seemed reluctant to answer, but did so anyway, “It was… Well, that’s where me and Mari first became a couple. Our first kiss.”

“Seriously?!” Kel gasped. 

“Oh my gosh.” Basil said. “That’s really sweet.”

Hero’s face was red even in the darkness. He ducked his head to hide a little. “Haha, y-yeah. I thought so too.”

“You two really were so cheesy. It was borderline gross.” Aubrey said. Then she sighed a little. “It was really cute.”

“She loved to embarrass me. I couldn’t flirt with her to save my life.” Hero’s voice was laced with his longing. “I tried to get her to tell me what she liked about me when she said that she didn’t like me for my, uh, flirting. She told me it was a secret. Never did find out.”

“She probably wouldn’t have ever told you, knowing her.” Kel patted his brother’s back once. “She was just like that.”

“I think I know what it is.” Aubrey said after thinking about it for a moment.

“You do?” Hero asked.

“Pfft, but I’m not telling you either. If you can’t figure it out on your own, then that’s your problem.”

“Aw, c’mon Aubrey!”

“What a dummy.” Mari said, gazing at Hero with adoring eyes even as her mischievous smile played on her lips. She was so small compared to him now. She used to be a head taller than Sunny when he had been younger. Now she was a head shorter than Hero instead. “This part about him is cute too.” Sunny had his own suspicions about what it was that Mari liked best about Hero, but it would be weird if he said it. Instead he watched Mari and Hero walk beside each other and thought about how it seemed like it was easier for Hero to talk about her now.

Chapter Text

The ship they were on seemed to sail forever. Unknown parts of Headspace appeared under their bow and in the distance over the days it took to travel. They stopped at every other island they could find only to discover that each one was quirkier than the other. They found the remains of the Orange Oasis scattered and its ruins half-buried. That prompted them all to dive into the half-sunken pyramid in order to discover some treasure. It required them to fight, and Sunny’s fighting team had grown since the last time he had been there. It had been an eternity since he had last seen Mari wield her umbrella that she used like a baseball bat. Her bad knee never acted up in Headspace.

They found an island covered in multi-colored waterfalls that bled into the Inky Ocean and mixed like oil and water. The touch of the water changed their emotions. Some of the colors Sunny were unable to possibly describe. He hadn’t seen them anywhere before. Basil had almost been swept out to sea when he had slipped. When they made it to the top of the waterfalls, they found a lake in the shape of Sunny’s head. Sunny was the only one who had really noticed, though. It was kinda creepy. He wondered what it would be like to jump in it.

Sunny watched how his friends got excited with each new find and felt strange while doing so. Despite the fantastical worlds around them, it really did feel like all those years ago. The six of them used to go exploring within the limits of Faraway Town all of the time. It’s how they found their secret hideout to begin with. Here nothing had really changed about them. There were some physical differences, and some minor personality changes in Aubrey, but otherwise everything was the same. These distractions, these adventures, and these fun times… he wasn’t sure he wanted them to end. 

So what did Mari mean by he needed to grow up? Was it to let this place go? To understand that their younger selves were never coming back? To move on from Mari?

Sunny stretched widely on the couch and blinked his eyes. He wasn’t tired anymore. He had been sure he had been napping, though. He sat up and rubbed at his eyes. His hair was messy. He could feel how large swathes of it were laying incorrectly, so he fixed it. He glanced around his apartment and yawned widely before standing. He could hear movement from the other room. The living room was bathed with warm mid-morning light. Had he fallen asleep on the couch last night? He supposed it didn’t matter. It was a comfy couch anyway. He grabbed his phone to glance at the time but didn’t register the numbers before he stood to head into the kitchen.

Hero was there quietly whistling a tune to himself that Sunny knew was familiar. It sounded like a waltz. The man did a quick flip of the pancakes in the pan as Sunny went to the fridge to grab something to drink. That was when Hero noticed him.

“Gooooooood morning, Sunny!” He greeted cheerfully. “Just in time for breakfast!”

“You’re cooking?” Usually Hero was too busy to cook for them in the mornings. He typically had an early start to his schedule and came back in time for dinner. Sunny had been planning on throwing together something that day.

“Yup! I had time. Hey, can you wake Kel up? I’m pretty sure he’s still fast asleep and he has class in half an hour.”

Sunny nodded and exited the kitchen into the short hallway. There were doors on each side. He entered the first one he saw. It looked just like Basil’s room, but there were two beds there. He stepped inside and looked around. Ferns grew on top of Sunny’s bookshelf and curled around the cat tower that was there. Some of the leaves were chewed. Mewo napped happily in the sunlight from the open window that streamed across Sunny’s bed. He ran his hand over the notebook on the desk. It wasn’t his. Where was Basil? Maybe he had already left for the day.

He went to try another door and found Kel fast asleep still in bed. His long hair was a riotous crown around him. Sunny shook him awake, making the boy yawn and blink open his eyes. “Mo’ning, Sunny.” He mumbled, wiping the drool from the corner of his mouth. “Wassup?”

“Hero’s making breakfast.” It was the quickest way to get his friend up.

“Oh yeah? Sweet.” He pushed himself to sit up, scratching at his bare chest. “Aubrey up? I still need to copy her notes.”

Sunny shrugged. He didn’t know for sure.

Kel hummed to himself, and then gathered his thoughts as he shook his head. He got up and beamed as he threw open his curtains. That was when Sunny noticed Hero’s bed in there as well. The room was smaller than their old room, but the two of them figured out how to make the area work by leaving their trophies behind. It made the room surprisingly tidier.

“Yeah… Today’s gonna be a great day.” The man decided. That was when Sunny noticed that the height between them had been bridged just a bit. Now instead of his eyesight being at the man’s collarbones, Sunny’s eyesight was closer to his shoulders. He had grown. When had this happened? Kel clapped Sunny on the shoulder as he passed him and pulled on a shirt and some shorts over his underwear. “Quit spacing, dude, or I’ll eat all the pancakes! Mmm, I can smell the bananas. Hero’s going all out.”

“Yeah.” Sunny said. Kel went to snag his breakfast, but Sunny wasn’t concerned with eating yet. He searched for the bathroom instead. Inside of it he found a mismatch of decorations. The shower curtains were flowers and the bathmats were purple. They didn’t match the faded blue wall paint or the picture frames that had images of... 

Actually, Sunny couldn’t tell what they were. He did notice that the towels hanging on the wall were familiar, though. They looked very fluffy. Some part of him told him that Aubrey had picked them out.

He turned towards the mirror. He looked different. Good different. The shadows under his eyes that had been fairly constant for the past few years were gone. His hair was trimmed and tidy other than his stubborn bits of bedhead. He brushed his bangs aside and saw his eyes blinking back at him. He had fallen asleep in a uniform of some sort. The plaid was strange on him. He was too used to stripes and solids. His one good eye sparkled with more emotion than he had seen in a while. It was almost like looking at his younger self in the mirror, but he was clearly no longer a boy. He was a man now. An adult, at least in height. His body looked like it had finally finished growing. 

He let out an amused puff of air through his nose, gaze softening. He had an apartment with his friends. School would start for him in a few hours. It was a beautiful day outside. This was nice.

“Looking good, little brother!” Sunny’s eyes fell on Mari as she beamed at him. Her eyes were scrunched up with pride. She reached out and tucked a loose strand of Sunny’s hair behind his ear like she used to a lot of the time. “Good morning.”

“Good morning.” He said back as he pulled her into a tight hug. She giggled a little as she squeezed him back.

“Haha, hugs already? Silly. You must be in a good mood.”

“I am.” He agreed, and pulled back from her. Then it hit him that he was taller than her now. She hadn’t grown. She hadn’t changed. She wasn’t a woman. She was still fifteen. His stomach swooped with displeasure. He wanted to ask her why she wasn’t older, but he remembered why.

“What’s wrong?” She tilted her head a little, frowning with worry. “Are you okay?”

Mari shouldn’t be there. She was no longer with them. This wasn’t real. This was-

Sunny startled awake with his heart pounding a little too quickly. He pushed himself up on the futon. It was the middle of the night. He could hear Hero’s soft breathing on the other side of the room. Sunny ran a hand over his face before he got up to go get a glass of water. His bare feet hardly made a sound other than the occasional squeaking of the floorboards. Kel’s parents’ snores echoed down the hallway. Sunny went into the kitchen and filled a glass of water.

Crickets sang outside. Moonlight slipped through the window and provided a bit of light. There had been many nights Sunny had moved around his old house like a ghost. On the nights where the monsters were not lurking in the shadows, he could almost come to like the night time. The tranquility of sensing more than seeing that the humans of the world were asleep. The dip in the temperature that clung to his skin like a coat of rain when he opened the windows. He didn’t dare step outside, though. The outside had been a scary place. It was easier now.

He didn’t think of his dream. He didn’t need to. It was rare that he went from Headspace into a normal kind of dream. He didn’t like it. He had been enjoying exploring the new islands. Had he fallen into that Sunny-shaped lake after all? He didn’t remember. Probably not, then.

He wiped at his eyes, but no tears were there. He felt like they were. He rinsed out his cup and left it in the sink before he went back upstairs. It was only as he entered the bedroom did he notice that Kel was awake. He was half-sitting on the windowsill and staring outside. It was easy to read his expression in the pale moonlight. He looked tired with a quiet, pensive frown. He turned to look at Sunny as he returned.

“Hey.” He greeted quietly. Sunny padded over to his futon and sat himself back in it before looking at him again. He didn’t need to voice his question as Kel said, “I woke up a few minutes ago. It happens sometimes. I can sleep quickly, but my mind wakes me up from thinking too much. What about you? Nightmare?”

Kel was acting weird. It was strange to hear his voice soft. He sounded almost like Hero did. He wasn’t smiling either. He didn’t look like he wanted to smile. “No.” Sunny said. “It wasn’t a nightmare.” It was something, but he supposed he wouldn’t call it a nightmare. “I just woke up.”

“Haha, the two of us can’t sleep. It’s like the day before a field trip.” Kel let out a huff of a laugh, and then he turned his gaze back outside. Sunny watched him. For a long time, neither boy spoke. Sunny decided to lay back down in case he did fall asleep. Then Kel said, “Every night… I never really thought about it before. But you could see your backyard right from your bedroom window.” Sunny blinked. Kel still didn’t turn to look at him. The darkness moved around him like mist. “I remember when we looked out, we could even make out the top of the treehouse. You could see everything. Every night you had to look at the place Mari died.”

Sunny didn’t respond. He didn’t think he needed to.

Kel’s swallowed loudly. His voice trembled just a bit. “I don’t know why I never realized it. Sunny… How could you deal with that?”

Sunny closed his eyes. When he opened them again, it was day time. The sun was rising. Hero was stirring on his bed as a quiet alarm went off. Kel was still fast asleep in his bed, turned towards the side. Sunny wasn’t sure if what he had seen last night was a dream or not.

Chapter Text

Sunny leaned his head against the car window and gazed outside as the van took to the highway. This was the same direction that he and his mother had to take in order to head into the city. He wondered if they would pass by it on the way to the beach. The early morning sun was still rising and casting warm pale yellow light across the road and into the car. He looked at his shadow on the road as it shuddered with its movement over the uneven ground. He lifted his hand and wiggled his fingers. His shadow did the same, staring back at him without an expression on its dark face.

“It’s still wild to see you driving.” Aubrey said, pulling Sunny away from his staring contest with his shadow. She had her bare feet on the dash as she played on her phone. Sunny could smell her mint gum from where he was at as she blew a bubble and cracked it loudly. “It makes you look like a full adult.”

“Haha, I kinda like driving. It’s pretty relaxing. I’m planning on getting a car of my own once I save up enough money.” Hero said.

“Thought you were taking Dad’s truck?” Kel was sprawled out on the backseat where he had the most room for his long legs after Aubrey had snagged shotgun. Basil and Sunny sat on the two separate middle seats. There was a small cooler between the seats, tempting Sunny to reach in and pull out one of the apples inside. Hero had already promised to stop by some fast food place after they got to the next town, though. The apple was tempting, but the greasy hashbrowns were even more tempting.

“I wanted to, but I’m probably going to need a car faster than he can give me the truck. We’re working on some ideas.”

“Pfft, that big truck doesn’t suit you at all, bro!” Kel snickered and scooted over on his seat so he could lean over Basil’s chair, throwing his arms around his friend’s shoulders. Basil started and then glanced back to see Kel’s beaming face. He and Sunny shared a knowing look at Kel’s lack of respect for personal space, but neither of them minded anymore.

“What kind of car suits me, then?” Hero asked with wry amusement. Aubrey cracked her gum again and leaned over to change the song on the radio. Religious music was playing. She searched for a different station.

“Hm… A Ferrari!”

Basil muffled his laughter in his hand as Hero shot him a baffled look in the rearview mirror. “Where would I even get the money for that? I’m a poor college student.”

“It just suits you better!”

“I think a Ferrari would suit just about anyone.” Aubrey said. “Just gotta paint it right.” Sunny pictured himself driving a Ferrari. The wind in his hair, a pair of sunglasses on his expressionless face, and sharp black lines on his silver vehicle. He liked it.

“Sexy.” Sunny murmured to himself.

All four of his friends laughed at that, making him startle. He glanced at each of them. Aubrey leaned around her chair and grinned, teal eyes sparkling. He hadn’t seen her smile like that in a long while. It made her look just like the old Aubrey again. “Never thought I would hear that kinda language from you, Sunny!”

“Oh man, it kind of makes me feel old when the baby of our group starts using those kind of words.” Hero chuckled. Sunny didn’t really get it. He wasn’t a little boy anymore after all. He had seen his fair share of dirty stuff too. Suicidal depression or not, he'd tried many ways to distract himself over the four years he had locked himself away in his room.

He pouted just a little and responded with, “Shit. Fuck. Penis.”

“SUNNY!” Hero cried while the other three burst into giggles. Aubrey slapped the car door a little as she wheezed. Basil slid down in his seat a little, hands covering his face while his shoulders shook, and Kel just fell back onto the long seat howling. “Jeez! Watch yourself!”

“Oh my god-” Basil gasped.

“Chill out, Hero.” Aubrey pushed herself back up again, wiping her tears away. “We’re all big kids and there aren’t any parents around. Let us say fuck if we want to.”

“Ugh, I still don’t like it.” Hero made a face.

“Let’s just keep it to a minimum, then?” Basil offered a middle ground. “Hero doesn’t like hearing bad words.”

“I’m still gonna say it sometimes. It’s hard not to say the occasional curse. I’ve been good about it this entire week.” Aubrey kicked her feet back up onto the dashboard.

“What do you do when your college friends do it?” Kel leaned against Sunny’s chair this time. He held up his fist, and Sunny fist-bumped him. There was a small smirk on his face.

“Cursing? Nothing. I can’t really tell them to stop. I’ve gotten used to it.” Hero said.

“Oh okay! You just need to get used to us doing it! Ready guys?”

“No!”

“Hahahaha, I’m just kidding!”

Sunny decided to help Hero out instead and asked a little too loudly, “Kel, where’s your seatbelt?”

Kel gasped, betrayed. “Sunny!”

“Kel!” Hero pointed a hand back at him. Aubrey smirked from around the seat at Kel getting in trouble. “Put your seatbelt on now!”

“No fun.” Kel sulked but did as he was told. Basil muffled his giggles once more into the palm of his hand. “I take back my fist-bump, Sunny.”

The mood in the car was light from there. As the sun rose and as the teens all got some greasy hot food in them, they became more active and attentive. The car ride itself was a bit lengthy, but it was nice. The radio played tunes to songs that Kel, Aubrey, Hero, and Basil occasionally sang if they knew the lyrics. They fell into silence every now and again and simply enjoyed the serenity of the ride and the landscape. And eventually as the flora began to give away to palm trees and sandy views of the beachline, they discussed what kind of things to buy when they went to the store.

Surprisingly enough, it was Kel who brought up, “Hero, you should get us some alcohol.”

“ What? ” Hero was stunned. Even Basil looked back at Kel with surprise. “Kel, no.”

“Just hear me out!” He didn’t have as big of a smile on his face. There was something hidden there, Sunny thought, but he wasn’t quite sure what. “We’ll be really responsible about it. We’ll be in the house, you can watch over us, and we won’t get drunk.”

“Getting drunk while vacationing is part of the fun.” Aubrey pointed out.

“You guys are underage.” Hero said. “I know I’m old enough to buy it, but that’s just a big no.”

“I don’t know. I’m for it.” Aubrey waved her hand a little. “Kel has a good point. We can drink in moderation. We’re not going to do anything stupid. Besides… We’re going to be having a really messed up conversation soon. Seems like the perfect time for alcohol.”

There was a pause. Sunny glanced at Basil. Basil glanced at Sunny. Both were expressionless.

“...Drinking isn’t the way to handle that.” Hero reprimanded gently. “I know none of us will be looking forward to that, but we can’t rely on alcohol.”

“We’re not going to rely on it.” Aubrey protested carefully. “And we’re not planning to get drunk. It’s just to take the edge off. Trust me; I’m not planning on becoming an alcoholic.” Sunny thought of Aubrey’s house with all of the beer bottles scattered around her mother. “But if there’s ever going to be a time I drink, it’ll be then.” 

“I’m mostly in it because I found a tasty looking party recipe I want to try.” Kel said, contrary to Aubrey. “But yeah, I kinda really agree.”

Hero’s expression wasn’t one that Sunny could see from his position seated behind his friend. “...What do you two think?” He asked after another moment of thought.

“...I don’t mind.” Basil said, surprising Sunny a little. “It’s not like we have to drink if we don’t want to. Sunny?”

Sunny watched the floor. He’d never thought of drinking before. His mother wasn’t a big drinker so they had rarely had alcohol around the house. The only kind he had seen before was beer and wine, and both of those had long since been around the apartment. He didn’t know if his mother had just resisted the urge to drink or if she had kept it away precisely because she hadn’t wanted to get addicted to it either. Because it hadn’t been around much, Sunny had never really considered drinking. The idea of going to a bar was impossible for him, and he could always just have juice or soda or something. Hearing it offered now was strange.

“It’s fine.” He said. Like Basil had said, if he didn’t like it then he didn’t have to drink it. It was as simple as that.

Hero let out a long sigh, head thumping back against the headrest. “I’ll think about it.” He finally said.

“If we don’t drink it during that talk, we could always just have some wine coolers or hard lemonade or something for Sunny’s birthday.” Kel added. Sunny froze.

“Oh yeah. That’s an idea too.” Aubrey agreed.

“Though I really wanna try my recipe!” Kel shook his fists up and down eagerly. “It’s gonna be as sweet as anything! I think Sunny would like it! He likes sweets!”

“We’ll see, Kel.” Hero’s tone said that the conversation was final. The teens decided to drop it then. 

Sunny felt his heart trembling in his chest as he looked back outside once more at the beachline. His birthday. He had completely forgotten about it. His friends had actually remembered it. Was that why Kel had suggested going to the beach this weekend in the first place? Sunny hadn’t checked.

A birthday…

He didn’t want it.

He caught his reflection in the glass and saw fear on his face.

Chapter Text

“Holy shit, look at this place!” Aubrey exclaimed as they first entered the cabin. Warm off-white wooden and brick greeted them as they took in the crowded living room area full of comfortable furniture. It was already cool from the rental company coming early to turn on all of the electricity and A/C units. Large windows on the opposite side of the house led to a partially-screened porch with patio furniture and an ocean-side view. It would take mere minutes to be able to walk down to the beach. The kitchen was small and a hallway led back to the three promised rooms and the one bathroom. “This is way too…”

“It was a bit more than what I was looking for.” Hero confessed as he and Kel hauled in the cooler and brought it to the kitchen. Sunny and Basil filed in afterwards with shoulders and arms filled with luggage and beach bags. “But it was only about fifty bucks a night more expensive than the other one, and as you can see it’s pretty nice. It’s a lot closer to the beach too.”

“It’s amazing!” Kel kicked off his shoes and leaped onto the couch, hopping a little. The pillows flew everywhere. “Look at the beach! The sand is so white! The ocean’s so blue!” He jumped and flattened himself in the air as he landed on the couch. He bounced before falling still. “This is gonna be the best weekend ever!”

“Are you sure this wasn’t too expensive?” Aubrey asked Hero and Sunny quietly, looking genuinely worried now. “I can honestly help-”

Sunny shook his head firmly. Then in order to appease her he said, “You can buy me snacks for the day as payment.”

Aubrey didn’t look totally okay with it, but a small exasperated smile twitched on her lips. “Okay. Deal.”

“Perfect.” Hero grinned and patted Aubrey and Sunny’s heads briefly as he passed to go back to the car to grab more stuff. “It’s not as expensive as you might think, by the way. Everything’s fine, Aubrey. Kel, get off your butt and help please.”

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” Kel got off the couch to continue unpacking the vehicle. 

By the time everything was inside and the car was parked in the right place, the rest of the teens were exploring their vacation house for the weekend. They had it for three days and two nights. It had that scent that spoke of unscented cleaners that Sunny had come to associate with hotel rooms. There were air fresheners that cut through that clean smell, inducing thoughts of tropical paradises with the fruity and floral smells in different rooms. There were three rooms in total, one with a queen bed and two with two double beds. It was already agreed that Aubrey would get the queen bed both because she could have her own room and because none of the boys wanted to spend two nights sharing a bed.

“Man, I want the big bed though!” Kel complained. “Can’t we rotate on the second night or something?”

“No! I’m not sharing a room with one of you guys!” Aubrey protested.

“But you just spent the night with us the other night! What’s the big deal now? You still get your own bed.” Kel crossed his arms.

“What are you not getting about me being a girl and you are all guys ?” She snapped.

“Now, now…” Basil tried, but Kel spoke over him,

“What does that matter? None of us are going to do anything to you! You’re just using your gender to your advantage to have the better bed!”

“It’s not an advantage! It’s called chivalry .” Aubrey scowled at him. “It’s only polite!”

“Polite, my butt!”

“Okay, okay!” Hero stepped in between the two teens before the argument could get worse. “Kel, Aubrey’s not comfortable with sharing a room with one of us. That’s why she gets her own bed.”

“It’s not that I’m not comfortable.” Aubrey murmured, rubbing the back of her head. Kel pointed at her while looking at Hero as if to say “SEE?”

Hero continued, “But she might be willing to trade with one of us if you ask nicely. In the end, it’s Aubrey’s choice and we gotta respect that. We all knew the arrangements before coming here.”

“Yeah, but… she’s not gonna.” Kel frowned.

Aubrey sighed. “Why is it such a big deal?”

“Well, I’ve always had a double bed.” Kel rubbed at his neck. “I’ve never gotten the chance to sleep in a big bed on my own. It was always with Hero or with one of my parents. I wanted the chance to.”

“Oh.” Aubrey was quiet for a moment before saying, “Fine. I don’t mind switching with you, then. I’ll just… change in the bathroom or something. It’s not that big of a deal. But I get it first.”

“There you go!” Hero looked proud of them for coming to a compromise. “Thank you, Aubrey. That’s really nice of you.”

“Yeah, thanks Aubrey!” Kel agreed, beaming.

Aubrey’s cheeks were a little pink as she said, “Yeah, sure. Whatever.”

“What about the rest of our rooms then?” Basil asked now that that fiasco was over. “Who’s staying with who? Or are we rotating that tomorrow as well?”

“I don’t think it matters too much.” Hero said. “Any preferences?”

“No offense to you, bro, but I don’t wanna share the same room.” Kel tucked his arms behind his head. “We’ll be sharing for the rest of summer, so let’s have a break from each other.”

Hero laughed. “Sounds good to me. Sunny? Basil? Any preference?”

“No.” Basil met Sunny’s gaze. Sunny shook his head and then held out his fist. “Oh, rock-paper-scissors? Okay. Um, loser gets to share with Kel?”

“Hey, why am I the loser?” Kel asked.

“Because you snore.” Aubrey pointed out.

“I do not!”

Sunny and Basil ignored them and proceeded to do rock-paper-scissors. The thing was, though, that Sunny was excellent at the game. And Basil still had the same tells from back when they played Pet Rocks against each other. He easily won, though he didn’t exactly care which brother he ended up sharing a room with.

“Cool, then Sunny’s with me.” Hero lifted his luggage and entered the first room. Sunny followed after, and the group split up. It was a cabana-themed room with some slightly-tacky blankets. It had an overhead fan, two dressers, and a couple of lamps as well. It was pretty homey and there was plenty of room for two people to maneuver around each other. Sunny walked over and tested both beds to find they were pretty much exactly the same. They were a little too soft for him. He would rate them a 5/10. He chose one of the beds and put his luggage onto it. Both boys unpacked their items before everyone met in the living room once more to regroup. It was still mid-morning, which meant they had plenty of time left in their day.

“So what do we do first? Shopping? Beach? I’m ready to stretch my legs!” Aubrey rocked back and forth on the stool by the kitchen bar. She then grabbed her phone to shoot a text off. Kel took a picture of all of them hanging around in the living room. The sound of him winding the film filled the air. Sunny sat down in the armchair and closed his eyes as he listened to the others. Despite the excitement, his stomach was still churning nervously. Maybe he was just hungry for lunch.

“Beach!” Kel thrusted his fists into the air. “Let’s go shopping later! We already have lunch in the cooler! Let’s go find a good spot before it gets too packed!”

“We can go shopping when we get tired of the beach.” Basil suggested. “Then we can get dinner too.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Hero agreed. “Honestly, I’m looking forward to that water. I’ve really missed the beach.”

“Yeah! Let’s get ready to go, then!” Kel said.

They all had a lot more stuff than they had been expecting when they decided to bring things to the beach. They had one beach umbrella that had barely fit in the car, two boogie boards, the badminton set, and numerous toys along with the cooler and their beach bags. It was decided that they wouldn’t worry about badminton today, but Kel insisted on bringing everything else. They all got changed into their bathing suits and headed down to the beach to find a spot and set up.

Sunny watched his feet as his sandals stepped off of the concrete path and into the soft sand. It was definitely finer than the beach they had gone to last time. There were shells, but not nearly as much as the other one either. People were already crowding onto the shore line as planes flew overhead with advertisements and children bobbed among the waves. Sunny’s expression was full of awe as he laid out his beach towel under the umbrella. He knew his skin would burn very quickly under the assault of bright sunlight if he didn’t have extra help. He was still very pale from his years of staying indoors. He was still taking supplements to balance out his system.

“I’m gonna look to see if there’s an umbrella we can borrow from somewhere.” Hero said while everyone was finishing unpacking and began covering themselves with sunscreen. Sunny went with the thicker cream rather than the spray-on stuff because it would last him longer. “There’s usually something around here.”

“I’ll help.” Basil said. “Oh, here Sunny.” He handed Sunny the same straw hat that Sunny had worn back at Basil’s house. He gave his friend a small smile. “I saw how you liked it, so I brought it for you to wear here too.”

“Thanks.” Sunny said with pleasure as he put the hat on and the two left to search for the umbrella. Aubrey snapped a picture of him, smirking a little.

“That’s a cute expression on your face.” She said.

Sunny ducked his head, embarrassed. He lifted his head as Kel stripped off his shirt and revealed a long expanse of tan skin. He was naturally darker in the summer time compared to the rest of the year. Sunny admired the hint of abs on him and the strength of his arms as he tied up his hair. He was practically vibrating with excitement.

“Smell that fresh sea air? God, it brings back memories!”

“Yeah, it sure does.” Aubrey tugged off her shirt and wiggled out of her shorts so that she was only in her bathing suit as well. “All we need is some watermelon.”

“Ah! Don’t let us forget to buy that when we go shopping.” Kel told her. He motioned to the lotion. “Did you want me to get your back for you?”

She appeared surprised at his offer and hesitated before saying, “Uh, sure. Go for it. Th...Thanks.”

“No problem!” He dropped down behind her to work on rubbing the lotion on her. “I’ll be fine with the sports spray stuff, but you, Sunny, and Basil are pretty pale. You gotta be really careful of sunburn on the beach. The water will just increase the chances.”

Aubrey shot Sunny a confused look on how serious Kel was being. Sunny just shrugged subtly. He hadn’t known that Kel was so passionate about this stuff too.

“You want me to help you as well, Sunny?” Kel asked as he finished and moved over behind Sunny.

“Yeah.” He said, but still flinched at the foreign touch on his skin. He felt kind of flustered at the sensation of Kel smoothing the cool lotion over his back and into his skin until it wasn’t visible any longer. It felt like it lasted a long time, but he was done within moments and jumping to his feet.

“Alright! I’m headed in!” He didn’t bother to wait any longer before he kicked off his sandals and charged right into the ocean. Sunny and Aubrey watched as his long legs helped him jump over some of the waves in the shallow section, but the ground dipped below him and caught him off-guard, sending Kel face-first into the water. Aubrey burst out laughing while Sunny snorted a little into his hand, hiding his amusement.

“Jeez, what an idiot.” She said before she glanced at Sunny. Sunny met her gaze. She wasn’t wearing her contacts today, he noticed then. She must have taken them out before they had headed down to the beach. “You coming?”

He shook his head. Not yet. He reached into Basil’s bag and pulled out the new inner tube inside of it as well as the inflatable pizza slice. He was planning to fill them up first. He held them up to show her.

“Oh right, for Basil. By the way, you’re sharing the pizza slice. That thing looks fun to lay on.” She warned him. He nodded in agreement. Despite what it sounded like, though, Aubrey didn’t leave his side. Instead she hung out next to him and Sunny began to blow up the inner tube with his mouth. The pizza slice at least came with a manual pump. He would wait until Basil and Hero were back before working on that. “Thanks for all of this, Sunny.” She said after a moment, surprising him. He glanced at her with blank eyes as he breathed into the tube. Her eyes were gentle. “This idea to go to the beach and everything, I mean. If it wasn’t for you, I’m sure we wouldn’t have come. This week… It’s been great. Really.”

Sunny didn’t speak for a moment before he pulled his mouth from the tube, blocking the flow. “...I want to do more than this.” He said. “Not just during the summer. We should try for other things. Later on, I mean.”

“That sounds fun.” She agreed. “Isn’t there, like, a big boardwalk near where you live that has an amusement park on it? We should go there sometime.”

“Yeah. There’s a lot near where I live.” He paused and added, “You guys can stay with me sometime. My mom won’t mind.”

“Let’s keep that in mind, then. I’d like to, at least.” She sighed with contentment and finished rubbing in the lotion on her face. “I know that none of this has probably been any easier for you than it has been for us, but I believe in what Hero said. I think finally facing everything head on is the only way we can heal at this point. We all ran away from it long enough, and it got us nowhere.” She brought her knees to her chest and laid her head on her crossed arms, gazing at him. “Now look at us. We’re all here together again in a way I thought we’d never be again after Mari died. Thanks, Sunny, for trusting us.”

Sunny had to look away. It was still hard for him. They didn’t know everything yet. There was still time for their friendship to fall apart.

But at the same time, he held more confidence that it wouldn’t. Throughout the week he had been there they had been confronting things slowly but surely. And yet, everyone was still there at the beach together. They were fighting over petty things and talking about drinking and laughing at each other and singing songs in the car. It was everything that Sunny wanted. He didn’t think his trust was misplaced, but he wondered if they felt the same about him.

“Anyway.” Aubrey stretched out and relaxed back. Sunny caught himself admiring her form before he forced himself to look away so as to not be rude even if he still wanted to look. “No matter what, I hope this birthday week has been really fun for you too. I’m looking forward to seeing what Hero decides.” She climbed to her feet then as she and Sunny spotted Hero and Basil coming back. Hero had a new beach umbrella that he carried over his shoulder. “I’m going on ahead then. I can’t even see Kel anymore.” She gave a wave to Sunny before she ran off to join Kel in the water.

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that Sunny. I was going to blow it up.” Basil said as he and Hero worked together to set the second umbrella up and spread out the towels more evenly. Sunny just continued to blow up the inner tube.

“How’d you find another umbrella?” He said instead.

“Oh, I just asked.” Hero said. “There was a spare one at a family nearby that they didn’t look like they were using, and they agreed to let us borrow it! It’s owned by the hotel over there anyway so we just need to return it when we leave.” Once the umbrella was set up he pulled off his own shirt and kicked off his sandals. He was skinnier than Kel was, but it was clear his jogging was keeping him relatively fit. Sunny could almost imagine what Mari might have said at the sight. Sunny admitted to himself that he found Hero attractive as well. “Do you need help with the pizza slice?”

“I’ll do it.” Basil offered. “I can’t go in yet anyway.” He busied himself with his own sunscreen. Sunny felt exceptionally pale next to his friends.

“We need to remember watermelon.” Sunny said.

“Right. Can’t forget Aubrey’s favorite.” Basil agreed with a small smile. “It’s more fun when we open it up here anyway.”

“So many good memories.” Hero said with a small, wistful smile. “Can you believe Kel just asked for alcohol of all things, though? My mind’s still spinning from it. When did he get that kind of attitude? I didn’t think he was interested in drinking.”

“Well… I mean, have you met his other friends?” Basil asked with a raised eyebrow. “They’re all nice people but, well, I wouldn’t be surprised if they had gotten into drinking and smoking more than once.”

Hero frowned. “Kel isn’t like that… is he?”

“I don’t think so.” Basil assured him. “But it’s not that uncommon either. If he was looking up drinking recipes, he might be drinking sometimes?”

“Ugh, mom would kill me if she found out. But, I mean, I’m not totally against it either. You guys are almost adults and as long as it’s in the house it’s not a big deal. I think I’m more concerned about what Aubrey said than anything.”

Sunny finished blowing up the inner tube and tested it. It was good to go. He placed it aside and started to dig out the pizza.

“...Yeah, same. But… I don’t think we have to worry too much. Really.” Basil finished applying his lotion. He looked a little uncomfortable. “We’ll watch out for each other. I think the sugar content of whatever Kel has planned might make us all too sick to drink much anyway.”

“Pfft, you’re probably right.” Hero still looked concerned, but some of that burned off as he helped the two boys. The inflatable pizza slice was big enough to fit two people on it, and Sunny was admittedly looking forward to clamoring on top of it and trying to sail it onto the waves. He could have Kel push or something. It would be fun.

For now, he thought, he would put aside the inevitable conversation that was looming over the horizon for all of them. Today would be a day to focus on just hanging out and having fun on the beach. No tragic conversations, no alcohol, no worries, and certainly no thoughts about his birthday tomorrow. That could all wait. He would focus on the present.

Chapter Text

The last time that Sunny had come to the beach with his friends like this he had been too afraid to go deep into the water. He had run across the shallow waves with Kel and Aubrey and had collected shells with Basil and Mari. Swimming had been out of the question for him, but he’d had fun in the sand nonetheless. The picture Basil had taken of him buried up to his chin really had been a fun moment to him. It had also been surprisingly comfortable to be buried in the warm sand. It had been like a heat massage, which would’ve been nice but since the day had already been hot it had gotten uncomfortable pretty quickly.

Sunny stood in the damp shallows of the ocean water and held onto his straw hat so it wouldn’t blow off with the briny ocean breeze. The sky was so blue that the ocean looked like a mirage where they connected with each other. Each wave that brushed past his ankles pulled sand out from underneath his feet and formed holes where he was standing. The sensation felt just on the edge of ticklish. He liked it. He could occasionally see shells tumble past his feet as well. He brought his juicebox to his lips and sucked on the straw.

Things were different this time around. Staring at the ocean no longer scared Sunny into thinking he might drown. He wasn’t brave enough to swim out extremely far like he would in Headspace, but he could easily dive under the water now if he wanted to. Kel was teaching Aubrey and Hero how to boogie board further out into the ocean. The beach was crowded, but there was plenty of room in the water to play around. Sunny’s stomach was full from eating half of his lunch already because he was hungry. He felt good.

“Okay.” Basil said as he stepped up next to Sunny. He had his inner tube in his hands and a shaky but determined look on his face. “I think I’m ready.” He looked at Sunny. “You’ll come with me?”

Sunny nodded before he undug his feet from the sand that had piled up on it from erosion and hurried back to their beach spot. He dropped his hat and his trash before he grabbed his large goggles and pulled off his eyepatch. He hurried back to Basil’s side, hissing as the dry sand burned his feet, and cooled his feet in the ocean once more as he secured his mask. He gave Basil a thumb’s up.

Basil gave him a shaky smile and held his hand out automatically. Sunny took it and led the way into the ocean. He wondered if Basil was also afraid of drowning after what had happened with Aubrey. He didn’t actually know. He hadn’t asked. If he was, then Basil was handling this like a champ as the water came up to their chests. Basil placed the inner tube in the water over his body before he clung to the tube. Sunny grabbed it and pulled him along until they were deep enough where their feet didn’t touch the bottom. Sunny released Basil to bob in the waves.

“O-Oh, this is scarier than when we were kids!” Basil said, leaning over the tube to look into the water. They could barely make out their feet. Sunny dived underwater briefly to cool off. He could see clearly through his goggles. He spotted what he thought might have been a fish. He playfully tickled Basil’s foot and heard him squeal and squirm. He popped back out of the water only to receive a splash in the face in retaliation. “Don’t do that, Sunny!” He laughed anyway. His nerves seemed to be dying off.

“I saw a fish, I think.” Sunny informed him, grabbing onto the other side of his tube and slowly spinning them in the water. The waves kept pushing and pulling them closer and away from the shore. If they swam just a couple more feet in then they would be able to touch the ground. Sunny wasn’t concerned. He was kinda proud of himself for braving so deep, though. He wanted to go farther and try boogie boarding next when he saw Hero sail past them a little ways away beaming as he achieved the feat himself.

“Really? I would’ve thought the people would scare them off.” Basil glanced down again.

Sunny hummed and dropped back into the water once more. Sound became muffled underwater. Rays of light streamed through the rippling blue water. The fact that Sunny had a big gap in his field of vision was a little more unnerving underwater than it was on dry land. All of his experiences underwater had been with full vision. It made him a little paranoid about what could be lurking where he couldn’t see. He ignored the paranoia and popped back up with a soft gasp to grab onto the tube once more.

“Having fun?” Basil asked with a soft smile. Sunny nodded. “Hey Sunny, can I ask you a question?” Their eyes met. “You looked… Actually, you seemed unhappy when we brought up your birthday in the car. Are you okay?”

Sunny’s stomach swooped a little and he dropped his eyes. He traced some water trailing over Basil’s shoulder with his eyes. He didn’t really want to say it.

The silence went on long enough that Basil said, “...Should we forget the birthday celebration? I mean, I don’t know if it was a surprise to you, but we were planning to have a small party at least. It would be the first one we’ve had with you in a long time, after all. But I can tell the others to forget it if it bothers you!”

It did bother him. He didn’t want it at all. He wanted to forget that tomorrow was his birthday. But he wasn’t able to say that.

Sunny opened his mouth, but he was abruptly yanked underwater. He swallowed some seawater and he didn’t have time to panic before he was pulled out of the water in the arms of someone. Sunny coughed against the burn in his throat.

“Sorry!” Kel said when he noticed Sunny’s coughing. “I pulled you too hard. I only meant to give a small tug, but you just dropped right in. I thought your grip was tighter on the tube. Are you okay, Sunny?”

Sunny nodded. He had been startled, but he was okay. He had been jumped by monsters many times in his dreams. His heart was pounding rapidly, but he was okay. It was fine.

“Kel, be careful! Sunny’s still getting used to swimming again.” Basil scolded, fretting a little as Sunny got the last of the water he had inhaled. 

“I’m sorry!” Kel repeated once more before letting go of Sunny so he could hang onto the side of the inner tube again. Kel appeared to be able to stand at this depth. Sunny was jealous of his friend’s height. “I saw you guys over here and came over to hang since Aubrey and Hero took over the boogie boards.”

“They look like they’re having fun.” Basil said. Sunny could easily pick out Aubrey’s bright pink hair as she swam out with Hero to try to get another wave.

“I’m gonna go get the pizza slice, then.” Kel said. “Just wait here.” He hurried back to land. Basil held onto the edge of the inner tube and dropped under the water and came back up, shaking his head. Sunny gave another small cough at the burn in his throat. He wanted some fresh water now.

He was glad for Kel’s interruption even if it did end up scaring him. At least Basil seemed to have forgotten about their conversation as he instead started talking about searching for seashells later like before.

The day dragged quickly on and only became hotter. Sunny was much more responsible than he had been when he was twelve and made sure to reapply his sunscreen often. The group of five came together and separated often in order to find new things to do. Eventually Sunny got tired and laid down instead on his towel to get a bit of rest. Hero joined him shortly after while Kel dragged Basil and Aubrey off to explore some of the beachside food options. Since Aubrey had promised to buy Sunny snacks, she had reluctantly gone along.

Sunny took Aubrey’s pink sunglasses and put them on his face despite the fact that he was in the shade and that he had his eyes closed. His skin tingled with just a hint of chill as the ocean breeze brushed over his wet skin. The bottoms of his feet were warm as the sun creeped closer to the horizon and threatened to slip into Sunny’s established shade. He placed his hand over his heart and felt its fast pace begin to steady out. His nose was filled with the scent of coconut sunscreen.

For a time he was relaxed and content. He chatted with Hero on and off for a little while, but for the most part both of them wanted to just take a break. The atmosphere was nice between the two of them. Sunny’s muscles were sore from playing hard. He could still feel the sensation of the waves under his chest as he had boogie boarded back to the shore repeatedly. His eyes were stained with the flashes of sunlight glinting off of the water. He let himself drift away on the background sound of many people talking and laughing, the far-off cries of seagulls, and the lull of the ocean. He could fall asleep like this, he thought.

He wasn’t sure how long he dozed, half-aware of everything around him, when a noise right next to him caused him to surface into consciousness once more. He blinked his eyes open as he registered Hero speaking with two unfamiliar voices. He turned his head and his eyes widened with surprise. There were two beautiful young women standing just outside of the shade of the umbrella. One of their tops looked a little too small for how big her breasts were. Since he had sunglasses on, Sunny took the chance to stare. Who were these two?

“Um, sorry! I’m here with people.” Hero said, looking uncomfortable as he stood with the two women. They were shorter than him. He rubbed at the side of his neck. “Thanks for the offer, though.”

“Is it just him?” One woman peeked at Sunny before saying, “Aw, is that your little brother? What a cutie! He can come too if he wants!”

Hero looked to see if Sunny was watching this. Sunny sat up on his elbows just to indicate that he was actually awake. Hero’s eyes quietly begged for help, but Sunny had no idea what he could possibly do. Hero tried again to say no, “It’s not just us. Our friends are gone right now, so we’re waiting for them to come back. We, uh, we can’t just leave.”

“What kind of friends?” One woman stepped into Hero’s space and skimmed her hand over Hero’s arm. If anything, Hero looked even more uncomfortable. Sunny had to blink the image of Sweetheart from his mind. This was reality, and he couldn’t just sit by this time. There weren’t any guards that would attack them. 

“Uh, my brother and-”

Sunny admittedly panicked a little bit as he reached out and grabbed Hero’s wrist and said, “Sorry, he’s gay.”

“H-Huh?!” The women said. Hero looked so stunned that he couldn’t speak. “He is? Uh, you are?” They looked towards Hero.

“Uh… Yeah. Sorry, I should’ve been upfront.” Hero scrambled to answer. Luckily his natural charisma made it difficult for people to ever think he was lying. The women believed them.

“Oh gosh, I’m sorry! That must have been awkward for you.” One woman said. “You were so cute I couldn’t help it.”

“It’s fine. I get that a lot. Uh, I’m told I’m very straight-passing.”

“You are! Ugh, jealous of whatever boyfriend you get. Anyway, sorry about the misunderstanding!” The women, a little embarrassed but recovering quickly, said their goodbyes and left then.

Hero plopped down onto the towel face-down with a groan. “Oh my god.”

“Sorry.” Sunny said. “I panicked.”

“No, no harm done.” Hero turned his head to look at Sunny. His cheeks were pink. “Thanks for the save.”

Sunny rolled the question around on his tongue before asking, “Does that still happen a lot?” It seemed like a pointless question, honestly. He already knew the answer. Hero had been popular back when they were younger too, according to Mari. But a lot of people liked Hero because he was attractive, good at pretty much everything he did, and because he was sweet and a pushover. Few people knew Hero well enough to like him for his personality since they took everything at face-value.

“Sometimes. People like to flirt with me, but I still have a hard time saying no.” He sighed. “I just feel bad.”

“Pushover.” Sunny scolded.

“I know, I know.” Hero rolled onto his back and stared up at the umbrella. “I’m not against dating eventually, but I don’t know. It doesn’t seem fair.”

Sunny didn’t say anything. He waited to see if Hero would elaborate. For a long moment he thought that he wouldn’t, but then Hero did.

“I’m still in love with Mari. Even after all this time.” Hero’s voice was brittle. He closed his eyes, but the lids trembled like he might start crying. “If I started dating someone else, I’d feel like I’m cheating on her. And myself. And it wouldn’t be fair for whoever my partner was if I can’t get over someone who’s not even here. I don’t want to put myself or anyone else through that.” He threw his arm over his eyes.

Sunny’s heart hurt. He swallowed thickly. What could he say about this? It was his fault that Mari was gone. It was his fault that Hero felt this way. He hated that a part of him was secretly glad to hear the man’s confession. He didn’t want Hero to date anyone else either. So, he didn’t speak.

Hero sniffled and then pulled his arm away to wipe at his face. He laughed at himself, slightly bitter. “Sorry, got emotional. I’m okay.” He sat up and stared out at the ocean. He took one slow breath, then another. Then he asked, “You want to go play with the water ball?”

Sunny could see that Hero needed the distraction. He would give it to him. He nodded and stood up, and the two went back into the waves.

As the sun began to dip and the light of the day faded from bright white to orange, Sunny found himself walking through the damp sand beside Aubrey and idly looking for more seashells. They hadn’t had much luck with Basil closer to where they had set up their umbrellas, so they had split up in order to cover more ground. Sunny sucked his popsicle in his mouth as he watched his feet. The sweet lemonade flavor helped to rejuvenate him after such an active day. It was arguably the most exercise he had gotten in years.

“Wait, you told them he was gay ?” Aubrey asked after she heard the summary of what had happened earlier with Hero. He nodded. She laughed to herself a little. “Well, I mean, I guess that’s one way to chase girls away from him. Surprised you didn’t go for the classic ‘he’s taken’.”

If Sunny had tried that, they might have thought that Hero was gay anyway. The only person around was Sunny, and since his manner of speaking could be occasionally flat they might have taken it as Sunny was Hero’s boyfriend.

“Actually, that probably would’ve made them think he was dating you.” Aubrey said, reading Sunny’s mind without him having to say it. “That’s a mess of other problems considering the age difference.” She paused and then added, “Don’t you think that’s such a weird concept?” He gave her a questioning look. “I mean, Hero’s always been three years old than us, and I know it’s never really been an option for us but like, imagine if one of us had a huge crush on him. Despite the fact that the age difference hasn’t changed, now it would be actually illegal for him to date one of us. It’s weird to think about.”

Sunny blinked at her. Yeah, she was right. It was weird to think about. Then again, it was strange for him to think of Hero as an adult at all. Yes, Hero had always been mature, but it was strange to think of his childhood friend being an actual, honest-to-god legal adult.

“Pfft.” Aubrey brought the back of her hand to her mouth to hide her laughter. Sunny admired that she seemed to be a lot like the old Aubrey again. Still different, but also the same. She showed a lot more expression than she did for that one day they’d all hung out together on Sunny’s last day in Faraway Town. “You look like you’re realizing this for the first time yourself.”

“I never thought about it.” Sunny said simply. “Hero is Hero.”

“He always seemed so big to me when we were younger. Him and Mari both. But it’s always, like, older siblings rather than parents or adults.” She brushed her hair back behind her shoulder. It was stiff from salt. 

Sunny nodded in agreement with her. They fell into a comfortable silence only broken up by finding a couple of neat seashells. They dropped them into Sunny’s pockets. Aubrey had complained about how he had pockets when most girl clothes didn’t. Sunny didn’t point out the fact that Aubrey’s swimsuit couldn’t possibly fit any pockets. 

“Tonight…” Aubrey said after some time and they had started walking back to where the others were. Her tone was more somber, “tonight we’ll talk about it. Okay, Sunny?”

Sunny didn’t answer, dropping his eyes to the ground.

“We won’t be able to do it tomorrow. I know it’s scary. I’m… I’m never going to be prepared for it either. But we deserve to know. You’ve always been the type to keep things to yourself so it’s hard for you to open up, but tonight you don’t have a choice. Understand?”

“I know.” Sunny said simply.

“And then tomorrow… we’ll still be friends.” She hesitated, and then took his hand. Sunny gave her a wide-eyed look. Her cheeks were flushed as she looked sharply away from him. “...Right?”

“...Right.”

They held hands until they were almost back to where the others were beginning to pack everything up to leave. Then the two of them joined the other boys to help.

Chapter Text

“I’m setting some ground rules right now.” Hero’s face was twisted with a grimace as he watched Kel mix a horrifying amount of sweet ingredients together in a large cooler on the table. They were all outside where there was a firepit and chairs and a picnic table. There was wood available for them to use in order to actually light the firepit, so they decided to drink and look out at the ocean. Their stomachs were full of hamburgers and a frankly absurd amount of French fries. The stars glittered above them in the night sky and the sound of people talking on the main street as they explored and looked into various shops, restaurants, and bars could barely be heard. The sound of the ocean was a perfect white noise in the background. 

Sunny helped with whatever Kel was making, dumping two bags of sour gummy worms into the container. He was still trying to figure out how Kel had managed to convince his brother to buy this hell-concoction that would be all sweet and alcohol at this rate. It was turning an interestingly bright blue color the longer it went on. Basil took a picture of them working together. Aubrey seemed straight out disgusted and yet unable to look away.

“We already know, right? No getting drunk.” Kel said.

“How the hell are you planning to manage that when you just dumped a whole bottle of vodka in there?” Aubrey asked.

“Pacing ourselves?”

“This is a huge waste of money.” Hero lamented to himself before raising his voice again. “You’re not only allowed to not get drunk, but there is no leaving the cabin. No going to the beach or anything, okay?”

“Got it.” The others chimed in understanding.

Hero sighed but seemed to give up as he moved to start the fire instead. It took a few minutes, but soon everything was done. Kel’s drink mix was completed, there was a cooler with water and some hard lemonade and a couple beers that Hero seemed to not mind, and there was an eclectic mix of things to roast over the fire. Sunny went straight for the cinnamon graham crackers and marshmallows to start on his s’mores.

“Tomorrow my friends are going to come over.” Aubrey told them as Kel used the spout to pour himself a drink. She reluctantly followed after, too curious for her own good. It would probably be too sweet for her considering she didn’t like Orange Joe.

“Oh yeah?” Kel asked. “What time?”

“Noon-ish? I gave them the address. A few of their parents are dropping them off and they’ll pick them up tomorrow night.” They took their seats around the fire. Sunny’s marshmallow caught on fire. He let it burn for a little bit, watching the white skin of the treat bubble and blacken.

“Um, your marshmallow…” Basil attempted to protest from where he was sitting next to Sunny on the bench.

“I like it like this.” Sunny assured him. He blew out the fire before he tucked it between the graham crackers and the dark chocolate. The blend of bitter and sweet on his tongue was delicious even as the marshmallow got crushed and leaked onto his fingers. He didn’t mind the burn much as he just sucked the goop off.

“Then how about we save the beach tomorrow until after they get here? There are some cool places to explore along the boardwalk. It’s only about a ten minute walk from here.” Hero suggested. He pulled out a marshmallow himself to start cooking it. Soon the others began to join in as well. Basil grabbed a hard lemonade out of the cooler to open and sip at. He didn’t flinch at the taste of the alcohol, if there was any. Sunny decided he would try it himself when he was tired of making s’mores. Too much sweetness would make him feel sick.

“Yeah! Novelty stores are cool! We can get some good pictures there, right?” Kel said. He took a swift sip of his drink and then shook his head. “WOO!” He breathed out heavily. “That’s strong!”

“I feel like I’m drinking gummy juice.” Aubrey shuddered. “It’s so sweet and sour it actually hurts my tongue.”

“That’s the good stuff!”

That actually did sound kind of good to Sunny. He would absolutely make sure to pace himself first. 

“You know,” Hero finished cooking his marshmallow and completed his own s’mores before he took a big bite. It was obviously delicious judging by his pleased smile, “while I’m still not a fan of alcohol, I will admit that when you guys are legal I’ll gladly try to get drunk with you.”

“Oh my god!” Aubrey said, sitting up with excitement. “Seriously?!”

“That sounds fun!” Basil said with a laugh. “What kind of drunk do you think you’d be?”

“I don’t know.” Hero contemplated it. “I’ve thought about it a couple of times. I can’t really see myself acting too much differently from now.”

“What if he turns into a huge flirt?” Kel snickered.

“Pfft, no way.” Aubrey said.

“Yeah, I don’t think so either.” Basil agreed.

“Hear me out!” Kel pointed with the hand his cup was in as his other hand went to dig out some chips in his lap, “Hero takes after our dad, right? That’s what Mom always says. I’ve seen Dad totally wasted before after the last big game that was on TV. He was flirting like crazy with everyone! Mom, the neighbor, the TV remote-”

“The TV remote?” Basil and Aubrey giggled. Hero had an amused grin on his face too.

Kel only laughed and kept going, “-and I’m pretty sure he did it to himself in the bathroom mirror as well. It was a riot! I wanna say Hero’s like that!”

“I don’t know if that would be the best thing in the world, or the most cursed.” Aubrey smirked as she grabbed one of the raw hot dogs and decided to put that on her stick to cook it over the flame. “Didn’t you used to be kind of a flirtatious guy when we were younger? I’m pretty sure I saw it, at least. I remember going ‘Ewwwwww’ at it.”

Hero scratched at his cheek sheepishly. “Yeah, I was copying my dad a lot back then. I liked to do it because it made people have cute reactions, but I grew out of that. Mari never fell for it.” He gave a small smile and said, “I remember she was the one who got you to start going ‘ew’ whenever I did it. I tried flirting with her once while we were getting ice cream and she just went ‘ewwwww!’ and then you and Kel joined in. Hahaha, what a way to kick a man’s confidence!”

“It was gross!” Kel stuck his tongue out in disgust.

“I thought it was pretty funny to watch.” Basil admitted. Sunny watched as his third marshmallow burned. “I think she just liked messing with you.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Hero agreed.

“I tried it once.” Sunny admitted as the memory suddenly hit him.

“Wait, you tried Hero’s flashy charming?” Aubrey asked, more than a little curious. Sunny nodded. “When was this?!”

“And why wasn’t I there to see it?!” Kel demanded.

“I only did it the one time. I wasn’t good at it.” Sunny admitted.

“More details? Come on!”

“Don’t hold back now, Sunny. You can’t leave us hanging like this.” Hero pressed.

“Or better yet, do it now so we can catch a picture!” Basil suggested. That got Kel and Aubrey quickly agreeing, coaxing him to try it. Sunny felt his cheeks and ears darkening, embarrassed. He couldn’t possibly do it again. He shook his head quickly. 

“C’mon!” Hero nudged Sunny’s knee with his foot. “I’ll even do it with you. How did it go?” Hero cleared his throat, brushing his hair out as he gave a little pose. Sunny could once again see the sparkles coming off of him. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, Sunny. I’m right here, after all!”

“Acting like a dork!” Kel shouted, laughing hard enough that he spilled his drink a little on the ground.

“Wow.” Basil said, laughing quietly behind his hand. “That’s still great.”

“Your turn, Sunny!”

Sunny could still feel himself blushing, but he decided to try it just one more time. “Hang on.” He murmured before he shoved his burnt marshmallow into his mouth and moved over to the ice cooler. He dunked his hands into the cold water, shuddering at the unpleasant shock, before he pulled out his damp hands. He moved to sit back down and attempted to restyle his hair. That got his friends laughing again.

“He’s doing the hair!” Kel snickered.

“It’s not staying up, though.” Basil said. “It’s too thin and long.”

“Here, I’ll help! I have experience.” He got up and dunked his hands as well before assisting Sunny.

“Ha! Experience?” Aubrey teased, leaning back in her spot. She seemed to be adjusting to the drink as she sipped more at it.

“We used to pretend to be each other sometimes for fun.” Kel explained. “Hero was better at it than me, though.”

“Well, you’re not difficult to copy.” Hero said.

When Sunny’s hair was as good as it could get, he ended up with his picture taken by Hero. Sunny tried not to let his embarrassment win over as he cleared his throat and did his best to channel the Hero from his memories and his dreams. He deepened his voice just a little to match and said, “Excuse me, but I’m afraid I’ve been distracted by your beauty.”

“AHAHAHAHA!” Kel practically fell over from his laughter as Basil collapsed on his side on the bench, hands over his face to muffle his laughter. Hero just slapped his leg and wiped away a tear from his giggles. Aubrey snorted hard around the hot dog in her mouth and choked. She got up, coughing, and grabbed a nearby tissue from the tissue box to block her face. 

“Cursed! Cursed!” She cried between coughs. Sunny covered his face in order to hide. He couldn’t be seen like this. He only noticed someone had their wits about them enough to take a group picture, but he didn’t dare to check. He would never live this one down.

“Holy shit.” Kel gasped as he got his bearings back. “Too much! Oh god, that was too much.”

“We so-” Basil hiccupped and tried to clear his hiccups by drinking more of the lemonade, but he ran the risk of it coming back up his nose again. He sat up properly, “We so rarely s-see Sunny smile, and to see this- I can’t-!” He started giggling again.

“That was a shockingly good impression.” Hero confessed, the only one not in the middle of dying from suffocation. He patted Aubrey’s back when she returned to her spot. Her hot dog had fallen on the ground, so she just pulled it off and threw it into the bushes for the animals. She blew her nose afterwards on her tissue.

“You are never living this down.” She warned Sunny.

“Did you, like, practice that?” Basil asked. Sunny shook his head. He peeked between his fingers and decided that yeah, now was the time for him to start drinking. He got up to go try out the horrifyingly sweet vodka mixture. It smelled like a bag of sour candy. It tasted so sweet and sour that it actually felt like it was electrifying his taste buds. He returned to his seat.

“Can you do anyone else?” Kel pressed, grinning with excitement. His cheeks looked like they hurt, and his eyes were still wet from his laughter. He had some chip crumbs on the corner of his lips.

Sunny shook his head quickly. He could try to copy some of the others, but they wouldn’t be nearly as dramatic. Besides, he would only humiliate himself trying to copy the emotions his friends could go through. He’d always had a hard time really expressing himself.

“Oh man, that was good though.” Hero opted to finally grab one of the beers he’d gotten and cracked it open. He relaxed with a lazy grin as he watched the others drink and prepared their snacks. “I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in forever. Sunny’s secret weapon.”

“But the real question is, would it work if he utilized it?” Aubrey asked.

“Vote now on your phones!” Kel joked.

“Nope.” Aubrey voted.

“It’s a no from me.” Basil agreed. “Sorry, Sunny.”

“He could do it!” Hero sided with his friend instead.

“There’s no way!” Kel shook his head. “It’s not about the method, but the charisma behind it! Sunny’s a great guy, but he’s not the ‘charm the ladies’ type, y’know? I know guys like that, after all.”

“Hero just sets the bar high.” Basil said.

“Hey now.” They laughed again at Hero’s half-hearted protest.

Sunny soaked in the playful atmosphere. The firepit was warm enough to keep some of the chill off from the ocean breeze coming in. His styled hair fell apart and blew around his face as he closed his eyes and simply listened as the conversation flowed and tapered off like the flow of waves against the sand. It was like something straight out of his dreams, and certainly not something he had expected to happen ever again. They’d done stuff like this back when they were little and they were the best moments of his life. Sunny didn’t think he’d ever feel the way he did ever again. It was bliss. If he had never left his house again, he would’ve never found joy in life once more. It was perfection.

That was what caused him to open his eyes and see Mari standing opposite of him by the fire. Her white dress was stark against the dark horizon as her hair blew around her. She smiled encouragingly at him. Her eyes were just a little bit sad. He knew what he had to do.

“Everyone,” he said when the conversation lulled once more. His drink was half-empty. There was a warmth in his head and chest he wasn’t used to. It actually did just a little bit to fight back the anxiety he felt. It was similar to that day at the hospital. He was given confidence in himself solely because he had to trust that this wouldn’t be his last time with them. He had to believe in all of the words his friends had told him over the course of the week, “I’m ready to tell you everything now.”

The cheerful atmosphere shifted as was expected. Sunny regretted breaking it, but it was something they would all have to face eventually. He knew that now was the time. He looked towards Basil, who hesitated before nodding in agreement. Both boys looked at their friends.

“Then,” Hero took a deep breath and released it slowly. His smile, though a bit strained, was supportive, “don’t hold back. We’re ready when you are.”

Chapter Text

The fire crackled as the logs shifted and broke in half as they were consumed by the flames. Sunny stared at his partial reflection in his drink that stared at him back. He could only make out bits and pieces of himself that glowed with the fire in front of him. The slightest tremor distorted the vision. Sunny’s heart rate kicked into a slow trot. He would work to stay steady.

He had spent the last year preparing for this moment. He had thought and rethought and overthought what he felt like he should tell his friends. What was necessary? What was too much? What would only hurt them? What did Sunny desperately need to tell despite the consequences? What didn’t matter? What was inconsequential? Should he explain his emotions? Should he have any emotions at all? Was logic the best way to go about it? He’d had to write and rewrite his story in his head to get his facts straight, and in the end he still felt like he had not come to a consensus on what exactly he wanted to say. He had some answers, but others he felt would come on their own.

He wasn’t someone who spoke his mind. His mother called him a man of few words. It wasn’t that he didn’t have a lot of things to say, he just never really felt the need to actually say them. He spoke when he felt like it, and if he could answer questions without words then all the better. He hadn’t changed much in that respect. He had a face that didn’t express itself well. But anyone close to him knew that Sunny was so full of emotions but he just didn’t really emote them well. He didn’t feel he needed to. People understood him because they knew him, and those who didn’t probably wouldn’t like him much anyway. Even before Mari’s death he hadn’t been one who opened up about what he was feeling. And now after her death, he hated to do so even more. Nevertheless, today he would open that box. It was from not speaking out and understanding how to express himself that had caused the accident in the end, after all. It had been Sunny’s fault. He could at least do right this way.

“It’s a long story.” He started as he lifted his eyes to look at his friends. Basil’s presence was a comfort by his side on the bench. Aubrey sat to his left with Kel beside her. Hero was to Basil’s right on his own seat. They appeared calm, but there was tension in their bodies. Bracing themselves. “I’ll try to explain everything I can. Some of it is harder than others to say for… a lot of reasons. Please bear with me.”

“Take your time.” Kel said. “We have all night.”

“We’re not leaving until you feel you’re done.” Aubrey added, expression blank. Hero nodded in agreement.

Sunny took a sip of his drink. Too sweet. It hurt his tongue. The alcohol made his stomach churn more, but at least his tongue was growing numb from the flavor. “It started with the violin you gave me for Christmas. Or I should say I think that’s the best place to start to understand.” He swallowed the leftover sugar in his mouth. “I loved that violin. I was so happy to get it and so happy that you all put in so much effort to get it for me. It was one of my favorite gifts ever. Mari-” It hurt to say her name. How long had it been since he had said it? He was sure he said it a couple times this week, right? It hurt more now, “Mari was right about me. I wanted so badly to play with her again like we did when I had been little with my old violin that I was too big for. But it wasn’t because I liked playing the violin. I didn’t want the violin; I wanted to have a reason to spend more time with my sister. I didn’t understand it that well back then. It was part of the reason I was so confused and…”

He was getting off-track. He shook his head. Be more concise. “That year - the year before the accident - was the best time of my life. I didn’t want to waste a single moment that could’ve been spent having fun with all of you. I was so happy. Because of that, practicing the violin became a chore for me. My tutoring cut into the fun I was having, and practice felt more like a waste of my time that could’ve been spent outside or exploring with one or all of you. I came to resent the violin.”

“Is that why you were so reluctant to play for us?” Basil asked quietly. The others seemed a little surprised that Basil didn’t know, but Sunny had never really told him either. He had hinted at it a lot in their conversations, but he had never said it so directly. He was sure his friend had picked up on it, though, just like Kel had.

Sunny nodded.

“Mari said a couple of times that you seemed like you were avoiding practice.” Hero reflected.

“Did you notice how he didn’t like it when he had to leave?” Kel asked, glancing at the others. This was something he had already figured out.

“I… never really thought about it.” Aubrey admitted.

“Mari suggested the concert duet. ” Sunny continued after a moment. “She liked my playing, and the whole reason we had the violin was so that we could play together. She wanted to show off our skills. I was happy. I came to like the violin a little more again because it meant I got to spend time with Mari. She was… She was always so busy. I just wanted to have more of her time like we used to.” He hesitated and then added softly, “I missed her. I loved being with all of you, but she was my sister.” It sounded selfish even to his ears, and it probably was. That’s all there really was to it.

“Of course you missed her.” Hero said. “That’s normal.”

It reassured him a little to hear that. “I agreed to the duet… but it was too much for me. It was so hard to keep up with my practice even if it meant I could spend a little more time with Mari. And she just… She was never satisfied with our efforts. She would practice for hours and hours and would get so frustrated with herself. I didn’t want her to feel that way, so I worked hard too. But I couldn’t keep up. I didn’t want to play the violin anymore. My fingers hurt so much all the time and I just never got any better. Mari kept pushing me to practice more, but I didn’t want to because it hurt and I hated it. I just… I just hated it .” Sunny’s hands clenched around the cup in his hand, crinkling it. He could still remember how his fingers had shaken from the pain. He’d had bandaids over his fingers from the cuts of the strings. His hands had cramped from holding the bow and instrument for too long. “I wasn’t good enough to meet her expectations. I wanted to so badly, but I couldn’t do it.” He squeezed his eyes shut. His voice shivered at the black feeling building in his chest. “I was so mad at myself and at Mari and at everything all the time. It was all a bad idea. I wish I had never touched that violin ever again. I should’ve said no to the duet… I shouldn’t have agreed-!” He bit off his words, struggling to calm down once more.

“Sunny.” Basil gently pried his hand from his cup and squeezed it. His own voice sounded a little weak. Sunny was sure his grip was probably hurting him, but Basil held tightly onto his hand without flinching.

“I didn’t realize…” Aubrey said quietly, sounding a little horrified. “How didn’t we…?” She didn’t finish.

“We should’ve noticed.” Kel lamented, placing his bag of chips on the ground before he moved to squeeze in on the other side of Sunny. He wrapped an arm around his shoulder and held him while Sunny attempted to pull himself together for the next part. There was still so much left to say.

“You were kids .” Hero said. He leaned forward in his seat a bit, eyes aching. “You were just kids. I always knew about Mari’s perfectionism, but... But… Sunny, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Sunny shook his head. It was nobody’s fault but his own. He continued, “The day of the concert,” his voice broke a little. He forced the pieces back together, “it all became too much. I was just so angry and sick. It overwhelmed me, and I just… I threw my violin down the stairs. I knew it wasn’t that big of a deal, but I couldn’t stop myself. Mari was furious. I’d never seen her that mad before.” A tear slipped from his eye. He couldn’t bear to look at anyone. He watched the shadows at his feet dance and darken. Something ugly swelled behind his back and loomed over him. The weight of his hatred still clung to him like a poltergeist. Its hooks were latched deep in his psyche. “We fought with each other. I don’t even remember what all we said, but we couldn’t understand each other. I couldn’t explain properly what was wrong with me. I tried to run away down the stairs, but she blocked my path. And in that moment I just… I just- I thought that it was all her fault. And I-” With his free hand he made a shoving motion, releasing a sob at the same time. The silence from his friends was deafening. 

“I didn’t think of where we were at!” His voice rushed out of him like blood from an open wound. Each sentence was faster than the last, the truth gushing without the ability for him to stem to flow, “I just wanted her away from me! Her bad knee gave out and she-! She-! ...She fell.” He couldn’t remember the sound of her body hitting the stairs. It was a blank moment in his mind. He remembered her shocked face, the way her hand reached out to either grab him or the banister before her knee buckled and she had tipped away from the banister instead, then he remembered her body at the bottom of the stairs. Motionless. The sound of her body crunching on the broken violin was what had snapped him out of it. 

Sunny wept now. His cup spilled from his hand and onto the sand as he tipped forward, but Kel and Basil kept him from following it. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! Mari-! Mari!” The darkness was swirling around him. He couldn’t stand it. He didn’t want to be there anymore. It hurt. He felt like he was falling apart. He wanted to run, but where could he go? Eyes watched him, judging him, and he was back on that day. He was standing there at the top of the stairs with his hands still outstretched. He couldn’t comprehend what had just happened. He tried to call out to her, but she didn’t answer. He called her again, louder, but she still didn’t answer. His heart sank to his stomach as he hurried down the stairs on trembling legs. The reality of what had happened just wouldn’t hit yet. It was suspended in midair like thunderstorm clouds simply waiting to let loose their fury and the repercussions on those caught outside unprepared.

His name was called, but he couldn’t focus on it. The stairs just seemed to get longer and longer. He couldn’t reach the bottom even when he started running. He needed to check on his sister. He needed to find out why she wasn’t responding to him. It had been so loud just a moment ago, so why was it so quiet now? He didn’t understand. He didn’t understand.

“Breathe, okay? Breathe.” Hot hands on cold cheeks. He couldn’t breathe. “Feel my chest. Follow me, Sunny.” A pressure against his hand. Movement. A pattern. Something rubbing his back. Where was he? 

Calm down. A voice told him, though who it was he wasn’t sure.

He could do that. He knew how to calm down. Close his eyes. Don’t look into the darkness. Don’t look at the monsters. Deep breath.

He matched his breathing to the steady pattern under his hand. There was a rapid pitter-patter drumming against his palm. Eventually, both began to slow. He could breathe again.

The tear tracks on his face dried, but water still clung to his eyelashes. He opened his eyes once more. Hero was kneeling in front of him coaxing Sunny carefully out of the black void that tried to take him once more. The memory of that day became that: a memory. He took in the feeling of the ocean breeze, the sugar on his tongue, the way the fire highlighted Hero’s form, the supportive hands on Sunny’s shoulders and back. Hero’s face was reassuring to see. He gave Sunny a small smile when he started to respond.

“There you are.” He said gently. “Keep breathing. Aubrey, can you grab a water bottle?”

“Yeah.” Aubrey said from behind Sunny. Soon a bottle was given to Hero. He passed it to Sunny to hold. The cold was a shock to his system.

“Are you okay?” Basil asked, leaning further into Sunny’s vision from his bad side. He looked scared, but his gaze was sympathetic.

“I’m sorry.” Sunny responded instead. “I…” He’s dealt with that before, but rarely while he had been awake. He thinks? The borderline between when he had been awake and asleep in the past had blurred when it came to White Space. That was where he had almost been swallowed up time and again. “I’m sorry.” He settled on.

“You don’t have to apologize for that.” Hero assured him. “Panic attacks are uncontrollable. You’re not at fault.” He released Sunny’s hand after guiding it back to the cup, and then he stood. He brushed off his knees. “As long as you’re okay. Be sure to drink that.”

“I thought for sure I would be the one to lose it first.” Basil attempted to joke, smiling to show that he was kinda joking, but it fell flat. Sunny appreciated it a little, though. “Should I… I’ll take over from here.” He assured his friend. He looked at the others as they returned to their seats. Their faces were grim and varying levels of sick. Sunny didn’t know how Hero had managed to smile at him like that when now he looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there. He was willing to bet his friends were struggling to not run away as well. “Can I?”

“It’s just going to get worse from here, isn’t it?” Kel asked, expression despondent. He should never look that way. Nobody answered him. He took a deep breath to steel himself before nodding for Basil to continue the story. Aubrey pulled her legs to her chest and hugged them. She watched the fire. Hero finished his can of beer and placed it aside. Sunny opened his water bottle with a weak grip and sipped at it. The cold was good for him even though the fire was doing much to warm him up. He tried his best not to look behind him even though he could feel Something there. He didn’t want to see what shape it had taken on.

Basil took over, “I was the first to arrive at Sunny’s house that day because I didn’t really need to get ready. With everyone so busy leading up to the event… I was spending more time with Sunny to keep him company. I saw the fight. I-It really was an accident! I just… I couldn’t step into the fight. I’d never seen them argue like that before, and I got scared and hid behind the door frame. I saw everything.” He swallowed. Sunny saw him wipe his hands on his shorts. He had known Basil had been there, but he only really realized it after he had forced himself to remember that day. It had all occurred in a liminal space and time for him. “Sunny tried to wake Mari up. We… We didn’t know what to do. Shaking her didn’t work. And Sunny wasn’t responding to me either.”

“I thought I was having a nightmare.” Sunny cut in, voice faint. “She looked like she was sleeping. I didn’t know why she wasn’t waking up. I just thought if I brought her to the bed it would be fine. I wanted it to be a dream.” He remembered brushing the violin pieces out from under her. She hadn’t suffered any obvious injuries. A few bumps and scratches. No blood. She had been limp in his grip as he had tried to pick her up and take her upstairs. He had been lighter than Sunny had thought, but that had probably been because Basil had helped him.

“Why… Why didn’t you call an ambulance?” Aubrey asked. She looked like a scared little girl now. “Or just someone? Anyone?”

“I don’t know.” Basil whispered, voice wretched. “I followed Sunny’s lead and helped carry her upstairs. I couldn’t even speak. We both tried to wake her when we put her in the bed and Sunny just… he broke down. He wouldn’t stop calling her name, and I was scared. I don’t think either of us were thinking of anything. It was shock. Then Sunny… He… He was going so far away. I could see it. And I just… I just wanted to help him, but he wouldn’t even answer me. He said something about nobody believing that it was an accident and him being scared so I… That’s when I…”

He didn’t finish. He didn’t need to.

“So you made it look like a suicide.” Hero accused. His voice was full of malice, startling the other kids. Sunny saw true anger on his face for the first time in a very, very long time. It had never been directed at him before. Both he and Basil cringed under it as Hero stood abruptly, “ You didn’t call an ambulance, you didn’t try to get anyone, you just fucking hung her. You made it look like she KILLED HERSELF WHEN HE MUR-!”

“HERO!” Kel shouted, cutting his brother off. His expression was a bit scared too, but mostly worried. Hero spun on him, mouth opening, before his expression crumbled. His heartbreak and misery showed through the cracks before his fury rebuilt that wall and he turned away.

"I'm sorry." He broke out. "That was too far." He stalked towards the ocean water instead, his restraint palpable. Sunny and Basil were left frozen, too shocked to even breathe. Hero's words echoed in Sunny's mind. He had known what was coming next. It hurt more than every stab to the chest Omori had given him ever could. He didn't have Cherish to help him heal this time.

“Hero!” Kel called after him, moving to follow, but Aubrey caught his arm and stood instead. Bitter tears ran down her cheeks as she refused to look at anyone.

“I’ll go. I need a moment too.” She followed after Hero. Kel didn’t look like he knew what to do. Basil brought his knees to his chest and buried his face into them. His shoulders shook as he cried. Sunny pressed the cold bottle to his sore eyes as more tears slipped out of him. He didn’t want to see anything. He was scared.

Kel didn’t say anything for a long time as he sat down next to Sunny. He stayed close, though, not willing to leave his side. None of them knew what to say. What words could be spoken that would make any of this right?

In the distance, Hero screamed with all of his might. All three boys stared at the small figure of the man as he screamed his heart out, unleashing his rage into the night sky. They saw Aubrey approach him and catch him as he fell, screaming a second time with clear anguish instead. Then they disappeared behind the sand dunes and tall grass.

The silence that came afterwards was burned into Sunny’s ears. He knew the moment would haunt him.

Beside him both Kel and Basil were shivering. Then Kel reached his long arms around them and held them both. Whether it was for his own comfort or because he was trying to comfort them, Sunny didn’t know. But Sunny hugged him back. He wondered to himself if Hero’s anger was just as scary to him as it was to them. Then he recalled what Kel had told him by Mari’s grave a year ago, and he hugged Kel harder.

He had nothing but regrets. Maybe if he held onto his friends, he wouldn’t be swallowed up by the monsters lurking nearby. He could only hope so, at last for Basil and Kel’s sakes.

Chapter Text

Hero and Aubrey did not return for a long time. Sunny, Basil, and Kel stayed by the fire and kept it going, but none of them really knew what to say to one another. Sunny watched Kel’s mouth open and close a couple of times as he started and then abandoned whatever he had been about to say. Even the sweetness of the s’mores they made idly in the meantime despite their churning stomachs could not quite take the edge off of the bitterness lingering from Hero’s words.

It was much like it had been at the hospital the day after Sunny and Basil’s fight. He had gotten up the courage that day as well to finally tell his friends the truth because they had needed to know, and yet he hadn’t been allowed to get far. It was all too much for them, and much too soon. His confession to having been the one to kill Mari had only been met with confusion and denial. Then that denial became anger and hurt when it slowly dawned on them that Sunny was telling the truth. Basil had attempted to back him up, and they had managed to get out the bare minimum of an explanation of that day. Sunny had fought with Mari on the day of the concert which resulted in him lashing out and accidentally pushing Mari down the stairs. Then they framed it as a suicide. And they were sorry. They were so sorry.

They hadn’t received forgiveness that day. They hadn’t even been able to finish their explanations. Aubrey had stormed out. Kel looked like he’d been in shock. Hero’s pale face had been twisted and ill, but he’d had no words to say. The doctors arrived before they could ever think to continue the conversation. Sunny had thought that maybe his friendships had been ruined with everyone except Basil, who had returned his relieved smile when the burden of the guilt lessened even for one day. But his friendships weren’t ruined, just strained. They never did finish their conversation with everyone. They weren’t ready to hear it, and Sunny never touched on it again until now.

He wasn’t mad at Hero, or even really that hurt after the initial verbal lashing’s sting had faded. He was right, after all. Sunny was a murderer. He had murdered his big sister even though he had loved her. Even though she had loved him. Just because one of his real life friends confirmed it out loud didn’t mean anything had drastically changed. Instead it felt more like he had been branded with the label. He would simply have to wear his shame. This was reality.

“Kel?” Basil spoke for the first time in what felt like hours. Kel lifted his head from where he half-heartedly nipped on a cooked hot dog, “Can I ask you a question?”

“Shoot.” Kel said.

“Why aren’t you mad at us too?” Basil tugged at the hem of his shorts as the wind made the flames crackle and shift, blowing a couple sparks their way. 

Kel’s face twisted with some emotion as he looked down, then he rocked back in his seat a little and lifted his gaze towards the night sky. He took a breath and then let it out before dropping his head to look at them once more. His expression was clearer, but it reminded Sunny too much of his dream the night before. He brushed a loose strand of his hair back behind his ear. “It’s hard to be mad.” He explained, “I know what I think I would’ve done if I had been in your situation, but I don’t know for sure. Like, one time when me and the team were practicing on the basketball court, one of my teammates got stung by a bee that had come in through the open doors. He was really, really allergic and he had an allergy attack almost right away. I completely froze when I saw him go down and realized what was happening while a couple others went right for the nurse or called an ambulance or something.” He clutched his hands together. “I knew exactly what I should’ve done, but at that moment I had no idea what to do. Before I knew it, it was all taken care of. I was sixteen when that happened. Just imagining you two going through something a lot worse at twelve when you’re home alone is scary.”

Basil dropped his eyes. “So you’re really not mad at us?”

“Do you want me to be?” Kel asked in return. He smiled, but there was no happiness in it. “I mean, I have my own opinions on what happened, but it’s really easy to judge someone when you’ve never been in their shoes. From the looks of it, you two are angry enough at yourselves without us hurting you more. Aubrey took out her feelings on you for years, Basil. And Sunny didn’t even leave his house and just… stewed in it. I don’t think anger will help anything here. It won’t change what happened.”

Sunny looked away from him. Basil gave Kel a weary smile. “You’re right. I think the anger is justified, though.”

“Well, you won’t get it from me.” Kel sighed and stood up before walking over to refill his sickly-sweet beverage. He took a long sip of it before adding, “Don’t tell Hero I got a refill. My tolerance is a lot higher than most people expect!”

“Got it.”

Hero and Aubrey returned shortly afterwards both looking worse for wear. Their eyes were red from crying and their hair was a mess from the ocean wind. Aubrey wiped at her face once more before she grabbed a water bottle and sat herself by the fire, scooping up Kel’s chips to pop a bunch into her mouth.

Kel got up to meet Hero, stopping him before he got close. He whispered something to his brother, who gave him a tiny reassuring smile before murmuring, “I know.” Kel released him. Hero walked in front of Basil and Sunny and kneeled to be able to look into their faces. Their eyes skittered to avoid meeting his look. “I want to apologize to you both.” He started. His voice was rough, but he sounded a lot calmer. He was certainly more collected at least. Sunny forced himself to look, and he saw the regret in Hero’s face. “I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on either of you. It was out of line, and I shouldn’t have said what I did. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize.” Sunny said. His voice sounded like Omori’s. He didn’t like it, but he wasn’t sure how to change it either. “You didn’t say anything wrong.”

Hero’s mouth opened to protest as Basil glanced at Sunny, but in the end neither of them spoke. Instead the man said, “...I won’t say that what you two did was good. It was the wrong decision. And I am angry about it, but I’m not really… I don’t…” He struggled with his words before he finally just said, “I’m not even sure how I feel about any of this right now. It’s a lot, but I’m not trying to take any of it out on you two. So I’m really sorry that I shouted at you. I didn’t mean to hurt you. Sunny,” he reached out and placed a hand on Sunny’s shoulder, “what you did was an accident , okay? And more than anything, I’m so, so sorry that happened to you both. There’s so much more we need to talk about, but right now I don’t think I’m in the right place to even touch that topic.” He stood up and asked, “Can I hug you?”

Sunny couldn’t understand the tears that ran from his eye. His heart ached. This felt right to him, somehow. Finally, someone was blaming him. But they understood him. They didn’t deny his sin while still understanding that he had never meant for anything like that to happen. So when he stood and hugged Hero tightly and was hugged in return, it felt like relief more than anything else. He still wasn’t sure what exactly it was that he wanted. Forgiveness? Blame? Anger? None of it was right. None of it was fair to him or anyone else. But this was okay.

Hero released Sunny after a long moment, and then he held his arms out to a sniffling Basil, who accepted his hug as well. Sunny wiped at his face and realized Aubrey was standing before him now. Her face was twisted with her grief, but it was muted. When Hero released Basil she said, “I don’t forgive you for what you both did to Mari.” Her voice caught in her throat, and she cleared it. “I don’t think I ever will. But I… I’m okay with that. I don’t want to lose our friendship, okay? I meant what I said at the beach. Tomorrow after all this shit is done being discussed, we’ll still be friends.”

Sunny didn’t understand. How could she still want to be friends with them if she didn’t forgive them? Was it like a scar, maybe? Something she wouldn’t forget but could do nothing else for? Aubrey didn’t clarify. Basil, at least, seemed to understand as he nodded. “Thank you, Aubrey.”

Then again, Sunny thought, it wasn’t like he was ever going to fully forgive himself either. He had come to terms with his role in what had happened, and he wasn’t in a place yet where he could even really attempt forgiveness when he was still trying to accept that it was okay for him to still be alive and happy. So maybe he understood Aubrey more than he thought.

“There’s still more you have to tell us.” Aubrey said instead as she and Hero sat back down. She placed the water bottle to her eyes to cool them. “We still need to know about what happened between you and Basil, and why you shut us out of your life like you did. At least Basil still had the courage to keep going to school despite everything.”

“Aubrey, that’s too much!” Kel scolded. “Sunny tried his best, right?”

“No.” Sunny denied immediately. “But I do want to try to explain.”

“Take your time.” Hero said as he seemed to consider grabbing a second beer before he went for water instead as well. 

“It wasn’t just depression?” Aubrey guessed.

Sunny hesitated and then shook his head. “Yes, but no. I forgot everything. Literally forgot.” That made his friends stare at him, baffled by his response. His thumbs pressed and released on the thin plastic of the now-warm bottle of water in his hands, listening to the crunching sound. “It’s hard for me to explain. I’ll try my best, but I don’t understand everything either. I tried doing some research to get the words, but…”

“Self-diagnosing isn’t that easy.” Hero finished, understanding. “You’ll be convinced you have everything if you try it that way.”

Sunny nodded.

“Well, I’m not sleeping any time soon.” Kel said. “It’s summer vacation and we don’t have any kind of schedule, so I’ll listen to everything!”

“Same.” Aubrey said. “I want to know everything.”

“Me too.” Basil agreed.

“I’ll try.” Sunny repeated, trying to figure out where he could possibly start with this. “...The day Mari died was something I didn’t remember for a very long time. At least, I don’t think so. It’s more like I remembered… bits… every now and again before I forgot them again.” He watched the firelight reflecting off of the surface of the water. It had a magical glow to it. “I went somewhere really far away. It was called White Space, and I didn’t really leave it for a long time. It was a place where I was safe from everything and I only really survived there. It was a vast place of emptiness. Everything was fine there. And that’s where I met Omori.”

“Like the piano brand?” Hero asked with a curious frown.

Sunny nodded. “I think ‘met’ is the wrong word, though. I was him. And he was me. But… not? Sorry, it’s really hard to explain.” He felt like he was doing a bad job at it. “I’ve had more time to think on who ‘he’ was… or ‘what’ he was, but even so I’m unsure.”

“Is this like a split personality thing?” Aubrey suggested, leaning forward in her spot. Sunny brought his knees up, feeling a little more stable with that extra layer of protection. He shrugged in response to her.

“I didn’t really feel like myself after I ‘met’ him.” He said instead. “I always kinda felt like I was in White Space and also not. It was more like everything I did outside of White Space just happened to me, rather than me doing it. If that makes sense. If I’m honest, I can still barely remember Mari’s funeral, or even going to school. I don’t remember destroying the photographs either, I just remember seeing them on the ground and holding the marker.”

“You did that?!” Kel gasped. “Wait, but I thought it was Basil! Why did you say it was?” He frowned at Basil.

“I… Because I didn’t want to believe Sunny did it. I was in a lot of denial back then.” Basil’s fingers tugged at each other anxiously. “It’s… It’s hard to explain.”

“Oh man… Aubrey, did you-”

“Yeah, we already talked about it. I knew that much at least.” Aubrey closed her eyes. “But hearing that it was Sunny but not Sunny is just confusing. I don’t really get it. How do you just lose your memories like that?”

“Well… It’s only a guess, but it sounds like some pretty severe dissociation.” Hero said.

“Like, when you zone out?”

“Kind of. It’s a trauma response that can go along with PTSD, which Sunny could very likely have.” He shook his head, though. “But I’m also not an expert at this stuff. I’m still in school for a reason. Sunny, you should talk to your therapist or a licensed psychologist about this.”

Sunny nodded in agreement. He planned to do so after he told everyone the truth anyway. Once they knew, then he could try telling someone who might be able to help him. It was what Mari would’ve wanted.

“So it was you, but it wasn’t you who did all that stuff? It was Omori?” Basil prompted, sounding a little unsure.

“Probably.” Sunny said. “Omori was… He was protecting me from everything. That was his job, I think. He took all of the bad things and he put them away somewhere I couldn’t find them.” He motioned with his water bottle a little. “It was called Black Space.”

“Sorry to interrupt, but I want to make sure I’ve got this straight.” Hero said. “There’s White Space, which you created to be safe? Black Space where your traumatic memories were locked away, and Headspace where you dreamed?”

Sunny nodded. “It wasn’t just the traumatic memories, though. It was everything. I couldn’t really remember anything, not even the good times. Because if I did, I’d remember what happened, I think.” Quietly he added, “Either way, it was a nightmare realm. I hated it there.”

“This is getting more confusing by the second.” Kel said, looking lost.

“Sorry.”

“Ignore him. We can’t help stupidity. I’m following. Keep going.” Aubrey said, waving a hand at Kel to shut up.

“Hey!” Kel complained.

“I wasn’t Sunny in my dreams anymore. I looked like Omori even in Headspace. I stopped wanting to live in the real world and wanted to be a part of Headspace, that’s why I stopped being Sunny.” Sunny continued. “In Headspace, everything was okay. You all were there, and so was Mari. Time didn’t really move forward there. It was just us having adventures, and playing, and having picnics, and just… It was like an endless summer.”

“So that’s what you meant by running away.” Basil said quietly. “You forgot everything and tried to live in your fantasy world for four years.”

Sunny crackled the plastic bottle once more. “Yeah. But it wasn’t perfect. Something never let me forget.”

“What was it?” Kel asked.

“‘Something’.” Sunny repeated, emphasizing the name a little. “It was a monster with one eye, and too black to see through.” He swallowed thickly. This part was harder to explain. “It was Mari. Th… The day we… When we… hung her… I looked back at her and… Her eye… it… It was looking at me… And...” Sunny couldn’t get the words out as fear made his heart race again. He tried to stay calm, but it was hard. Each word felt like it was driving deep into his chest.

“Don’t.” Hero got out. He gripped his seat tightly and tried to give Sunny a calming smile, but it was strained. It didn’t really work. “I get it.”

“It was trauma.” Basil said simply. “That was the day that Something was born. In both of us.” He looked to Sunny and his hands trembled a little. “We both saw it that day.”

“It followed me everywhere.” Sunny’s voice was just as haunted as his gaze. “I saw her everywhere, but it wasn’t Mari. It was a monster. I couldn’t leave my house. It was always right behind me. Always.” He covered his face with his hands. “I was so scared all the time. I couldn’t tell when I was awake or asleep. Headspace and White Space were the only places I could go where I was safe, but still… still it followed me there too. I couldn’t escape it.” He lowered his hands and held himself instead. “Black Space kept finding ways to invade Headspace. It was always the same every time: Basil would go missing after getting infected with the truth because of Black Space. Then we would try to find him. And I would collect keys and be forced to enter Black Space. And I would remember everything before Omori saved me again and he buried Black Space deeper. But it always came back. Whether it was in the real world or Headspace, Something was always there. Following me.”

His friends didn’t speak. He took a few moments to try to calm down. His eyes fell shut and he simply breathed, focusing on it. He couldn’t let his fear consume him. When he was calmer he said, “It was going to go on forever like that, I think. I don’t even know how many times it happened. I slept most of my days away. I think my mom gave up on trying to get me to leave the house. She mostly made sure I ate and took care of myself. I don’t remember much during those four years, but I do remember her telling me that she didn’t want to lose me too.” He fell silent and decided to take a drink. Everything hurt for him.

He looked at his friends as they all watched him. Their expressions ranged from blank to concerned. They were completely engrossed in his words. Sunny had never had such a captive audience before. He tried not to let it stop him as he admitted, “I wanted to die every time I remembered what I did. It was all just so painful that I just… It was the better option for me. I had stabbed myself a lot in my dreams. It would wake me up if I went too deep or if I got into a nightmare I couldn’t escape.”

“Sunny-!” Aubrey cut herself off as she lurched forward with pained eyes. Whatever she’d been about to say, though, she stopped herself. Her expression was enough to say what it was, though. Hero had to look away from him. Kel brought his fist to his mouth, tears in his eyes. Sunny hated that expression on his face. The realization as to why Sunny had been carrying around a knife was clear there.

“I think I would’ve done it too, if I didn’t meet with Kel that day.” Sunny confessed. Basil’s hand slipped into his and held it tightly, never looking away from him even as Sunny could feel how his body shook with his silent tears. “I’m not sure what even convinced me to open that door. I think I just… I didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye. And it changed everything. It was hard seeing you all again. I’m sure I acted strangely during those final three days because I still wasn’t really ‘myself’. I got to see how everything changed but… reuniting with you all gave me hope when I thought I had nothing left.” Finally the tears appeared in his eye as he cried again. He was so tired of crying, though. He didn’t bother to try to stop it. This, at least, was from happiness. A tiny smile twitched on his face at the memory of everything. “Black Space was invading Headspace again, but this time you all gave me the courage to face Something. And even though it was hard, I overcame Omori. I remember everything now, even though there are still days I don’t want to. And after remembering I knew that I had to talk to Basil. That’s why we fought that night.”

“Don’t say it like that!” Basil sobbed, laughing a little. “You make it sound like it was an argument! It… I hurt you! I tried to… Sunny, I tried to kill us both because I was terrified of the monsters around us!” He turned to the others, trying his best to explain, “I was completely deluded and in denial about everything. That fight was my fault that night! I didn’t let Sunny leave and I-”

“Basil! Basil.” Kel got up to grab his friend and steady him. “Calm down. Okay? Slow down. Just… Explain it clearly.”

“I can’t…” Hero murmured to himself, struggling as he covered his mouth with his hand. He was very pale.

“You tried to kill him?” Aubrey’s voice was weak as she stared at her friends like she didn’t understand. “I just thought you two just had a crazy fight.”

“We did.” Basil said miserably. He did calm himself a little, though, to explain. “The Something that followed Sunny and the Something that followed me were just… It’s so hard to explain it. I know exactly what Sunny means. Between seeing all of you again, hearing that Sunny was moving away, my grandmother dying… It was all too much for me. The guilt of keeping the truth from you all just… I was overwhelmed. And scared. And I felt like I had nobody left. Sunny was the only one who had understood me, and he was leaving me completely alone. Something was going to take me that night. It had surrounded me in that room. And then Sunny came in.” He swallowed. “I wanted to protect him from it. I tried to attack his Something to save him, but I was only hurting him. Sunny was only defending himself. I didn’t realize the extent of what I was doing until it was too late.” He looked towards Sunny before dropping his gaze again.

“I’m… not even sure what to say.” Aubrey said after a long moment. “This is… This is insane. All of this was happening to you two and we didn’t… Did anybody know? Did you talk to Polly? Sunny, does your mom even know?”

Both boys shook their heads.

“What the fuck !” Aubrey jumped to her feet, shouting at them. “You’re just making the same mistakes all over again! That isn’t something you can just… You two need help! Serious help!”

“Aubrey.” Hero gently reprimanded. He sounded exhausted. Kel’s face was in his hands. Both brothers looked completely beaten down. “That’s what they’re doing now.”

“This is too much, though!” Tears boiled up in Aubrey’s eyes and she hiccupped. “This is too much…! What are we supposed to do? We’re just… We can’t do anything!”

“We are doing something.” Hero denied. “We’re listening. That’s more than what either of them has had in five years.”

She came up short at that. She pressed her arm to her eyes and gritted back the sobs in her throat. Sunny wondered what kind of tears they were.

Kel abruptly threw himself to his feet then. His own tears were utterly heartbroken as he threw himself at Sunny and Basil and hugged them both tight enough that Sunny choked a little. “I’m so glad you’re both still here.” He got out through his choked breaths. 

Sunny just stared at him with wide eyes. He didn’t know what to say in response to that. Only a few moments later, the hug only became tighter as Hero and Aubrey crowded in as well. “Thank you for telling us. That must have been so hard for you two.” Hero whispered.

“Seriously! Go get help!” Aubrey laughed even as she pressed her face to Basil’s shoulder. That got a couple of them to laugh a little as well, the tension releasing just a bit from it. Sunny and Basil were smooshed together, and it was frankly very hot between all of the crying and humidity. Sunny felt himself break down in response, unable to handle the relief that came from the weight finally lifting from his shoulders. 

He turned his head to look at Basil. Basil turned to look at him. And the two of them gave each other small, hopeful smiles. Maybe, he thought, they really would stay friends after all.

Chapter Text

Sleep wasn’t going to visit them easily, but they still agreed to try to give it a call. They gathered their trash and food and cleaned up before they changed and retreated to their separate rooms with quiet good nights to each other. Sunny hesitated in the doorframe of his and Hero’s shared room and worried about if he would be welcome before Hero gave him a pat on the back and said, “C’mon, Sunny.” So, he entered the room and got settled into his okay bed.

He stared at the ceiling fan long enough that the blades of the fans began to waver like they were made of thin cloth before he blinked and everything went back to normal. It was very dark in the room with the blackout curtains on the windows so that the bright ocean sun wouldn’t wake the occupants inside too early. But Sunny could still see as his eyes adjusted. He could easily go to sleep and he was admittedly exhausted, but he was tense from the atmosphere. He glanced over at Hero and saw him on his side turned away from him. Sunny’s fingers traced the stitching on his comforter.

The deeper shadows created by what small light source they had began to move as the human occupants in the room started to fall asleep. Black hands stretched upwards and crawled across the walls, reaching for Hero while another slithered and spun across the floor. Sunny shifted in his bed while telling himself it was just his imagination. There wasn’t anything there. But still, he felt his heart speed up as the shadows froze and took notice of him. White eyes exploded open in the darkness, surrounding him. The shadows crept close like a hurricane as white noise filled Sunny’s ears. His hands trembled against the edge of his blanket as he seriously considered hiding like a child when Hero suddenly spoke,

“Sunny?” The call was quiet, testing if Sunny was even awake. Hero turned over to face him, and suddenly the shadows retreated. The white noise faded and the faint sounds of the road and the churn of the A/C returned. Sunny’s breath shivered out of him. “Are you okay? You’re breathing strangely.”

Sunny attempted to control his breathing. “I’m okay.” He whispered back, but there wasn’t much confidence in it. He had thought he’d had more control over the monsters, but it seemed that evoking their cause during the conversation had woken them up once more. He was scared to see what the rest of the house looked like. He hoped that he would dream of Headspace tonight, but he feared that his mind might not be that kind.

“...Are you having trouble sleeping too?” Hero guessed. “Or… Are you maybe seeing something?”

Sunny was surprised he would guess that. He wasn’t sure how to respond. “...Not anymore.” He tried.

The man sat up on his arm. He was the only pair of eyes watching him now. “Just remember the nightmares aren’t real. If you’re scared, close your eyes and take deep, slow breaths. In for four beats, hold for seven, and slowly out for eight.”

Sunny didn’t really want to try that right then, but he would remember that if it happened again. Right now the monsters were staying away since Hero was talking to him. “Thank you.” He said in return.

Hero waited a moment, before laying back down. Both of them simply stared at the ceiling. It was probably late enough to be the next morning, but Sunny didn’t want to look at the digital clock to check. He was so tired, but he didn’t really want to sleep until Hero did. Nevertheless he couldn’t hold his eyelids open any longer and he closed them. He practiced what Hero recommended and found that his heart really was calming. He tried not to be noisy about it.

“I’m really sorry about blowing up at you and Basil earlier.” Hero’s quiet voice cut through the silence like the slice of a scalpel across skin. Sunny stopped his purposeful breathing. “I… I did that once to Kel too. Years ago. He’d been trying to help me, but it had just felt like he was just annoying me, and pissing me off and I just… I completely went off on him. It was horrible, and I really hurt him. I still feel so horrible for it even though I think I really needed that outlet. It was just a terrible outlet. I thought I had gotten better, but I nearly did it to you both as well. I… I don’t want you to think my anger is all I feel towards you both, but when I act like that it’s hard to believe I’m anything but hateful. I don’t want to be that or come across like that. I’m really sorry.”

“I forgive you.” Sunny said.

Hero didn’t say anything for a long time, but it was easy to tell he was going to. They waited each other out. Then Hero let out a huff of a laugh before closing his eyes. “I don’t know why that feels so loaded.”

“It’s not.” He tried to reassure him.

“No, maybe not to you. Not intentionally. I guess it’s just me. Nevermind. Thank you, Sunny.”

Sunny listened to the swirl of the A/C’s air as silence fell between them. He wasn’t sure if his words had managed to actually reassure Hero. He wasn’t sure what the man meant by Sunny’s forgiveness being loaded. Loaded with what? Had he noticed something that Sunny hadn’t?

He didn’t get much longer to think on it as he quickly succumbed to his exhaustion and fell asleep.

The noise was far too loud. It scraped at every part of Sunny’s psyche as he tried his best to cover his ears and hide in his knees. He didn’t want to see it. He didn’t want to feel any of this. He tried to run away instead as black winds whipped and tore at his weak skin. Bloody lashes opened up and made his footprints bloody as he attempted to find a way out of this hell. The world was a kaleidoscope of red abstract shapes that made him ill to look at. His feet splattered puddles with every step he took. The shrill music in his head sounded like metal across the wires of a violin. He was terrified.

Everything stretched out so endlessly around him. He felt like he made no progress as the darkness ate away and got closer to him. The cacophonous noise faded in and out, teasing Sunny with the inability to tell if it was closer or farther away. He simply ran straight ahead with all of his might, but he wasn’t a strong person. The stairs he found were a saving grace.

He raced up them as fast as he could, but stumbled partway up. Something swooped in right away, grabbing at his ankle and threatening to swallow him whole. He screamed and pulled away, managing back to his feet as he stumbled on his hands to keep moving. He ran until his legs had no strength and crawled instead. And when he could crawl no longer, he attempted to drag himself up the stairs instead. But he could only run for so long, and he was left to collapse.

The furious darkness surrounded him once more. Memories assaulted his mind and filled him to the brim with all the self-hatred he had been trying to ignore or fight back. He had no weapons to assist him anymore. He was alone, petrified, and so, so weak. He just wanted to be free. As the tears cut from his eyes, Sunny prepared to submit himself to the hell he was in and to suffer for the rest of eternity when a white light cut through the darkness.

Omori stood before him, expressionless face reaching out a helping hand. And Sunny had no willpower not to take it. He grabbed the boy’s hand and was pulled free from the darkness only to collapse into his arms. Omori held him close, his arms more comforting than Sunny had felt in a long time. He was ready to disappear and leave it all to him. He wanted to forget everything and to no longer feel. Make it go away, he thought, as he felt his own body disappearing.

Then he was standing on the rooftop of the hospital. He didn’t question how he had gotten there. He remembered coming here before and reporting the large hole in the railing that surrounded the roof for safety reasons. It had been blocked off during the time Sunny had been there. This was before then as Sunny walked towards the edge of the building and looked down. It was a long fall. He didn't have any sort of fear or regret. Honestly, he was simply tired. He couldn’t fight back the memories any longer. No matter how much he had pushed them away, they had always returned. This was the only way to permanently get rid of them. He would jump into Headspace for real this time and abandon what little grasp he’d had on reality. He didn’t remember the reason for all of his pain, but he was happy in Headspace. This would be enough.

He looked back up across the skyline where blue turned purple and hints of Headspace blended with the world he stood in. He wasn’t sure why he was hesitating. His legs shook beneath him. He had no reason to be afraid. It was all a dream, after all. Everything was going to be okay. Did he want to jump?

He closed his eyes and tipped forward and fell.

Sunny jolted awake in bed with wide eyes, breathing labored. His hands fisted the blanket tightly before slowly releasing them. For a moment he thought he might have been in Headspace, but comprehension hit him. Hero’s bed was empty. Sunny sat up and glanced at the digital clock. It was morning. He could just make out the daylight starting to slowly come through around the sides of the curtain. It was still really early, though. Too early to be up during the summer holidays. He was tempted to sleep a bit longer. Just a short nap would work for him.

He laid back down and closed his eyes. The image of him falling from the hospital roof was painted across his eyelids. He had fallen for so long that he had been sure he actually would stay in Headspace. His thought process from his dream was a scattered haze of half-remembered moments. A nightmare? He wasn’t sure. The first part had certainly been. It had been far too familiar for something that hadn’t happened to him. He wondered if in one of the loops created by Omori he had done something like that. Everything was a haze. At least he knew for sure this time it was just a nightmare. He had said good bye to White Space and that part of him a long time ago.

He was really tired. This called for more sleep. This time he hoped to go to Headspace. Maybe he would be able to sleep away his birthday just like he did the past four years.

Chapter Text

Sunny did not get to sleep away his birthday. He was awoken by an enthusiastic Kel bursting into his room and throwing himself onto Sunny’s bed hard enough to launch the lighter boy into the air at a height that shouldn’t have been possible. When he had landed on the bed he had been so shocked he didn’t know whether to be angry or amazed at what had just happened. Both he and Kel had the exact same idea at the same time before Kel ran out to repeat the action in the effort to launch Sunny again, but Basil grabbed him around the waist to stop him because he would most likely break the bed. 

Breakfast was a quick and surprisingly easy affair. All of them had red eyes from the night before, and Hero looked like he hadn’t managed to get much sleep at all, but overall it was… nice. It was a small breakfast before they all dressed and headed out to explore the tourist area. It was a cloudy morning, but the sun threatened to break through overhead as the day wore on. Sunny glanced around him at all of the colorful buildings and various trinkets that came along with the tropical exteriors that most of the buildings sported. The last time that they’d been at the beach it had only been for the day so they had never explored the shopping possibilities, but he kind of regretted that because everything was fascinating. The shops were so full of items that they were positively overflowing. It was a world of creativity that he’d never experienced before, and since it was his birthday his friends let him take charge of where they went.

“Is it just me, or have we seen this store in, like, a thousand Spring Break movies?” Aubrey asked as she half-heartedly looked through some crazy sunglasses and keychains with various names on it.

“I think tourist stuff is similar no matter what.” Hero agreed as he tugged off some palm tree sunglasses and slipped them on.

“Hey, let’s get a picture!” Kel suggested. “C’mon, we gotta do some obnoxious tourist stuff!” He grabbed some bright red crab sunglasses and put them on. He passed some literal sunglasses to Sunny as Basil put a lei around him as well. Sunny took off his eyepatch in order to cover his eyes with the frames.

“Get in there.” Aubrey said, nudging Basil into the group shot.

“M-Me? What about you?” He asked. Hero dropped some pineapple sunglasses onto the boy’s face.

“I’m not part of this. I’ll take the shot.” She held up her camera. “Pose, you dorks.” Kel flexed while Hero posed in a much more hammy version of his charm technique while Basil grinned a little shyly throwing some peace signs and Sunny posed like Capt. Spaceboy. It got Aubrey to grin as she snapped two pictures before saying, “Wow, that was perfect.”

“I can’t wait to see that one!” Kel cried as they put their things away. “Sunny! You should totally keep those glasses!” Sunny made a face, but it was hard to make it out behind the gigantic frames. Yeah, he definitely hadn’t heard that joke involving his name before. He was pretty sure most of his baby clothes had had suns all over them for the exact reason. He put the sunglasses back and put on his eyepatch once more. “Aw man, really? Then I’m so buying you a pirate patch. It’s beach-themed!”

Aubrey punched Kel in the chest a little harder than necessary for a warning shot. “Quit being so stupid. It’s too early for it.”

“I’ll make you the princess if you keep it up!”

“I’d like to see you try!”

Sunny slipped away from their bickering to slip around the others exploring the shop to look at some of the other trinkets instead. Honestly, most of the stuff in the shop seemed cheap. It was like going to a carnival and expecting anything of quality to be there. But the various beach shells available were pretty cool. He still had his shell necklace that had been made for him before he had left Faraway Town. It had cheered him up on a number of days he had spent alone in the city.

They left the shop to move along with their moods rising. Since it was still morning time many people were headed to the beach rather than shopping, which was fine with Sunny since he wasn’t a huge fan of crowds anyway. They slipped in and out of stores that caught their interest and made Sunny realize just how many shops were selling a ton of shells. Every shop had a section for them. He wondered if that was why they couldn’t find any good ones on the beach. It seemed capitalism had struck once more. He figured if he found a cool shell, though, he might buy it.

Away from the main tourist shops was a boardwalk which led to a long pier that they all walked down. Fishermen had taken their places at the far end and surf shops were set up in the few buildings that lined it. A lunch and dinner-only seafood restaurant gave a perfect full view of the ocean unheeded by other buildings. There were a couple of smaller stalls from locals that sold some homemade crafts as well, which were far more interesting to Sunny than the various shops they’d been in so far.

“Ugh, being here makes me wanna spend all my money!” Kel whined as they took a short snow cone break. They sat on the benches as they ate and watched some fishermen.

“Did you ever open a savings account like mom said she would make you?” Hero asked curiously.

“Pfft, no! I’m not doing that until I get, like, a job-job. I was planning on getting a part time job once basketball camp ended.”

“Basketball camp…?” Basil asked. “Um, isn’t that happening now?”

“Yeah.” Kel took a big bite out of his lemon snow cone and suffered the consequences for it as he cringed from the brain freeze. He yelped and held his head in pain.

“So… Why aren’t you there?”

“Because Sunny’s here! I told them it was a family emergency and I needed to be gone for a week.” Kel said as he panted to get the warm air into his body and clear out the cold. His tongue was yellow-tinted.

“You realize they’re so gonna tell that you’re just skipping, right? Everyone’s seen you around the neighborhood.” Aubrey said.

“No way! The guys’ll totally have my back.”

“The coach is really strict, though.” Basil said.

“I’ll be fine. Thanks for worrying for me, guys!”

“He’s screwed.” Aubrey muttered under her breath.

“But anyway,” Kel motioned with his now-empty paper cup as he spoke, “Sunny, hurry up and let me know what you want for a present so that I can just start spending my money on whatever I want afterwards!”

Sunny looked at him with surprise and confusion, freezing with his tongue still in the ice of his treat. Hero laughed a little bit next to him at the sight. Sunny lowered the treat. “...What?” He asked.

“A present! You know… for your birthday?” Kel said with raised eyebrows. “I couldn’t think of anything good and totally forgot to grab something until the other day when we went to get our bathing suits, but nothing really stood out. So I’m gonna let you pick something that you want and I’ll get it for you!”

A birthday present wasn’t really on Sunny’s list of things to get that day. It didn’t really occur to him to expect anything. He hadn’t celebrated his birthday in nearly four years, after all, so he stopped really seeing it as anything special. He supposed that he should’ve expected that his friends might have wanted to get him gifts, but just as he had forgotten his other birthday he hadn’t considered the possibility of gifts either.

He glanced away to watch a fisherman pull in a big catch. “...I don’t need a gift.” He said.

“No arguments!” Kel held his hands up in an X formation, tipping a little of the flavored syrup onto the wooden planks below. “Be prepared to have a good gift that you choose!”

Sunny sighed softly through his nose. He didn’t have anything in particular that he desired. There were games that he wanted, but he still needed to buy the system for it. He had clothes that he needed, but that wasn’t something for his friends to buy him. He was still in the middle of rediscovering some of his old hobbies which they might be able to participate in, but he hadn’t even really started talking about them with his friends yet. He liked books, but any books bought in these shops would be something stupid and he didn’t want that.

“What’s there to even buy here?” Aubrey asked as she downed the last of her syrup in one gulp. “I mean, most of this stuff is for people obsessed with the beach.”

“Why don’t we walk around a little bit longer, then?” Hero suggested. “Then if Sunny sees something interesting, Kel might be able to gift it to him.”

“Actually, I have an idea for a neat gift.” Basil spoke up. “If you don’t mind splitting the cost with me, Kel, we can get it for him? It’ll be fun. We’ll have to go back to a store we passed, though.”

“Really?” Kel asked, thrilled. “What is it?”

Basil stood up. “I know the way. Um, we’ll be back, okay?” He gave a small smile to the group as Kel hopped up with a cheer. He gave Basil a pat on the back and hurried off. “Wait up!” Basil called after him and ran as well to catch up.

“Guess we’ll wait here.” Hero said with a yawn. 

“Did you already get a gift?” Aubrey asked him.

“Hm? Yeah, I got mine before I came back to Faraway Town. Lots more options in a college town. You?”

“Yeah, I figured something out.”

“It’s really not necessary.” Sunny protested quietly, bringing his legs up as he nursed his snow cone for longer. He liked to wait for it to melt a little more into a slush so that he could sip it instead of eat it. “I’d rather have experiences than gifts.”

“You’ll get both.” Hero decided with a smile. “You’re the first birthday we’re all celebrating together in a long time. Let us spoil you a little bit.”

Aubrey wasn’t looking at him. Silence hung around them after Hero finished his announcement. Sunny became uncomfortably aware of the fact that this was awkward. He sipped a little noisily at his now-slushie. He watched a seagull land on the railing of the dock and eye him suspiciously. Sunny subtly moved his food a little further away from it just in case.

“Hey.” Aubrey finally spoke, “You said you had a ton of adventures with us in Headspace, right?” Sunny nodded somewhat hesitantly. “Tell us a fun one while we wait for the others to come back.”

Sunny wondered if that would be okay. Is it too soon to be talking about his imaginary friends? Would it be weird? Kel seemed to be the only one who had actually enjoyed listening to it last time, but Aubrey wouldn’t have brought it up if she didn’t actually want to hear it. Maybe it would be okay? Didn’t mean that he didn’t still feel a little awkward as he told a short tale.

“Capt. Spaceboy was in Headspace.” He started. “We helped him with a problem of his, and afterwards he went to get snow cones with his crewmates in order to feel better.”

“Haha, like now?” Hero asked.

Sunny nodded. “We ended up running into him while we were exploring. He was getting snow cones in a place covered with snow.”

“What the heck? Who would do that? That’s just cold on top of cold!” Aubrey said.

“Mari did.” Sunny said, and didn’t look at his friends to see their reactions to his sister’s name. “She’d set up a picnic nearby, and she’d made shaved ice for us to eat.”

“...Why?”

“She said it was convenient.”

For a beat, nobody said anything. Then Hero snorted just a little bit, hand coming to cover his mouth. “Sorry, that’s so like her.”

“It was really cold.” Sunny said. “But the snow cones were a lot more expensive, so the shaved ice was better.” He thought about it for a moment before he said, “It’s better than the soup in the rainy weather.”

“She did that too?”

“Yes, unfortunately.”

“Wouldn’t that, I don’t know, just keep refilling?” Aubrey asked. “But it would be cold instead?”

“Yes.” Sunny lamented.

“Pffft, you sounded so sad, oh my god. I feel bad for you now.”

“...It was pretty bad even if the soup was tasty.”

The conversation flowed a little bit easier after that. It was surprisingly easy to be able to talk about some of the silly things that occurred at the picnics that used to be scattered across Headspace. Aubrey and Hero were an attentive audience as they asked further questions and Sunny talked. It ended up with a couple of fun tales. Sunny liked to think based on his friends’ faces that they found genuine pleasure hearing the stories of Mari as much as Sunny had liked to experience them. They were actual adventures and memories for him, after all, for as fake as they were. They were a wonderful, strange dream for him.

By the time that Basil and Kel had returned, the three of them had started wandering the dock while occasionally stopping to watch the water and the surfers out on the waves. The boys hurried to join their friends while carrying a small plastic bag. “There you are.” Basil said. He held up his bag and wiggled it a little, smiling. “Present time!” Kel was grinning like he had won a big prize for himself. Whatever the present was, he was clearly thrilled with it.

Sunny couldn’t exactly turn it down at this point, so he nodded. Kel reached into the bag and pulled out what looked like a thick brown shell that was still wet. He held it out to Sunny. “Ta-da! Happy birthday!”

Sunny took it and stared at it blankly. “...Thank you.” He said, more out of courtesy than anything. He had no idea how to react to this thing.

“What is that?” Aubrey asked.

“It’s an oyster!” Basil said. “Um, the oyster isn’t the gift. It has a pearl in it! Oh, here.” He reached into the bag and handed Sunny a piece of paper. On it was listed with different colored pearls and what they meant. “You open the oyster up and get a lucky pearl. I thought it would be a memorable gift. Don’t worry, we have something other than the pearl too. But-”

“But open it up first!” Kel interrupted. “Let’s see which one you got! Make a wish or something and then open it!”

Sunny was a little more interested now. He hadn’t seen pearls other than the necklace that his mother had. He’d never considered getting something like this. It was a genuine surprise, though he had no idea what he would do with it. It was pretty interesting nonetheless. He looked at the list of the different colored pearls, but he didn’t really find the wishes themselves very appealing. There were ones for luck, love, wisdom, health; the usual stuff. He would probably be happy with whatever. He decided to wish for health since he was trying to get healthier after years of depression and eating very little. Then he attempted to open it with his fingers, but he couldn’t figure it out. His thumbnails threatened to snap under the strength of the oyster’s grip.

“Here, you need to shuck it.” Hero said. He held out his hand and Sunny handed it over. “Hang on, let me go ask around for something to open this with.” He turned and left to go talk with some of the fishermen.

“Do they just expect people to open these things with their bare hands?” Aubrey asked, crossing her arms.

“No, they had a lady there that would do it for us! We thought it would be cooler to do it ourselves, though.” Kel said. “Man, I didn’t realize you’d need a tool for it.”

“I figured we could always do it back at the house if we can’t do it here.” Basil suggested with a sheepish smile.

“Back!” Hero brandished what looked like a pocket knife. “One of the fishermen let me borrow it and even told me how to open this! Let me give it a shot. Uh, stand back just in case it slips.” The four kids took a step back but still leaned forward curiously to watch as Hero held the oyster with his shirt in one hand and carefully maneuvered the pocket knife between the lips. It took longer than it probably should have, but Hero was very meticulous and managed to perfectly open it up without damaging the knife or the oyster too much. He grinned at his achievement. “There! Here you go, Sunny.” He handed it back to his friend.

Basil took a picture as all of his friends watched as Sunny opened up the oyster to expose the slimy meat inside. He couldn’t see a pearl immediately and risked dipping his fingers in to search for it. He felt the pearl right away and gently removed it and hoped that if the oyster was still alive that he wasn’t hurting it. The pearl popped out into his hand. It was black.

“Ooh!” Kel said.

“Black! That’s really pretty!” Basil smiled as Sunny rolled the pearl around in his hand. It shined in the sun.

“Is that real? That’s super cool.” Aubrey agreed.

“It should be, I think.” Hero said. “Pretty sure, anyway. What color does black mean?”

Sunny handed the oyster to Kel before he checked the color chart once more. He was a little surprised with the answer. “Love.” He said.

“Black for love? That’s weird. Was that the one you wanted?” Aubrey asked.

Sunny shook his head, but he didn’t mind this. He didn’t particularly believe in the wishes thing for this anyway. He cleaned the pearl off on his shirt as Kel suddenly yelled, “FLY!” and threw the oyster as hard as he could into the ocean. His friends ignored him and instead passed around the pearl to take turns looking at it and touching it.

“Anyway, let me give you the other thing to go with it.” Basil pulled out a small box from his bag and opened it up. He tossed away the trash and pulled out a thin silver chain with a charm on it. He presented it to Sunny. “It’s a cage for the pearl. You know, so you can wear it like a necklace. Sorry if it’s a little, um, feminine. You can always put the charm on something else if you want to.”

“Oh! It’s really pretty, Basil.” Hero said. “I like it a lot!”

“It’s a sun.” He smiled and rubbed at his arm a little. “I know you’re probably a little tired of the sun jokes, but the design kind of also reminds me of a sunflower with the way the rays are shaped a little like petals. And sunflowers… well, they’re supposed to point towards the sun. Like a happy future. Which is what I want you to have. I hope you like it.”

Sunny didn’t have the words. It was definitely a little feminine, but he had worn plenty of girly things in the past. This was a little more subtle and pretty. He loved it, and it was really thoughtful for something discovered that day. He reached out to take Basil’s hand and squeezed it, his gratitude shining in his eyes. Basil’s nervousness melted away under the brightness. Then Kel threw his arms around Sunny from behind.

“Happy birthday!” He cried.

“Thank you.” Sunny responded.

“I’ll put it on you.” He took the charm from Sunny before opening the cage and popping the pearl into it to close it. He then hooked it around Sunny’s neck before standing back to admire his handiwork. This time, Hero snapped a picture. Sunny touched the necklace and felt very happy. The sunlight on the pearl gave it an almost silver sheen to it. It wasn’t a perfect black and more of a dark grey, but that just made Sunny like it more. He liked the color grey.

“Let me go return this knife real quick. Then afterwards, should we walk around a little longer and grab some actual food?” Hero suggested then. “It’s almost lunch time, and all this seafood’s giving me a huge craving.”

“Same.” Kel agreed. “Let’s get our grub on! Then it’s time to hit the beach once more!”

Sunny followed after his friends with the strange feeling of the necklace on him and felt something deeply twisted in him finally relax. His worries really had been for nothing. It certainly hadn’t been as scary as he had thought. His trust wasn’t misplaced. He still had his friends on his side. And quietly to himself he decided to put his faith in the small wish of the pearl and necklace as well. Looking forward to happiness and love seemed a lot more realistic now when he was surrounded by his best friends.

Chapter Text

The arrival of Aubrey's hooligan friends spelled the end of the peaceful hours. They came in two separate waves since there were two cars that brought them. Kim and Vance arrive first having borrowed their dad’s truck for the day and promptly burst into the house with a lot of bluster as Aubrey exchanged special handshakes with them both in greeting before Kim threw her arms around her friend.

“It’s been so BO-RING without you, Aubrey! Quit hanging out with the dorks and come back and hang with the cool kids!” Kim complained even as she sported a slightly-mean grin that she shot at Sunny and Kel.

“You’ve got it all wrong! We’re the cool kids and you’re the dorks.” Kel argued. “I mean, you’ve seen Angel and Mikhael, right?”

“You’re just jealous of them. Even at their dorkiest, they’re ten times cooler than you! Hey, Aubrey! Why are your eyes all red? You’ve been crying?”

“Wha-? No! It’s all the salt water!” Aubrey cried.

“Hey man, nice to meet you.” Vance said as he came over to shake Hero’s hand. “Saw you around a couple of times in the past, but never really talked to you. You look good.”

“Haha, thanks. Nice to meet you as well.” Hero said in return, pleased. Sunny still wasn’t over how different Vance’s personality was when he wasn’t following his sister’s lead. It was kind of funny to watch Kel and Kim bicker with each other now. It was like watching the old Aubrey with him, but it was clear that Kim just liked getting a rise out of him. They were probably friends now, he thought.

He still didn’t feel totally comfortable around Aubrey’s newer friends, though, so Sunny retreated to go get changed instead. He was surprised to find Basil doing the same. They both shared amused looks at their attempts to flee, and then hurried to the back porch where they’d all left their bathing suits out to dry yesterday. With the glass door between them and the others, it was nice and pretty quiet outside.

Basil sighed in relief. “It’s going to get really noisy soon.” Sunny nodded in agreement and made a face at his bathing suit. It was still kinda damp. It would be unpleasant to put on. Wringing it did nothing because it wasn’t wet enough to drip. “I still get kinda nervous around Aubrey’s friends. Force of habit, I guess.”

He looked towards Basil as the boy nervously played with the strings on his suit. “Is it any better now?” He asked.

The other nodded. “Y-Yeah. But still. I’m not really friends with them, but they don’t mess with me anymore… I don’t know. It’s just weird.” Sunny picked up his suit and then purposely bumped his shoulder a little against Basil’s as he passed by. Basil cheered up just a little bit. “I guess it is the same for you, huh? You don’t even really know them. So at least we’re in the same boat!”

Exactly Sunny’s point. He agreed with a nod, and the two returned into the house. They’d almost made it to the hallway with the bedrooms when someone else knocked on the front door. The others had arrived. The two boys fled faster right into their separate bedrooms. It got exponentially louder out in the main room as what sounded like the rest of Aubrey’s friends arrived. He could recognize Angel’s loud voice anywhere.

Sunny stripped and pulled on his swim trunks before pausing to look at himself in the mirror. His fingers touched his necklace and felt himself perk up at it. It really was pretty. It suited him even if he had grown tired of people giving him gifts based on his name. There was more to it, this time. Happiness and love. He had wished for health, but honestly if he had these instead he would probably be fine. He’d like to be happy once again. A love life seemed impossibly far away, though. He barely interacted with anyone outside of his current friend group, after all. Platonic love was probably what it was for. Anything else would be a surprise.

Should he leave it on while at the beach? It seemed rude to take it off so soon after getting it, but he wasn’t sure if the necklace would survive the salt water. Or worse, what if the delicate chain broke? It made him kind of nervous. He didn’t want to take it off, though. He pulled on a shirt and decided to go ask Basil his opinion.

He didn’t make it that far as the artist elder sister of Angel called out, “Hey, is that Sunny? Hey kid! Come say hello!”

Sunny slunk to join the group as Angel let out a loud, “AH! It’s the weird knife kid!”

Aubrey and the Artist’s fists came down on Angel’s head at the same time, making him yelp with pain. “Don’t talk about people like that! Jeez, where did you learn that from?” His sister demanded before she beamed at Sunny. “It’s good to see you again! You’re looking well! I heard you were back in town, but I’ve been busy. You should’ve stopped by! I could’ve used your opinion on some recent art pieces!”

Sunny had actually knocked on her door, but nobody had answered. He didn’t say that, though.

“Go away already, sis!” Angel snapped at her, pouting as he nursed his bruised skull. “We don’t need you here anymore!”

“Yeah yeah, I’m going. Just remember I’m picking you guys up this evening, alright? If you see me around, don’t talk to me. I’m gonna be focusing on my sketches.”

“Okay!” Angel tried to push her out the door, but that just made her resist harder. Eventually he was pulled back by Charlene and the Artist left on her own. Angel let out a loud groan after her departure, simply lamenting how annoying his sister was. Sunny just blinked at him.

“...Anyway,” Vance said with a big stretch, “As cool as this place is, I’m so ready to hit the beach. When’re we going? We’re on a time limit!”

“We brought snacks too.” Mikhael added. He was wearing his blonde wig today as well. He seemed to have tried to dress like a sexy beach guy, but he missed the mark a bit. Sunny had a sinking suspicion he had a speedo underneath his shorts.

“We would’ve brought candy, but it would just melt in this heat.” Kim said, grumbling a little. “So we have some tarts and stuff instead.”

“Tarts?” Kel asked, surprised. “That’s a weird choice for the beach. We already have two watermelons.”

“Aubrey said it was Sunny’s birthday today and asked us to bring something good.” Vance said. Charlene held up a plastic container that looked like it had small fruit tarts on it. Sunny’s eyes widened and his mouth watered at the sight. “Happy birthday, little guy.”

“Yeah, happy birthday!” Angel said, followed by Mikhael with a pose and Kim with a genuine smile.

“Happy birthday.” Charlene said softly. Sunny felt a blush spread across his cheeks, pleased. He hadn’t expected anything like this. He wasn’t sure how to react to all of this.

“He’s pretty stone-faced, huh?” Kim said.

“Well, if we have everything we can head out now. You guys can leave anything you don’t want at the beach here.” Hero said. “I’m gonna go get changed.”

“Same here.” Aubrey said. “Be right back.” The two of them and Kel departed then, leaving Sunny and the recently-returned Basil with the Hooligans.

“Um.” Basil started as they all shifted a little awkwardly.

Vance, the eldest of the group, decided to save the moment. “Hey little guy, wanna pick out which tart you want so nobody steals it?”

Sunny nodded and approached the container. Each tart had a different mixture of small fruits on them and seemed to have chocolate or vanilla cream in them. Honestly, they all looked good. There were a bunch of mini ones, but there were enough bigger ones that each of them could have one. He chose the one with the most amount of strawberries because he planned to give it to Basil. He was fine with having any of the other ones anyway, but he knew that Basil loved strawberries. 

“Alright, you all saw that. That’s the birthday boy’s dessert.” This was going to be a good day, Sunny thought.

The overhanging grey clouds from that morning had cleared to leave behind massive cumulonimbus clouds to decorate the horizon. The occasional shadow passed over the beachgoers and provided welcome shade from the relentless heat of the day. The humidity was thick enough that Sunny wasn’t sure if he was sweating or if it was water in the air clinging to his skin. He made sure to lather himself with his sunscreen once more, but he didn’t immediately go to join the others who had run into the water for the relief of the waves.

It was kinda hard for him to find his pace among someone else’s group of friends. Kel had absolutely no trouble and even Hero could find ways to converse with them, but Sunny wasn’t much of a talker to begin with and he didn’t have a lot to say even if he was. So many colorful people around him painted an array of colors and emotions that he found entertaining to watch, so he didn’t mind not participating. It was kind of cool to see Aubrey in her element with other people. She reverted a little more back into the person she had become during the time Sunny had been gone, but she was still very much Aubrey. It also seemed that whatever tension had been between Kel and the others was gone as well. It was pleasant.

For a while, Sunny’s very presence was forgotten. He hung out under the shade of the umbrellas (half of which were “borrowed” from the hotel) and drummed idly on the watermelon between his legs. He wanted to go swimming as well, but he wasn’t sure how to include himself into the group any longer.

Basil stayed with Sunny, partners in feeling a little too shy to just run out and join the others among the waves. Basil had chosen to stay behind. He watched Sunny staring at the others and asked, “Don’t you want to go join them?”

Sunny tore his eyes from watching how Vance had spun Angel around by his wrist and ankle and had tossed him hard enough at a wave that he had bounced off of it and into the air and looked at Basil. He nodded. His hand came up to touch his necklace, which he had failed to find the time to ask about.

“Are you worried about your necklace? I think it should be fine… but if you want, we can tuck it away somewhere safe? We can put it in my bag.” Basil suggested. Sunny hesitated, and then shook his head. He decided he wanted to keep it on. He would be careful to clean it later and he would check on it frequently to make sure it was still there. His friend giggled a little. “You really like that, huh? I’m glad. You seem to be enjoying yourself.” He looked out to watch the others as well. “I was really worried after last night… but it seems like everything’s okay. We were right to trust them. They really are good friends.”

“Does it bother you that we’re not forgiven?” Sunny asked as he moved to open the container with the fruit tarts in it. He pulled out the one he had picked earlier as well as a second one.

“A little.” Basil confessed. “But… I think we should be happy that they love us despite that.” He blinked as Sunny held out a tart to him. “Huh? That’s the one you wanted.”

“I picked it for you. You like strawberries. I didn’t want someone to get it before you.”

Basil flushed, cheeks darkening as he ducked his head and smiled shyly. “Th-Thank you. You remembered.” He took the offered treat with a soft, delighted sparkle to his eyes. They both took their first bites of their treats together. The sweet and sour blend of the fresh fruit blended with the mellow creaminess of the tart. It almost tasted like whipped cream, but it was thicker. It was delicious. Sunny licked his lips. He would love to steal some more of the small ones, but he wouldn’t hog them for himself. He snatched up two before he put the container away in the cooler so that he wouldn’t give into temptation. He gladly ate what he had.

“Have you forgiven yourself?” He asked his friend.

“...Have you?” Basil countered softly.

“I don’t know.” He admitted. “Mari wants me to, but it’s…”

“It’s so hard.” Basil agreed with an understanding smile. “I don’t think it’s something we need to rush. We’ve spent so long keeping this secret and this guilt that it feels almost wrong to try to let it go. I think it’s a matter of having faith in ourselves and the people who love us. We made some huge steps this week. We can relax for a little while. We deserve it.”

Sunny didn’t respond and filled his mouth with his tart. Huge steps… he felt more like he had finally opened the door to his house once more. Could this really be considered progress when this was information his friends should’ve known from the start? This was simply a make-up class because he had failed his grade while everyone else was graduating. The feeling of being behind just wouldn’t fully leave him.

But he knew that he shouldn’t let himself believe in that. Basil was right, but it was hard to keep that in mind. They weren’t forgiven. Sunny wondered if he would ever really be able to forgive himself. He didn’t want to fail Mari’s last request of him, though.

He sighed through his nose and licked the cream from his fingers. He was in a tough spot. This was why he didn’t want to live in the real world. It was complicated, and emotions were complicated.

Still, it was better than feeling nothing at all.

Chapter Text

Like most things when his friends were involved to hold his hands, it became easier for Sunny to leave the haven of the umbrella shade and venture out into the waves. Kel had lifted him straight off of his feet to test his weight before declaring, “Sunny’s going next!”

“W-Wait!” Basil protested. They were standing in an area shallow enough that it wasn’t necessary to swim in order to play, so he had left his inner tube on the beach. Hero and Kim were sitting together on the pizza float while Charlene made sure that it wasn’t going to float off into the ocean. “What do you mean, next?”

“We’re gonna throw him.” Kel explained. “He’s light enough that he might beat Angel’s record.”

“No way! He’s bigger than me! I’m definitely the winner of this battle!” Angel cried, pointing at himself with his thumb. Sunny wanted to run away.

“At least ask him first.” Aubrey scolded. “He’s not exactly short. Basil’s smaller.”

“Yeah, but Basil can’t swim, so we can’t do that.” Kel said.

“And Sunny’s recovering from being afraid of the water! What’s wrong with you?”

“Fine! We’ll let him decide! Sunny, wanna try it out?” Kel turned to him eagerly. “I think Vance could get you to skip at least once!”

Sunny felt very socially pressured. He shook his head quickly. He didn’t really want to be thrown around.

“Aw, really?” Kel deflated a little while Angel cheered.

“Unbeaten winner!” He yelled.

“Dang, I was hoping to get some competition going. Okay! How about Chicken?”

“Now that I’m down for.” Aubrey said with a smirk. “Anyone want to try to go against me?”

“You’re on!” Kim threw herself back into the water and scrambled right onto her brother’s shoulders. Vance didn’t look like he needed asking as together the siblings posed in battle-ready stances. “Let’s go! Pair up! Who thinks they’re strong enough to take us on, losers?!”

“Me, me!” Angel cried, waving his hand. “Who wants to team up with me?! I need a tall person!”

Aubrey leaned over to whisper something to Charlene, who blushed and shook her head quickly. Aubrey laughed and then said, “I’ll team up with Charlene.” The taller girl ducked down, and Aubrey climbed up.

“Hero!” Kel turned to his brother.

“Uh-uh! You’ll be freakishly tall that way!” Aubrey pointed at them. “No height advantage!”

“You say that like Charlene isn’t the tallest one here!” Kel argued back. “Then-” Sunny put his hand on Kel’s arm and the taller boy looked at him. Sunny was filled with eagerness to try his hand at this. Kel could see the sparkle in his eye as he spun dramatic and cried, “Heck yes! The dream team returns for round two of beating the Hooligans’ butts! Me and Sunny are a GO!” He ducked into the water and went right between Sunny’s legs to lift him straight from the water. They both stumbled a little from the new position, but then they both posed together as well in preparation. Sunny knew they would be obliterated considering Charlene was a mountain and Vance was no doubt gonna shove them around, but it would be a fun game nonetheless.

“I’ll take you, Angel.” Hero said with a confident grin. “Just make sure you take my brother out, okay?”

“Yeah!” Angel eagerly took to Hero’s shoulders, who didn’t even struggle under the weight of the short boy. Four teams were formed with Basil and Mikhael sitting back to watch. Sunny heard a camera snap.

“Fair rules!” Mikhael called. “If your partner is knocked down into the water, you lose. No serious injuries. Go!”

Sunny hadn’t expected the go to be right away, but suddenly Angel was clashing with him. Sunny’s arms came up to catch the boy’s shoulders as below him the two brothers struggled. Kel and Hero had matching grins as a pure strength contest went on between them with their hands interlocked and pressing each other. Sunny hooked his feet under Kel’s arms and did the same with Angel, who laughed. He was surprisingly strong.

“You won’t defeat me again, Sunny!” The boy announced. “Last time I was focused on my master’s rival Kel, but if I defeat you then I defeat him!” He tried to twist left, but Sunny turned to counterbalance him. To their side, Aubrey and Kim were playfully yanking at each other to try to knock the other down. Vance didn’t even try to go for Charlene since she wouldn’t move, so it was only the riders really fighting. Charlene and Vance circled each other to try to give their partners the advantage.

“C’mon Sunny! You can overpower him!” Kel encouraged. Then he yelped and stumbled, nearly sending them plunging into the ocean. But Kel gripped Sunny’s legs tightly and Sunny used what little core strength he had to pull himself upright as Kel backed away a few paces to gain control once more. “No fair, Hero! You can’t go for the legs!”

“Fair’s fair, Kel!” Hero taunted as Angel laughed.

“That’s how you do it! Strongest horse here!”

That had irritated Sunny a bit. He didn’t want to lose to a little kid. So, he imagined that his health bar recovered once more and his attack spiked. When Hero and Angel approached next, Sunny decided to do a trick of his own. It seemed Kel had a similar idea as the two boys were on the same competitive wavelength as together they shouted, “Special attack!”

Each boy went to grab their opponent: Kel for Hero’s arms and Sunny for Angel’s legs. In one movement Kel yanked Hero’s arms away from Angel’s legs, and Sunny used it to flip the boy backwards. Angel yelped as he fell back, but the special attack didn’t work as planned. Sunny’s armpit was grabbed by Angel to try to stop himself from falling, but his momentum only proceeded to yank Sunny forward. His weight overbalanced him and he fell half onto Hero, who moved instinctively to try to grab him instead before he collapsed onto him. Kel tried to straighten once more, but only assisted in Hero basically allowing Angel to fall back as he instead pulled Sunny off of Kel. The three boys yelled as they all fell into the water in a heap and Kel was the only one left standing. Sunny blinked his eyes opened, vision clear thanks to his goggles, and watched the bubbles spin around them as Angel kicked off of the ground and up to the surface. Sunny followed suit and broke the surface of the water to find the girls laughing at them.

“Oh man, that was a bust, haha!” Kel laughed as he helped to pull his coughing brother out of the water. Sunny had at least been lucky enough not to swallow sea water this time, but it looked like Angel and Hero hadn’t had the same luck. “Nice game!”

“That was a dirty trick and you know it.” Angel called even as Hero and Kel locked arms in a congratulatory special handshake, grinning.

“That was exciting to watch!” Basil called to them.

“Now the real battle remains!” Kim said, pulling Sunny’s attention to where the girls were still circling each other. When Vance and Charlene clashed, it allowed for Aubrey and Kim to flail and yell as they both tried to overpower each other. Sunny was suddenly very glad he wasn’t going against either of them because they took it a lot more seriously. There was headbutting involved and hair pulling. It was all in good fun, but it was clear the competitiveness was high. He was struck by how brutal and beautiful it was at the same time. There really was no mercy among friends as they yelled and did every dirty trick they could. Because both of them had strong horses, though, it really only came down to who was the strongest. Vance cheered his sister on while Hero called out encouragement to Aubrey. Aubrey’s ponytail was pulled out and Kim got a pretty nasty backhand that gave them all pause to check on each other. Then finally, Kim pulled out her strongest move.

“ULTIMATE FORM!” She yelled as she climbed to stand on her brother’s shoulders, gaining a height advantage that she used to press down on Aubrey from above to tip her backwards. Charlene’s grip on Aubrey’s thighs was steady, and Aubrey’s stomach muscles strained to stay as upright as possible as she shook from the effort. The cheering for each team got louder as Vance advanced in, his hands holding his sister’s feet to keep her steady. But that ended up being one weak point as Charlene reached out and grabbed her ankle, releasing Aubrey to her burden and trusting her to be fine.

“Hey!” Vance cried as Charlene yanked his sister’s ankle from his grip.

“AH!” Kim cried as she stumbled, causing her brother to wiggle as well from the upset balance. Aubrey took her shot and pulled Kim while twisting, sending the girl plunging into the salty depths below. Charlene grabbed Aubrey to steady her and she pulled herself to sit back on her friend’s shoulders. Her fists shot into the air as she let out a cry of success. Sunny clapped while Kel hooted his approval before promptly grabbing Aubrey and yanking her down from her perch so they all collapsed into the water. Angel threw himself into the mix as well with Kim following suit to get her revenge as it ended up a tangle of flailing limbs, kids yelling, and laughter between all of the splashing. Sunny backed away to watch from afar, admiring the bright smiles on all of their faces.

The day bled on soon afterwards. The Chicken fight took out a lot of energy and allowed the kids to calm themselves by doing some other things. Sunny took to boogie boarding with Aubrey while Hero and Basil lounged on the giant pizza float. Kel ran off with Vance and Kim in order to hunt down some snacks while Angel and Mikhael hung out and ate from the cooler. Sunny checked on his necklace periodically to make sure everything was okay and he found himself to be having a ton of fun. Between boogie boarding, simply hanging out in the waves, and occasionally diving to look for some sea life closer to the rocks where there were less people, he felt very fulfilled. The tension that had come from being with a new group of people relaxed into something more companionable, though sometimes the atmosphere was too much for Sunny and he retreated along with Basil and sometimes Hero and Vance to relax in other places.

The height of the sun decreased and more cloud cover filtered in. Sunny grew tired from the water as he watched the large cumulonimbus clouds roll in and take new shapes. He imagined what it would be like to be up there among them and gaze up at the clear blue skies above. How would the clouds feel upon his feet? Would he fall through? Were there creatures waiting for him above the sea of white up there? Clouds, so full of water, probably had an ocean of their own fish and marine creatures. He wanted to explore it. That might be a fun adventure for him and his imaginary friends if they could go.

He was already halfway into a fantasy of cool fluffy grass upon his feet and puddles of water splashing up around his bare ankles when he was pulled back to reality by Hero giving a yawn and saying, “Alright, I’m gonna head back early.” Sunny only paid a little attention to what was going on around him. He stared at the area so close to the sun long enough that when he looked at his friends, the world had a blue tint to it. He blinked the bright spot from his vision as Basil asked,

“You’re going back to the house?”

“Yeah, I didn’t sleep much last night and I’m exhausted. I think I’m going to take a nap.” Hero gave a long stretch.

“Ah.” Basil’s voice was understanding. “A nap sounds good. You should rest.”

“I will.” Hero assured him. There was a soft smile on his face, but a heavy sadness that lingered deep in his brown eyes that Sunny wished he wasn’t able to feel deep in his heart. He genuinely hoped that Hero got a peaceful rest. With all of the exercise they had gotten today, he was sure that Hero would probably pass out. “I’ll see you all back at the house later. If I’m still asleep when it gets dark, can you please wake me up?” He checked his phone for the time as he said that.

“Yes. Sleep well!” Basil waved him off and Hero walked alone back to the house. Sunny turned his head back to the sky and watched the clouds. The umbrella’s shade helped to keep him cool even as portions of his skin felt like they were burning. He kind of wanted to be buried in the sand once more, but he also didn’t want to get up and go through the effort of it. He’d rather go back to daydreaming once more. Basil was a comfortable companion who gladly read a book that he had brought with him as Sunny lay next to him. 

The sounds of so many people and the cheerful splashing of the ocean washed over him, and Sunny was pulled into the shallow depths of a doze. The heat of the sun on his legs gave way to chilly puddles soaking into his socks as he walked alone along the white grass. He was vaguely aware of his friends, but they were like mist in his mind. Beneath his feet, the cloudy grass exposed shadows of fish and whales far beneath him. Lightning flashed through the cloud and highlighted pale colors reflecting like prisms from their scales. If he stood still for too long, he began to sink into the depths. So Sunny ran until he reached the edge of the cloud and stood on the thicker edge to gaze at the endless abyss of blue. It was almost too bright to look at. It was such a long way down. Part of him wanted to jump just to see what it would be like. He would probably be caught by another cloud just below. His leg stretched out in preparation and he fell.

His body jolted awake instead, the sensation of falling startling him from his doze. Ugh, he hated when that happened. The unintentional response of his body left him feeling wired.

“Are you okay?” Basil asked.

“Yeah.” Sunny sat up and shifted further out of the sun. His legs were way too hot now. He hoped they didn’t get sunburnt. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep. He was getting hungry for real food again. Snacking all day kept him full, but didn’t satisfy him the way that a real meal did. He was proud to say that he ate a lot more than he used to, at least. His appetite was back and strong. He looked over at his friend and tilted his head curiously as he gazed at the title of the book. Basil caught him looking and gave him a small smile. 

“Do you want to know what it’s about? I think you might like it.”

Sunny didn’t respond, but he shifted so that he would be able to look at the book as well while Basil told him the story involved. It sounded kind of complicated and it was the second book in the series. It was interesting to listen to, though, and they agreed that Sunny could borrow the first book when he left to go home. He only had to promise to return it the next time that they met.

As the afternoon became sweltering, Mikhael had the fun idea of going to try to flirt and pick up girls. Out of all of the guys involved, he was the only one who seemed super into it. But there was enough interest and the threat of possible hilarity that he managed to scrounge together all of the guys except for Basil, who decided to stay behind with the girls. He looked blatantly uninterested in anything that involved flirting. Sunny only wanted to go because he didn’t mind and also because it might be admittedly nice if girls showed some interest in him. It would be an ego boost.

He realized his mistake very quickly. It was very much a hilarious disaster. Kel could easily start up a conversation, but nothing he said was remotely flirtatious and it either turned girls off or they seemed to just have fun talking with a charismatic and silly guy until something happened that also made them uncomfortable. Mikhael was embarrassingly hammy in all of his attempts and did more to get girls to laugh at them or hurry away than anything else. Angel tried to follow his lead, which only ended with more disaster. Sunny didn’t really have anything to say unless someone talked to him first. Vance was the only one who managed to have a decent conversation and actually started to get some attention from the opposite sex until one of the other boys ruined the moment. When the group returned to the others, Sunny mostly just felt like he would never be able to flirt to save his life with people like this around him. It didn’t help that Kim and Aubrey laughed at them afterwards. Sunny decided he would stick to hopefully finding love among friends and friends of friends.

The group finished out their day at the beach by playing a big tournament of badminton. They played in groups of two until Kel and Vance came out on top with a quick high-five. By the time their game was done, it was late and most of them were burnt out from the sun, sand, and water. Stomachs growled and a phone call from Angel’s sister let them all know that it was time to head back. So they all packed up and carried everything back to the beach house with an aura of people deeply satisfied and exhausted from their day out.

“I’m starving.” Kim grumbled. “What d’ya say to going out for dinner tonight, Vance?”

“Eh, we don’t really have that much money for fancy stuff. I was just gonna grab some fast food on the way home. Honestly, I just want a shower and my bed.” Vance confessed.

“I think I’m sunburnt.” Angel complained, poking at his own skin. “It feels tender.”

“Take a hot shower and you’ll know for sure.” His friend joked.

“Really? I’ll try that then!”

“I think I got a nice tan today.” Mikhael said proudly. He still smelled like the tanning spray he had used earlier. It reeked of coconut.

“I’m always tan, so I can’t tell.” Kel said.

“You look darker.” Vance pointed out.

“Yeah, that happens to me in the summer. Look Sunny! You survived without being burnt!” He pointed at his friend. Sunny pumped his fist once quickly. Achievement unlocked: All Fun, No Sun(burn). He was rather proud of himself as well. All the time he spent applying lotion over and over again had worked in his favor. The only downside was that he wasn’t sure if he had managed to get any kind of tan himself. He looked at his pale arms. He supposed he would just always be like this. That was what he got for being such a homebody.

Aubrey nudged him once and then leaned into his ear a little to murmur, “So what do you think of your birthday? Plenty of memories for you?”

Sunny felt his face soften as he nodded once. He’d gotten to experience a lot of new things today and a lot of emotions. Plenty of things that he would’ve never gotten to see or feel if things had gone differently for him. All in all, he thought, not a bad way to spend a day, birthday or not.

Chapter Text

It was getting late by the time they had returned to the rental house and most of the kids were already thinking about what to do next. Sunny decided that rather than hanging around he would take his shower first since he was tired of smelling like the beach and sunscreen. He wanted to feel fresh and clean, so he took over the bathroom to take a hot shower. He was mindful not to take too long, though, since all of his other friends would need showers as well and he didn’t want to use up all of the hot water. He discovered Hero fast asleep in the bedroom and changed as quietly as possible so as to not wake him. He looked like he was resting peacefully, and it wasn’t quite night yet so he could sleep a little bit longer. Sunny did pause to look over him, though, and check on his friend. Other than being dead asleep, his face was relaxed and the darkness under his eyes had faded a little. That was good. Sunny hoped that the rest of them would get to sleep well that night after such a busy day. Exhaustion already pulled at Sunny’s bones coaxing him to lay down on the other bed and take a nap himself. Instead he returned to the others.

He found that Angel’s sister had already returned and they were all standing around saying their goodbyes. “Aubrey, let us know when we can hang again, alright?” Kim said as she and Aubrey hugged. “We’ve still got plenty of summer left to do stuff with now that Vance has his license!”

“Yeah! There’s a movie that we were planning on seeing.” Angel said. “You can come too if you want, Kel. You too, Basil.”

“Which one is it?” Kel asked. “Cuz I was actually looking forward to seeing that new superhero movie.”

“Yeah, that one!”

“Awesome! Yeah, just text me and I’ll go!”

“I’ll have to see if I can.” Basil said. He looked torn between grateful and awkward at being invited, like he was unsure if he was allowed to actually accept the offer. Sunny already felt jealous that he couldn’t be included to go to the movies with them. He wished that he hadn’t spent so much time cooped up in his house. He had moved away too soon, even if it was a relief to no longer live in that house any longer.

“Hey Sunny!” Angel’s sister slipped past the others to join him when she noticed that he was there. “I heard it’s your birthday, so here!” She pulled out a piece of paper portfolio book in her arms and handed it to him. His eyes widened at the lovely watercolor beach scene. The water had so many colors in it that he couldn’t pick out them all, and yet it formed a beautiful scenery. She had seen this from the beach. “Haha, judging by your look you like it? It’s just a practice page since I’m not great at watercolor, but it’s the best one I made today. It’s yours!” She winked at him. “Just remember that next time you stop by Faraway you owe me some of your time. You’ve got some good taste, kid, and you’re a good sounding board.”

“Thank you.” He responded, genuinely pleased. He would hang this up next to his sketch from Mincy. He would have to buy a good picture frame for it later. It seemed a shame to leave it just as it was. 

“You’re welcome! Alright, Angel and crew, let’s get going!” She turned back to the others.

“Should we wake Hero so he can say goodbye too?” Basil asked, looking a little worried.

“Nah, let him sleep. If he was tired enough to leave the beach early, he probably needs his rest. After all, he’s driving tomorrow.” Kel waved Basil off.

“Yeah, we’ll just say hi when we see him anyway.” Kim agreed. “He’s staying in town for the rest of the summer like last year, right?”

“Yup!”

“Yeah, so we’ll see him then. Anyway, see you around, Sunny. Happy birthday and get home safe, alright? And, uh, sorry about everything. Y’know, last time.” She added with a mutter.

“He still got the last laugh with that pepper spray.” Mikhael grumbled. Sunny had no regrets about using that. Six on two was unfair to begin with, and he had been strategic with his self-defense.

“I don’t think Sunny can laugh.” Angel said with a teasing grin. He punched Sunny in the shoulder lightly. “See you around, dude!”

“Happy birthday!” The others chimed before Aubrey’s gang went outside. It seemed that Kim and Vance were going to leave at the same time. Sunny waved as they left and the door closed. Aubrey saw them out, leaving only the three boys to stand there.

“That was fun!” Kel decided with a grin. “It’s always cool having a big group of friends to hang out with for the day! Hey, next time let’s see about hanging with my team! I think they’d like you guys!”

“Maybe if they forgive you for skipping out on basketball camp.” Basil agreed. 

Sunny wandered into the kitchen to go get some water but paused as he saw a note on the fridge door. He pulled off the note and read it.

Don’t let Sunny open the fridge until I’m awake! - Hero

That only made him more curious. What was in the fridge that he wasn’t allowed to see? More desserts? Something else? Kel’s leftover hell concoction of alcohol that Hero didn’t want them tapping into and getting drunk on while he was asleep? He was tempted to look, but he resisted and walked back over to join the others to show them the note.

“Oh, a present?” Basil guessed as Aubrey returned inside and locked up the front door. It was getting dark now. Through the window Sunny could see the cars pulling away and leaving. Their lights flashed across his eyes and made him blink a bit. “Was that there when we left?”

“Only thing left to do is wake him then, isn’t it?” Aubrey asked. “After all, it’s dinner time anyway.”

“How about we make dinner then?” Kel suggested instead. “We can wake Hero when it’s all done, and we can surprise him by showing him we know how to cook too!” He gave a little laugh.

“Do we?” Sunny asked dubiously, though he was mostly joking. He admittedly didn’t really know how to cook, but he was willing to try.

“I mean, I do.” Aubrey said. “Gotta eat real food somehow, you know? And get my mom to eat as well.”

Basil nodded in agreement. “I help Polly sometimes as well so she didn’t have to do all the cooking. We use a lot of fresh vegetables, so I can prepare those?”

“Dad taught me everything he knows! I’m not as good as Hero, but I can make a good meal!” Kel said.

Sunny once again felt left behind. The others looked at him to respond. He awkwardly said, “I can make spaghetti.”

That cracked a few smiles before Kel clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Dinner’s your choice tonight! What do you want? We don’t have steak, sadly.”

“Anything’s fine.” Sunny said. “I can’t look in the fridge to see what we have.”

“He’s right.” Aubrey put a hand to her chin and then said, “Alright. Sunny, go… over there or something. We need to dig and see what we have since Hero did all the shopping.”

Sunny was thus banished to the living room where he turned on the television while his friends all went to explore what was in the fridge. There were hums of understanding and some conversation on what they could make with their limited supplies before everything they needed was pulled out and Sunny was allowed to return to the kitchen. They had to discuss what they could make and if they wanted to divide up the chores. In the end they settled on some simple meatball subs with roasted veggies and some french fries thrown in the oven. Since it was simple, the group separated in order to prepare for that night instead. Kel took charge of the meatballs, confident that he could make something good. Basil did the sauce and the veggies. Aubrey went to go take a shower and move her stuff to her new bedroom.

“Who am I bunking with anyway?” She asked. “Am I just switching with Kel and staying with Basil?”

“Up to you.” Basil said. “We could do a complete rotation if you want someone else?”

“I mean, I guess it doesn’t really matter. It’s just overnight.” She muttered a little self-consciously.

Basil glanced at Sunny and got a sly smile that made Sunny’s cheeks warm a bit before the boy suggested, “Then how about I switch with Hero and you and Sunny can share? Then we’ve all changed roommates?”

Sunny and Aubrey’s eyes met and then jumped away at the same time. Though they had spent the night together before, it was different this time. One room with just the two of them in it was kind of embarrassing. It wasn’t like he expected anything to happen, but it made him kind of shy. It would be nothing like sharing a room with his sister. It seemed like his old crush hadn’t exactly gone completely away. That was embarrassing to realize as well.

“Uh, sure…” Aubrey agreed. “Then… I’ll go… Sunny, don’t you dare enter the bedroom until I’m fully dressed!”

Sunny ducked his head and sat down a little too quickly on the couch to show he wasn’t going anywhere. The girl gave a sharp nod, cheeks nearly the color of her hair, before she stalked off to the bathroom. Sunny dropped his face into his hands and took a deep breath to calm down. Basil gave a laugh from the kitchen. Sunny’s head shot up and his eyes narrowed at Basil’s shaking shoulders as he repressed his laughter. Traitor. Kel gave him a blank look before he looked at Sunny.

“Man, it’s just Aubrey. Nothing to be embarrassed about, right?”

“Kel, do you even see her as a girl?” Basil asked as he wiped his grin away. He tilted his head a little curiously. “You sound like we’re all still twelve and, well, pre-pubescent.”

“Aw man, give me some credit. I know she’s a girl, and it’s not like I don’t get it.” Kel frowned at his bowl as he dumped the ground beef and onion into it before glancing over what few spices were available in the kitchen cabinets. “She’s cute and stuff and always has been. But I don’t see why that means we have to, I don’t know, treat her any differently. This is the same girl who once got annoyed at the shirts and skins game and took off her shirt to prove that she could too. She’s also the same one that threw up all over Sunny’s shoes on the school field trip in third grade. Just because she’s got actual boobs now doesn’t mean she’s not still the same dork we know.”

Basil’s face turned red as Sunny vividly remembered the horror of Aubrey vomiting all over his brand new pair of shoes he had worn for the class trip to the aquarium. He had ended up crying, and Aubrey had cried too from how bad she had felt for ruining the trip for Sunny. It had been a total mess. Kel had given Sunny his shoes and the teachers bought a pair of flip flops for him in compensation, which had suited Kel fine since it meant he could take them off whenever and run around barefoot. He had forgotten about that.

“W-Well, I mean, yeah but… I don’t know, she is different, you know?” Basil ducked his head to focus on cutting up the broccoli they had. “All of us are.”

“Yeah, but unless you guys have plans to kiss her or something then I don’t see why you would bother getting all worked up about sharing a room, is all.” He shrugged. “It’s not like she’d let us see her chest now that she has something there.”

“What did you say about my chest?” Aubrey’s voice suddenly came from the hallway. She stood there with teeth gritted and a glare on Kel’s back. Her cheeks were bright red again. Sunny sunk down to hide using the back of the couch as protection.

“W-Wait! It’s not what you think!” Basil hurried to say, raising his hands in defense.

“SERIOUSLY?!” She cried. “I leave for two minutes and you boys start talking about my chest?! What the hell!”

“You only heard the tail end of it!” Kel tried to defend himself. “We were talking about how you threw up on Sunny’s shoes in the third grade as well.”

Aubrey let out an angry shout and stormed over to hit him. Kel shouted at the punch. “DON’T TALK ABOUT ME AT ALL, YOU IDIOT!”

Sunny covered his face once more as his friends started bickering and Basil attempted to mediate to no avail. He’d never had the backbone to be able to get between an Aubrey and Kel fight, and Sunny didn’t have the willpower to even try. It was a ridiculous argument anyway with Kel getting worked up at the accusations of being a pervert while Aubrey was just on a mortified rampage. It earned Kel a nice bruise against his cheek as she punched him.

“What…?” Sunny peeked over the back of the couch to see a bedraggled Hero step out into the living room rubbing sleep from his eyes. His hair had clearly been wet when he had gone for his nap because it was sticking up like crazy. It made him look younger as he adjusted his tank top and squinted at the sight before him. Then he sighed. “When I asked to be woken up, I didn’t mean like this.” He said it lowly before he stepped up to the plate to separate the bickering teens as he clapped his hands to get their attention. “Alright guys, that’s enough. You’re in the kitchen and it’s dangerous. Please break it up.”

Aubrey huffed, still annoyed, and stormed out of the kitchen to throw herself onto the couch next to Sunny. She shot him an accusatory glare. He held up his hands and shook his head. He’d had no part of that conversation earlier. That seemed to calm her down a little.

“Man, that’s such bull!” Kel huffed, rubbing his cheek and glaring too. “I didn’t do anything wrong! She just attacked me!”

“You were talking about my boobs!” She shouted at him.

“That was out of context!” He said back.

“Oh jeez.” Hero ran a hand through his messy hair. “Seriously, Kel?”

“I wasn’t!” He argued. “She misheard! Ugh, never mind. It’s dumb to try to explain. I’m gonna sound stupid either way.” He turned back to the meatballs with frustration radiating off of him. 

“Then what was the context?” Hero asked, sounding a little baffled and hesitant now that Kel was playing the victim. He usually pressed more to prove his innocence, so it was a little off-putting.

“It’s hard to explain, but we were just talking about how she’s the only girl in the group.” Basil said with an awkward shrug. “She really did hear it out of context… but her, um, breasts were mentioned.”

“All I was saying was that that’s pretty much the only real difference in her since we grew up and that she’s still just Aubrey!” Kel added.

Aubrey growled, apparently annoyed by that as well. “Are you saying I’m still a kid?! That’s so rude!”

“No! ”

“Aubrey,” Hero held his hand up to calm her, “I get where he’s coming from. It has nothing to do with you being a girl, and more to do with the fact that despite being a girl you’re still a really close friend of ours.”

“Yes! Thank you!” Kel agreed with a quick nod and smile.

That seemed to appease her just a bit. Sunny made a note of it.

“But Kel, you gotta realize that Aubrey is a girl, and it might hurt her feelings if you keep acting like she’s not.” Hero added.

“Does it?” Kel gave her a confused look. The sincerity in his gaze took the wind out of her sails as Aubrey muttered,

“I mean, kind of? Being around you guys makes me feel, I don’t know, normal I guess. But I don’t really wanna be seen as ‘one of the guys’, if that makes sense?”

“It does.” Basil assured her. “I haven’t really been considered ‘one of the guys’ ever.”

“I don’t really get it.” Kel said. “But I won’t mention it anymore if it bothers you. Sorry, Aubrey.”

“Apology accepted.” She said. Then after a moment she added, “Sorry for punching you.”

“Pfft, I’m used to that.” Kel brushed it off. His smile was appreciative, though. The entire room relaxed as the two made up.

“Anyway, what are you guys making?” Hero asked, which got Basil and Kel chatting with the man about the meal plan. Sunny thought about what it would be like to not really see Aubrey as a girl and just couldn’t really imagine it. She had always been a bit of a tomboy, but her femininity and her desire to be seen as a woman was undeniable. It was one of the things that Sunny knew Aubrey had loved about Mari. She had treated her like a little sister, and once Aubrey was around Mari stopped dressing her little brother up in her old clothes. Instead she and Aubrey had had many days spent being, to put it simply, girls together in a way that the rest of the group just hadn’t been able to. Aubrey had confided this in Sunny a couple times when they had been younger, telling him about how much she had appreciated Mari and lamenting sometimes that most of her friends were boys because they didn’t really want to do more girl things with her. Kel had always complained, and Basil hadn’t come along until they were a bit older. Sunny had sometimes joined in, but he had preferred to hang out with Kel because he had grown up with his sister. In a way, Aubrey had always been a part of but separate from the group in a way that Sunny was aware of, but didn’t fully understand. He was glad to listen to everything she had said and had tried to change, but Aubrey had also enjoyed just hanging out and doing whatever the guys did anyway that it never really seemed like a big deal. He wondered if things were different for Aubrey now that she had Charlene and Kim, but neither of them had seemed particularly girly in the way that Mari had seemed.

“Sunny,” Aubrey murmured, catching his attention. She had drawn her knees to her chest as she watched the television. She had yet to actually go take her shower, so her messy hair was stiff with the salt still in it. She had removed the ponytail she’d been wearing, but that had only meant her hair had a strange bump to it, “are you like that too?” She seemed embarrassed. “Like… do you just see me as a… kid or something?”

Sunny’s fingers came up to play with his necklace, hiding his expression with his damp hair a bit. He shook his head. “You’ve always been… a girl to me.” His cheeks were way too hot. When he glanced over at Aubrey, her eyes had gone wide and she was red too. It was the most innocent expression he’d seen on her in a while, and it startled him. When she realized what she was doing, she jumped up and said,

“R-Right. Shower!” She hurried away. Sunny sat there for a moment, stunned by the sight he had seen, before he simply toppled over on the couch and pressed his face into his pillow.

Damn, she was still really cute.

Chapter Text

Dinner was leisurely with the feeling of pleased fatigue lacing all of their actions. Sunny was already half-asleep even as he swallowed bite after bite, proud of the feeling of his stomach being full and healthy. He watched and listened as his friends talked and could almost forget what day it was and what had happened yesterday. It felt almost like a dream that he would wake up from any moment. The day was ending, and Sunny was ready to go with it.

The group split off once more so that Basil and Kel could take their own showers. Sunny retreated to the couch and fell asleep upon it, curled up around a pillow in his arms. He thought of sunny days where Mewo would curl against him and her purrs would gently radiate through his being when he pressed his nose to her soft forehead. He fell asleep more often than not in the sun when there were so many big windows in their apartment building that allowed in so much natural light. It was always so comfortable.

He was awoken some time later by a smiling Basil. “Do you want dessert?” He asked.

Sunny gave him a confused look as he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eye. He glanced at where he saw Hero pulling a cake out of the fridge while Kel was grabbing some candles. Sunny’s face didn’t change as the cake was brought to the table and Aubrey returned from the bedrooms carrying two gifts in her hands. She spotted Sunny watching her and motioned with her head for him to come over. Sunny’s gaze dropped to his knees.

“Sunny?” Basil called softly. Sunny looked at him. Basil had a concerned look on his face. Sunny looked away. Basil’s mouth opened and then closed, hesitating. Whatever he had been about to say, though, Sunny didn’t listen as he got up to join the others. He sat down in front of his cake as his friends cheerfully moved around him and got into their own places. The cake was a chocolate cake made with fresh frosting. Hero must have planned to do this since he had piped some simple decorations and a ‘Happy Birthday Sunny!’ onto the top. It had a flower made out of cherries as a simple bit of brightness on the dark cake. Kel shoved the one and the seven candles onto the top.

“So this is the real reason you left the beach early?” Kel asked his brother as he nabbed the seat right beside Sunny.

“Sort of. I wanted to get the cake done, but I also really just wanted to sleep as well, haha.” Hero said, taking the seat on the other side of Sunny. He beamed and leaned on his hand. “I hope you like it. My decoration skills might be a little rusty, though.”

“It looks great.” Basil assured him as he lit the candles for Sunny. He and Aubrey took seats at the opposite end of the table. Aubrey had her camera out to take a picture. Sunny watched the shadows of the candles dance on the cake. The food in his stomach no longer sat comfortably. The weight of his years pressed upon him. 

“Yeah! It’s better than anything we could’ve put together!” Kel agreed.

“Haha, thanks guys. Well, should I start us off? One, two-!” As his friends sang happy birthday to him, Sunny wished that time would simply stop. He imagined their voices distorting as the VCR was forced to stop. Thin film pulled from video tape and Sunny simply flung it elsewhere. He wanted to ruin the moment and force time to skip forward. Or backwards, preferably. But none of that happened. Instead, the wax from the candles slowly pooled and began to drip down onto the cake. His name was called several times. Sunny felt very, very far away from his body.

Then his hand was squeezed a little harder than normal. It was a grounding force that pulled him back into his body like a magnet. He blinked and realized his eyes had gone dry. His friends’ smiles had turned to looks of concern. Sunny didn’t want them to look like that, but he didn’t want to blow out the candles either.

“What’s wrong?” Hero prompted him gently.

“Nothing.” Sunny responded. Everything , actually. But he couldn’t say that.

“Um, did you really not want to celebrate your birthday after all?” Basil guessed, looking a little sad. “You... You didn’t seem like you wanted to. Sorry if we forced it on you.”

“It’s okay.” Sunny assured them, but he couldn’t recognize any emotion in his voice. Could they believe him when he didn’t even believe himself?

“Ugh, shit. We did it again, didn’t we?” Aubrey asked as she ran a hand over her face. “We’re ignoring his signs again.”

“Signs? Sunny should just tell us if something’s wrong.” Kel’s eyes met Sunny’s eyes, imploring him, “Dude, don’t stay quiet if something is upsetting you. We won’t know for sure unless you say something. You can tell us.”

Tell them? Should he tell them? Should he tell anyone? It wasn’t really a big deal, he thought. It was something that he had been dealing with for a while. He supposed that the shock of actually having a birthday celebration was what had been really different. But the thought of not saying something when Kel was asking him so earnestly seemed wrong. He could only think of the remorse on his friend’s face when he had apologized for not noticing the situation with Mari earlier. Sunny was tired of repeating the same mistakes. He could hope that his friends wouldn’t be mad at him for his selfishness.

“Last year,” he said softly as another trail of wax descended on the one candle, “I had my birthday in the hospital. It surprised me.”

“Oh… yeah, I guess that did happen.” Aubrey murmured, sounding a little surprised herself. “It was so soon after… everything. I had totally forgotten.”

“I’d remembered. I wanted really badly to go visit you, but I had to babysit Sally that day.” Kel lamented. “By the time my parents got home, it was too late for visitors.”

Hero didn’t say anything. Sunny didn’t need him to in order to know why he hadn’t shown up. The wounds had been too fresh from Sunny’s confession.

“I wish I could’ve been there.” Basil said with a sad smile. He had already been taken away before that, though.

“That day,” Sunny continued, “it all hit me at once and I wasn’t ready.” He stared at the flames on the candles even though they hurt his eyes. “I was older than Mari.” He whispered. “And I… I didn’t want to be. There was a broken segment on the roof of the hospital, and I wanted to…” His friends were stunned into silence at Sunny’s admission, and suddenly his feelings burst free from the confinement he had unknowingly put them in upon waking up. His hand trembled a little as he gripped the front of his shirt. “I don’t like my birthday.” He gasped out, feeling like he was struggling to breathe a bit, “But this year was so fun. I’m… I’m glad I didn’t jump but… But it still hurts so much… Will it be like this every year?” He didn’t want to feel like this all the time. The positive and negative emotions created a thunderstorm in his chest. The lightning flashes stunned his heart and threatened to make him burst. Once he blew out those candles, he would be seventeen. The thought of doing that made him feel like he would shatter from the inside out.

“You’re still so selfish…!” Aubrey hissed, startling Sunny as he looked at her with wide eyes. She had tears boiling on her eyelids as she glared at him. “You think you’re the only one who felt that way? She was your sister, but she was my sister too! How do you think any of us felt when we realized she would never grow up either? I can’t believe you!”

“Aubrey!” Basil and Kel reprimanded at the same time, aghast.

“No! Someone’s gotta say it!” She argued. “I can’t believe I’m hearing this! We just became friends again… we had promised to be there for each other… Why didn’t you call one of us if you were feeling like that? Don’t you know we would’ve come to see you?” She yelled.

“Would you have?” Sunny asked softly, genuinely confused. That brought Aubrey up short and his friends stared at him. Sunny waited for their answers.

“OF COURSE WE WOULD HAVE!” Kel and Aubrey shouted at the same time, Kel leaping from his chair with extra emphasis.

“I would’ve come running!” He added. “Sally wouldn’t have minded!”

“I was mad at you, but I wouldn’t have left you alone!” Aubrey said.

“They’re right.” Hero agreed finally, seeming to find his words. He swallowed thickly. “Sunny, you can call us. We want to be there for you.”

Basil wiped at his eyes. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t help you, Sunny.”

Sunny couldn’t believe their words even though he wanted to. They battered at a wall in his heart of denial; the negativity that told him that before this week his friends had wanted little do with him. That during that day last year he had been completely and utterly alone. He hadn’t called for anyone because he would only hurt them more. He had been all but convinced that if he had jumped that day, his friends would finally be able to breathe a sigh of relief to be free of him. The only thing that had stopped him that day was the little bit of hope that tomorrow he would think differently. He had stayed in his bed and he had simply told himself to wait. And when the next day came, his mother had stayed with him for hours until the urge to jump had released him enough from his clutches that he’d had the courage to warn the hospital about the broken railing. After that, the roof had been inaccessible.

The wax had pooled on top of the cake now as Sunny dropped his gaze. He wanted to ask if they would’ve been happier never knowing the truth and if Sunny had been gone. If they would’ve been happier if Sunny had died that day instead of Mari. Sunny wondered if he would be happier if that was the case. He just didn’t know. He figured it was a question to file away for another time. Maybe he would never bring it up again.

“Thank you.” He said simply, and as he blew out the candles he quietly wished that he would one day be able to believe all of the kind words they told him. He gave the wax a painful glance. “S… Sorry for taking so long. The wax…”

“We’ll just scrape it off.” Hero assured him as he snatched the cake away to do just that. He was trying to lighten the atmosphere. “Everyone want a piece?”

There were a few chorus of yeses as his friends glanced at Sunny. He met their gazes and then looked away. He felt ashamed of his feelings. Aubrey got up and held out her present to Sunny with some anger still in her movements. However, her words didn’t reflect it as she said, “Get used to growing up again with us, Sunny. I’ll never forgive you if you die on us, got it?”

Sunny took the present and nodded. The present decoration was simple but kind of cute. He dug out the contents and blinked with surprise at the art supplies in front of him. It was a new sketchbook along with a set of good crayons and colored pencils. There was also an artbook to help teach someone how to draw. He looked at Aubrey in confusion.

She looked to the side, cheeks a little pink, “I wasn’t sure what kind of stuff you’re into anymore, but I remember you liked to draw and stuff. I didn’t know if you still did, so here’s this. I figured if you’re bored, you could always draw again.”

“I like drawing.” Sunny assured her. It was just a hobby and not something he had been especially planning on getting better at, but he figured since Aubrey had bought a book for him about it he should at least put some effort into it. Maybe he could draw something for all of them.

“You should use it to show us what Headspace looks like or something.” She pointed at the book. “That might be a good place to start.”

“Hey yeah, that’d be cool! Sunny can illustrate his adventures!” Kel said.

Sunny flipped through the blank sketchbook and thought of his old sketchbook in White Space. It had been pretty abstract too as he had drawn whatever he had been feeling at the time. Maybe he would try to draw Headspace.

Basil went over to help Hero carry over the slices of cake to give to everyone. The cake looked moist and delicious. Each of them got one cherry, except for Sunny who had gotten two. He popped it into his mouth and chewed as Hero handed over his present to Sunny. “Here’s mine! Now, the receipt is in the bag just in case you decide it’s not for you. Uh, like Aubrey it’s been a long time since we really knew what you liked, so I hope you enjoy this.”

Sunny pulled out a do-it-yourself solar system kit and a star projector. His eyes widened and sparkled at the sight of them. He flipped the star projector over, instantly interested in it. Hero beamed at Sunny’s clear delight. “Haha, if I remember right you were interested in space and stuff. So, I thought you might like this. They’re a little cooler than just the glow-in-the-dark stars you used to put on your ceiling, huh?”

Sunny nodded. He liked it a lot.

“Was Sunny really that, I don’t know, crafty when we were younger?” Kel asked as he snatched the solar system kit to look it over.

“You just wouldn’t know because you guys played video games a lot whenever you were over.” Hero said.

“Yeah, you weren’t really one for solo play, haha.” Basil agreed. “There were some cold winter days where I would sit reading and Sunny would be building something with his blocks or drawing stuff.”

“Man, how did I not know this? Sunny, you can’t hide this stuff from me anymore!” Kel told him.

“It’s not like he hid it.” Hero laughed a bit.

“Thank you for the gifts.” Sunny said, significantly cheered up from earlier. This was okay. He could get through this. His birthday could be a good thing. He shouldn’t think about the feeling that he was leaving Mari behind. He shouldn’t think about how wrong-footed he felt knowing that he would continue to get older and Mari wouldn’t and it was his fault. All his fault.

“You should get some good use out of them!” Hero patted Sunny’s head before he added softly, “That, and the projector should help to keep the shadows away from you.”

Sunny gazed at the man with wide eyes as Hero’s smile softened to something sympathetic before he brightened up and turned away at a question that Aubrey had. Sunny’s eyes dropped back to his cake as he cut into it and took a bite. It was delicious. Not too sweet. Just the right amount of bittersweet chocolate in it. Hero really did know how to make some of the best cakes.

He could almost cry, but he managed to hold back his tears. This was a good birthday, he decided.

They set up the star projector in the bedroom that night before settling down to sleep and Sunny spent hours filling his gaze with the sight of the gently spinning cosmos above them. It felt like they talked for hours in the bedroom simply spending time with one another, but it was all a blur. The sugar had done little to wake him up, but he felt comfortable and happy. When he went to sleep that night, he was at ease and happy. There was relief in his heart as the day ended, and the brightness of the stars kept many of the shadows at bay.

He opened his eyes some time later when he saw Mari in his room. He hadn’t seen her in what felt like a very long time. She was sitting on the edge of his bed as she watched the stars as well. She had an ethereal glow to her that was unaffected by the light sources around her. If she noticed him watching her, she didn’t say anything about it.

Her gaze dropped from the ceiling to watch Aubrey, who was fast asleep in her bed across the room. She was curled up a little tightly, protecting herself from something even though her face was lax. Sunny wondered if there was anything he could do for her.

“One day,” Mari spoke softly, drawing his attention back to her. She gave Sunny a soft, sad smile, “I’ll have to go for real. But don’t worry because I’ll always be with you.”

Sunny didn’t respond. She stood up and pressed a hand to his chest, feeling his heartbeat. Her long hair curtained them from the rest of the world as she pressed a lingering kiss to his forehead. He couldn’t feel it, but he imagined that he did. There was a part of him that wanted to ask her not to leave, but he was more stunned by just how small that part of him was. He didn’t want to lose Mari, but he no longer felt like the very thought made him drown. He was treading water finally. The realization was what kept him silent.

“When that day comes,” she continued, “you’ll have to stay strong. You’re not alone anymore, Sunny. And you’ll see me in your dreams for as long as you want me. I love you, little brother.”

“I love you too.” He whispered back, reaching out for her. Her smile was so brilliant that he had to blink, and then she faded away. His hand dropped back onto the bed as the night dragged on. He gazed at the stars until his eyes went hazy and he fell asleep once more. Bittersweet melancholy was a familiar taste on his tongue, but for once it was more sweet than bitter.

Chapter Text

Sunny didn’t remember his dream, but he was awake before the dawn. His last day with his friends before he was to return home dawned with a beautifully heavy sky that threatened rain. Sunny sat on the porch and watched the stormy sea and found himself feeling good as the heavens opened up and the rain began to pour down. The sound of thunder washed over him as he marveled at the flashes of lightning across the sky. It was a terrific sight as he felt the storm reflecting in his eyes. He couldn’t tear his eyes away. The thin layer of screen on the windows separated him from the barrage of the rain, but he felt speckles of it splatter across his skin. The wind was chilly as his hair whipped around him. Sunny put in his headphones and listened to music while he imagined the clouds were dancing with the lightning.

By the time that the storm began to calm down to a steady rain, Sunny’s friends began to wake up. Hero was the first, always awake with his alarm no matter if it was the weekend or not. He found Sunny on the porch and crouched down next to him, catching the boy’s attention. He pulled his earphone out in case his friend was going to speak.

“I guess I’m not running today.” Hero started before he shot him a small smile. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

Sunny weighed his answer before ultimately deciding that yes, he had slept well. “Your present worked.” He said.

“Is that right? I’m glad, then. I didn’t know about your predicament when I had bought it, so I’m grateful that it’ll be useful for something other than just aesthetics.” He sat down properly next to Sunny despite the fact that the ground was kind of wet. “You look cold.”

Sunny realized that he was. “Just a bit.” He said. “It’s okay.” He offered his other headphone to Hero, who took it. He smiled a little at the music. It was older stuff since Sunny hadn’t really listened to the radio in the past few years. Some classical music was on now. Impressionist music was his favorite. He could always imagine all kinds of things while floating on the waves of each instrument happily taking him to many avenues of thought.

For a while the two of them enjoyed the music and simply watched the rain fall. They could faintly pick up the distant sounds of the ocean over the rain and the cars passing by on the other side of the house. Then Hero spoke up to say, “Mari would be proud of you, you know. You’ve worked really hard even though I know it’s been really tough for you.” He wrapped an arm over his friend’s shoulder, and Sunny leaned against the man’s side. “Thank you, Sunny.”

Sunny pressed his face into the shoulder of the man he considered an older brother and felt something in his heart loosen a bit and fall into place. “No,” he said, “thank you. All of you.”

“Even though you’re going home tomorrow, make sure you remember what we said. This time let’s not wait another year to hang out again. Even if we’re no longer in the same town, we still have plenty of vacations and weekends ahead of us. It doesn’t even have to be all of us gathering together. It can be just a couple of us. That way we’ll have plenty of stories to share with each other.” Hero’s hand came up to Sunny’s slightly-damp hair and rested there. “Don’t be scared anymore, Sunny. We’re here for you.”

Sunny nodded in understanding. For some time neither of them spoke again. The lulls in the conversation felt natural and pleasant. The fact that Sunny could sometimes simply sit in silence with his friends was a luxury that he had thought he had been banned from a long time ago. He could sit for days and never say a word as he let his friends speak instead. He let them choose the beats and movements to every conversation. This one was no different.

“I saw Mari the other night.” Hero said. It startled Sunny to hear it. He stared at his friend. Hero’s gaze was as wistful and grey as the clouds above, but he didn’t cry. “I can’t say for sure what she was, really. A hallucination, a ghost, a dream? I don’t know. But I could touch her, so I imagine it was probably something like how you experience the world.”

That was good, Sunny thought. He was glad that Hero got to see Mari, but only if it made him feel better. He wasn’t sure how he would feel if his friend was hallucinating, though. Not good at all, probably.

“I think I needed to see her.” He continued when Sunny said nothing. “As much as it hurt, it was nice. I had almost forgotten what it was like talking with her. I like to think it was her spirit, if I’m honest, since we spoke about it before. I still don’t think she’s gone, but I think she’s happy for us.”

Sunny didn’t ask Hero what the two of them spoke about. It was none of his business, after all. There were some secrets that weren’t meant to be shared, and he wouldn’t be nosy enough to ask about it. Instead he said, “She likes to visit us. Still watching over us.”

“Yeah. Do you see her a lot?”

“Sometimes. Would you feel better if she visited you more?”

Hero thought about it. It took so long that Sunny didn’t know for certain if he would respond. But eventually the man said, “No, I don’t think so. I wouldn’t mind seeing her sometimes but… If I saw her all the time I feel like I’d never be able to let her go.”

“You don’t need to let her go.”

“No, I do. Not completely, though. I don’t need to forget her. I never will. But one day I want to think of her and not want to cry, you know?”

“I do.” Sunny said softly. 

“You should think about it too, Sunny.” He finally turned his sad gaze onto his friend. “You’ll have to let her go as well, when you’re ready.”

Sunny swallowed thickly. “Mari told me that too.” He looked down and away. “You’re both really unfair.”

In response, Hero only squeezed him a little tighter to him.

The two stayed like that for a little while longer before Hero prompted them both to stand and go to wake the others so that they could get started on packing up. They only had until noon to get their stuff and return the rental key. There had been plans to maybe hang out again at the beach for the rest of the day, but the rain didn’t look like it would stop anytime soon. That left the group to pack the car and return the key before hitting the road once more by midmorning.

“What should we do, then?” Kel asked once the car was on the highway headed home. Sunny watched the water trail over the windows as he listened to his friends discuss the plans, “Are we really just gonna head home?”

“It might not be raining there.” Hero said. “It’s gonna be a couple hours until we’re home.”

“Boring! Let’s figure something out! Like going to a movie or something!”

“I wouldn’t be against that.” Aubrey said. “Though, didn’t you just steal that idea because I’m going to go see a movie with Angel and the others later?” She turned in her seat to shoot him a suspicious look.

“No.” Kel pouted, lips jutting out childishly. “We’re already out, you know? So doing something that takes some traveling to get to might be nice.”

“I’m surprised you’re not tired.” Basil said. “This week has been the busiest I’ve been in a really long time.”

“That’s a good thing.” Kel smiled at him. “Relaxing is good for the heart, but becoming stagnant is toxic.”

“You’re right, but it’s kinda weird hearing you say that.”

“He comes out of left field with shockingly mature stuff sometimes.” Hero joked. 

“He’s right. Maybe it’s because I’m the big brother now?” Kel laughed. 

“That just means Sally will have a great role model.”

“I had the best, so it’s only right I pass it on!”

“Aw, Kel.”

“What a sap.” Aubrey teased.

“I’d hug him if I could.”

“You can hang onto that hug!” Kel said. “What’s the game plan here?”

“Well, since it’s Sunny’s last day maybe he should choose? He chose well last time.” Hero suggested, glancing at Sunny through the rearview mirror. “Any suggestions?”

Sunny followed the speedy path of a drop of rain as he thought about the question. Finding something they could all do indoors since it was raining was a tough thing to think of. Yeah, they could watch a movie, but that would only last them a couple hours before they would head back home anyway. And Sunny would probably just fall asleep unless it was a movie he was interested in. What was something that teenagers did indoors that would be appropriate for all of them? Sunny and the others weren’t twelve anymore, after all, and the stuff he wanted to do as a kid were things he had grown out of.

“Ah.” It hit him then what might be fun. Since he had been somewhat daydreaming of activities that they could do as a group should they come to visit him in the city anyway, he had some ideas in mind for stuff they could do. “Are you okay with stopping by the city I live in?”

“Sure! It’s on the way anyway.”

“Sunny’s got an idea!” Kel cheered, pumping his fist once.

“Here, put it in the GPS for me. Aubrey, can you pass it to him?” Aubrey passed Sunny the GPS, and Sunny did a quick search on his phone for a location. When he was pretty sure he had found what he had been thinking of, he put it into the GPS and passed it back to Aubrey. She set it up so Hero could use it. It would still be a while before they got into the city.

“So, where are we headed?” Aubrey asked.

“There’s this arcade not far from where I live.” Sunny said. “I, um, saw it when I was walking around. It looked cool, but I haven’t gone in.”

“Ah man, we’re really gonna be broke by the end of this week.” Hero lamented with only a little bit of seriousness.

“...Sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“An arcade! Oh man, what a Sunny suggestion! We’ve never been together, right? With Sunny on our team we could probably win a bunch of prizes!” Kel leaned far enough in his seat that his seatbelt was pulled taut. He patted on the shoulder of Aubrey’s seat as he beamed. “I’m down for it! Who cares about being broke for a little while? We have all summer to work on that!”

“An arcade, huh? I’m down for it.” Aubrey said. “You said it’s near where you live, Sunny? Think we should pop ‘round your place?”

“Don’t give his mom a reason to take him home before the day is over.” Kel whined.

“I can show you where I live.” Sunny said instead. “So when you come to visit, you can find it easily.” His words brightened the atmosphere around the group significantly. They seemed pleased to hear him say that.

“Yeah, he’s right. I feel like I would get lost in a big city easily.” Basil said.

“You get used to it after a while, I think.” Hero said.

“You’re in a college town! It’s not the same as the big city!” Kel protested.

“Hey, I don’t live that far out of the city. I’m just in another section of where Sunny lives, I think.”

“What, is that true?” Aubrey asked, surprised.

“Yeah, you didn’t know? I mean, it’s a big city so I’m not surprised you don’t but yeah. I think I live maybe 30 minutes from Sunny?”

“What the heck! No fair! Hero can basically visit Sunny whenever!” Kel complained.

“I can’t, though! I’m pretty busy. But yeah, I could probably hang out more often than you do.”

The idea of it made Sunny’s heart race with excitement. One of his friends didn’t actually live that far from him? It never really occurred to him to ask where Hero’s college actually was. He had known there was a pretty big university in the city he lived - two, actually, though in different parts of the city - but he hadn’t realized that Hero went to one of them. “We have a spare room if you ever want to stay over sometime.” He suggested. “To study or something if the dorms are loud. It’s, um, usually really quiet at my apartment.”

“Yeah? I might take you up on that. I’m used to sharing a room, but not really with college kids. I usually go to the library to study. But… thanks, Sunny. That sounds good, if I’m honest.”

“I’m so jealous!” Basil whined quietly. “I wish I could visit more often too.”

“The spare room is open for anyone… I don’t think my mom cares.” Sunny said. “She’s not home that often since she’s working.”

“I’m totally gonna visit whenever I want, then!” Kel said. “Just you wait until I have a car, Sunny!”

“If you go to the same college as me, you can visit whenever.” Hero said.

“Pssh, there’s no way I can get into that bougie place! But maybe the community college!”

“Hm, same here.” Aubrey said. “At least we know if we visit we can make it an overnight trip. That’s kinda nice.”

“Agreed.” Basil said.

“Well Sunny,” Kel grinned at him and gave him a thumbs up, “looks like you’re not getting rid of us anytime soon, huh?”

Sunny only smiled back. 

Basil took a picture of him and laughed at how quickly Sunny’s smile dropped away. He didn’t like smiling for pictures. It was sneaky of him to snap one when he had been caught off-guard. But he would forgive him. He was happy enough to actually smile, after all.

Chapter Text

It was a little surreal to be in the city with all of his friends. The last time that most of them had been together to enter a city had been during a field trip to a museum, and even then it hadn’t been this city. Hearing his friends marvel a little over the sights that Sunny was all but used to had been interesting. The pestering for him to tell him about the area they passed through, though, had been a little more annoying. Finding parking hadn’t been any better. After some discussion, they decided to park at Sunny’s apartment after Sunny got the code to the garage from his mother. As he had suspected, she hadn’t minded at all. She had even said how pleased she was that Sunny was having fun with his friends. It relieved a burden off of his shoulders that he hadn’t noticed before. His mother really was happy for him.

That meant that everyone really did get to see where Sunny lived, but it made them balk just a little bit. He lived in an apartment high up since his mother got some discounts on location due to her job. It made him seem like a rich kid, but really it was just an affordable kind of apartment. It looked fancier from the outside than it actually was on the inside. Sunny still preferred the suburbs, but then again he wasn’t the kind of person who liked to go exploring on his own. He was sure when one or more of his friends came to visit that they would go all over the place to really see what the city had to offer. 

The arcade was around the corner - which was about as far as Sunny was willing to wander alone - so the group huddled awkwardly under the single large umbrella that was kept in the back of the car at all times. It made for a lot of silly shuffling that could’ve been saved by them simply making a run for it or just shoving Kel out since he was the bulkiest, but instead they walked practically on top of each other with the two tall brothers holding up the umbrella to try to cover them as much as possible. Aubrey bickered with Kel the entire time while Hero and Basil had to smother their amused laughter. Sunny’s shoulder got a little wet, but that was okay with him. Eventually they all made it to the arcade without tripping or hurting themselves all while in a great mood from the ridiculousness of the situation.

“Whoa! Check this place out!” Kel said, awed. The arcade was big enough to cover the expanse of the entire floor and even had a second floor to it. Colorful neon lights greeted them along with the sounds of other people their age and younger already inside. It seemed it wasn’t only Sunny’s idea to spend a rainy day at the arcade. The scent of fried food from the small food stand upstairs filtered through the air over the smell of ozone that came from being surrounded by so many machines. It brought back memories of going to a Spaceboy-themed birthday party many years ago. He had pretty much spent the entire time with Kel and keeping to himself with his video games. Sunny felt in his element.

“Wow, it’s almost like that pizza restaurant for older kids.” Aubrey said as they got in line to buy their game cards. “I haven’t been to one of these in forever.”

“Everything looks a lot more high-tech than what I remember arcades being like.” Basil agreed.

“There are some classic things over there, though.” Hero pointed, but Sunny couldn’t see over the sea of other people too well. “Is that skee-ball? Oh man, I wonder if I’m any better at that?”

“We definitely need to play air hockey, Hero!” Kel nudged his brother. “There’s no way I’m going to lose this time!”

Hero only grinned back, competition in his eyes. “If I remember right, I’m still ahead of you by one game. Think you can take down the reigning champ?”

“You bet!” He clenched his fist in front of him.

“Don’t you dare leave me out of this.” Aubrey told them, a grin flashing in the colorful lights of the room. “I can kick ass at air hockey.”

“Hm, I’m not too great with video games.” Basil said while the brother playfully pushed at each other. It was a little harder than necessary from Kel’s end, and Hero was clearly restraining himself for the sake of propriety in public. “Maybe I’ll just watch.”

“Oh, don’t be like that Basil.” Hero held his brother off with a hand to the boy’s forehead as Kel tried to pull it off. “I’m only good at a couple of games too. We can split a game card, okay?”

Basil looked relieved. “That sounds good.”

Sunny was close to hopping in place from his eagerness to get in and try all the neat things around him. He hadn’t had the courage or desire to face the arcade on his own, but with his friends now providing him support and excitement he couldn’t help but want to get started immediately. Was there a prize corner? Were there tickets? Were there claw machines? He wanted to do a little bit of everything.

“I haven’t seen you look this excited in a long time.” Aubrey said with a huff of amusement. Sunny turned sparkling eyes on her despite the fact how his face barely gave away what he was feeling. “Maybe we should’ve brought you here for your birthday.”

“How can he not be excited? This is the coolest! I wonder if there are even bigger places like this in the city?” Kel asked. 

“Probably.” Hero said. “I’ve never checked.”

They finally made it to the front of the line and paid for their cards. They were given credits on the cards that they could use throughout the arcade on most of the machines. There were, in fact, tickets to be won and turned in at the prize counter, however they weren’t physical tickets. They were registered on the cards instead. There were also numerous claw machines and some photo booths that required actual money. There wasn’t a time limit to how long they could be in there, so they decided to just stay until they got bored since they had all day anyway. With all of that set up, the group entered the arcade proper.

The play section was kept somewhat dark to really enhance the motley of neon lights and flashing screens. The floor had shapes that glowed in the dark and showed off some of the popcorn mess on the ground. They were able to see well enough to move around and really take in everything. Sunny figured that they could look around and see what kind of machines there were before they started playing so that they could make the most of it, but Kel immediately abandoned them when he found the air hockey and Sunny got distracted by an updated Spaceboy Space Fighter game.

They split into two groups as they took to two separate games. Sunny wasn’t good at air hockey, but he would play it later. He had a feeling that between the brothers and Aubrey, they would be taking up the machine for a while. So Basil followed Sunny to some of the updated arcade games to cheer him on while he played. It was a lot of fun as Sunny became focused on trying to get the top score. Basil watched on with excitement at the graphics and laughed a bit when Sunny eventually lost.

“Can you believe how much things have changed in only a couple years?” He asked as they went to find another game to play. Honestly, the skee-ball really did look tempting. But it was full, so they went to look at the claw machines instead. He wondered if he could win any prizes from them. “Do you remember those little areas in the mall that had rides and stuff in them?”

Sunny nodded. Every time his family had taken him to the mall he had wanted to ride at least one of those rides. It had been a tragic day when he had realized he was too big for them.

“Well the other day Polly and I had to go to the mall and I saw one of them,” the boys stopped when they found a claw machine with the chance to win the handheld game system that Sunny needed in order to buy the game he wanted. He pressed his face to the glass a little as he listened to Basil and judged if he could possibly win this, “They had this machine that simulated a virtual roller coaster ride. I thought it was so cool, but… haha, I’m too big to fit into them. Isn’t that so tragic? The coolest things come out when we’re too big to experience them.”

Sunny glanced at his friend and asked, “Do you like roller coasters?” The Basil he remembered - the one from when they were twelve - definitely hadn’t had the stomach for those kinds of rides. To be fair, Sunny had been terrified of them too. Now that he was older and he wasn’t afraid of heights any longer, he felt like maybe he could give them a shot. If he could handle the speed of the minecart from Pyrefly Forest, he could probably handle a roller coaster.

“Do I like them…? Um, I don’t know. I mean, I’m not against trying one… if it’s not too crazy…” Basil rubbed at the back of his neck. “I haven’t been to an amusement park since I was a little kid, after all. I mostly meant that the virtual version is pretty cool, you know?” Sunny nodded in understanding. He decided to try his luck with the claw machine and used some of his credits to start it up. “Do you want to ride one?”

“I want to try.” He said, focusing on the game. He fell silent, and Basil knew him well enough to wait him out. He watched with interest as Sunny carefully maneuvered the claw into place. When he thought he had it lined up properly, he dropped the claw. He managed to move the toy, but not capture it. He watched with disappointment as the claw moved back to its default position. He tried again. And again.

“Um, don’t waste too much money on this, Sunny. There are other games too.” Basil said after Sunny’s fifth attempt. He had moved the machine quite a bit, but he just couldn’t get a good grip on it. He was frustrated.

He took a deep breath to calm himself and peeled away from the machine with only a mild glare sent at it. Maybe later he could try again. The two returned to their friends to find Hero and Kel in an intense match. It was impressive just how fast both boys were causing the puck to fly across the machine without sending it shooting over the edge. Hero had a determined smile on his face that was matched by a slightly irritated one by Kel. Sunny would think that Kel would be better at this game, but big brother really held the advantage in experience alone. Hero didn’t like playing video games and such too much, but these kinds of games were ones that he was naturally good at like most anything he set his mind to. And riling up his younger sibling was every older sibling’s job. So obviously he would have to get good at something that Kel genuinely enjoyed.

“This is still just the first game.” Aubrey told them when Basil and Sunny took their places next to her. “It’s pretty impressive. Was Hero always this good?”

Sunny considered it before nodding. The reason why Kel was so good at some of the things he did was purely out of competition with Hero. It was at least a friendly one, if intense.

“Dang. I don’t know if I’m gonna get a chance at this rate.” She crossed her arms. “Did you guys play other stuff?”

“Sunny did. I just watched.” Basil said.

“Let’s look around a bit. I think this is gonna be a while.” The three of them left to actually look around. Aubrey caught Sunny from wandering off on his own when he got distracted by one tempting machine or another. As much as he wanted to play, they wanted to get back in time to see the end of the brothers’ match and so they couldn’t waste any time. They found a row of pinball machines, some more virtual reality games, some shooter games, and even some old carnival games that Sunny didn’t realize still existed outside of television. Aubrey decided that she would challenge Kel to a shoot-off on the basketball game, and Basil agreed to look forward to some pinball. It seemed like Sunny’s friends were starting to get particularly excited as well.

They returned to catch the brothers on their final point of their match and going at it harder than ever. It was tied up, and more than once the puck flew off of the machine. Sunny, Basil, and Aubrey cheered the two on to see who would come out as the superior brother. Even if Kel did win, that just meant that their scores would be tied up and another match must be played. But if Hero won, then that meant he was two ahead. It was a close call.

All of a sudden, the puck got trapped right under the plastic barrier that separated each side of the air hockey table. Both brothers dove for it, trying to knock it onto their opponent’s side. Kel managed to beat Hero by an eighth of a second, sending the puck shooting onto his brother’s side before it ricochet backed onto his. Kel whooped and let out a final attack sound as he went to hit it again and use the momentum to shoot past his brother’s strong defense. The puck shot over to Hero, but hit the wall and came right back before going straight into Kel’s goal. The look of shock and horror on Kel’s face was brilliant, and Sunny took a picture of it despite how the flash was a little embarrassing and caught some attention.

“NOOOOO!!” Kel fell to his knees, hands fisting his hair as Hero raised a triumphant fist into the air.

“You cannot defeat the old master.” He informed his younger brother solemnly before he dropped the facade and helped him to his feet as his friends laughed at their antics. “Good game. You almost had me there.”

Kel only cried a little, humbly accepting the offered hand as he wiped at his eyes. “You being such a kind winner is only making it worse… Hero…!”

“Haha, sorry.” He responded with no remorse, revelling a little in how his words only caused his brother more distraught.

“Get yourself together, Kel! It’s my turn now.” Aubrey said.

“Give me a minute. I need to mourn a little longer.” Kel clenched his fist, eyes closed.

“Oh, please.” She rolled her eyes, but gave him time to bemoan his loss a little longer.

“How about we try skee-ball next?” Hero suggested to Sunny and Basil. The boys nodded before they followed after their friend, spirits high and still laughing about Kel’s theatrics.

“Ah, the Cain Instinct is still strong even in someone like Hero.” Sunny announced.

“What’s that?” Basil asked.

“Aw, Sunny, don’t put it that way!” Hero said, but he still laughed at the thought. “Even if it is fun to defeat Kel at his own games.”

“Big brother...” Sunny muttered ominously before promising to defend Kel’s honor by defeating Hero at skee-ball. He pointed at Hero much like how he had seen many dark Lancer characters in cartoons do and posed before announcing, “I will defeat you.”

“Pfft-!” Basil’s hand flew to his mouth to stop his laughter. Hero looked caught off-guard before he joined in on the joke and posed back, though he seemed a little uncomfortable with it at his age.

“You cannot defeat me! Come at me, small fry!”

Sunny could not lose here, he decided. This one was for you, Kel. It was for all of the younger siblings in the world. The two paid their skee-ball fee along with Basil before the battle began. Though Sunny tried his hardest, he was simply not good at more physical games. Ah, another loss for younger siblings everywhere. He understood exactly what Kel had meant by Hero being too much of a good winner, which only damaged his pride a little further. He clenched his fist in front of him and decided he would not lose again, and a second round began. 

It was all very good fun.

Chapter Text

Sunny got his revenge for the sake of his and Kel’s younger sibling pride by defeating Hero in a classic Spaceboy game that didn’t involve violence. It was the same machine as the one at Hobbeez, and both boys had tried their hands at it a couple of different times in the past so Sunny knew that Hero would gladly play him. However, Sunny had the advantage since he was simply better at those types of games. It was an easy win for him and made up for the rather vicious defeat in the skee-ball game.

They returned to watch the rest of Aubrey and Kel’s match and were surprised to see Kel win. Aubrey was a powerful opponent, but her attacks were pure strength rather than skill and it kept sending the puck off over the sides rather than into the goal. On top of that, Kel was simply faster than her with reflexes that were honed from many, many sibling challenges. He beat her by three points, much to her frustration.

They spent another two hours at the arcade simply enjoying all of the mindless video games and winning some prizes for their efforts. Kel showed off on the basketball game and won them a fair amount of tickets. Basil and Sunny tried their hands at the dancing games, but Sunny wasn’t too good with them. He only really knew how to slow dance and do the Moonwalk, but his rhythm was pretty good. He was certain that his friends filmed them for that because there was nothing like watching two teenage boys dance to a pop-centric song clearly created for a female audience. Aubrey and Kel teamed up for a zombie hunting game that had Hero and Basil going pale and walking away while Sunny had watched it with intense focus. He tried it next with Aubrey and got even higher points. It earned him a high-five for his efforts.

They stuck around to have lunch in the form of greasy cafeteria food before they decided to call it a day and turn in their tickets. Despite their best efforts, none of them were able to get the game system that Sunny had tried for. They did, however, earn some cheap toys that they would’ve played with a lot more when they were twelve than they would as nearly-adult teenagers. Nevertheless, it was a fun nostalgia to hit Kel in the face with gooey, stretchy hands. Sunny continued to tug on his toy as they walked back outside.

“Looks like the rain’s stopped for now.” Basil said, glancing up at the still-cloudy sky. Chances were that it was definitely going to rain again. “Do we want to head back home?”

“Aw man, already? It’s still early, I think.” Kel said with a frown. “Why don’t we walk around more or something?”

“Actually, if we’re going to hang around here I have an idea.” Hero said, motioning for the others to follow him as they headed back to the car. “Why don’t we walk around near my school? I can’t take you guys inside it since it’s in-between the summer semesters right now, but we can look at the shops and stuff. There are some neat art galleries and places to window shop that should be open today.”

“That sounds fun!” Basil said.

“We can’t see your dorm?” Aubrey asked.

Hero shook his head, looking a little shy. “Uh, no. That’s too many people and, uh, I don’t know if my roommate is there. I don’t want to disturb people there.”

“Pfft, it’s no problem!” Kel slapped his brother on the back. “I’m sure your room is super clean, Hero!”

“That’s not really the problem, Kel.”

“I’m fine with walking around.” Aubrey said. “I’ve kinda always wanted to come to the city.” She paused for a moment and then added, “You could… tell us more about your school? Like… how difficult it is… or whatever.”

Hero shot her a fond look. “Did you want to try to get into it?” Aubrey didn’t respond, instead looking firmly away from him. Her cheeks were a little pink, though. Hero didn’t call her out on it. “I don’t mind telling your guys, if you don’t mind being a little bored. I don’t have a super clear picture about everything since I’ve only been taking the core classes so far, but since you’d have to take them eventually too it should be helpful.”

“Oh, by the way!” Basil interrupted. “Hero, do you know if there’s a place nearby where we can develop our pictures? I know we plan on doing other things, but since we’re already here and spending time looking around we can have the pictures develop in the meantime.”

“Good idea, Basil!” Hero said. “Yeah, I know a place. We can park there and walk around no problem after I get gas for the car.”

“Great catch!” Kel wrapped an arm over the other boy’s shoulders as they walked. “I almost forgot we gotta do that.”

“Then when we get back home, we can set up our photo albums.” Aubrey said.

They arrived back at the car and put the umbrella away before climbing in. The thought of developing the film on the cameras really made it feel like the week was coming to an end. It was a little melancholy to think about, but Sunny found himself already looking forward to a long break of getting to do whatever he wanted. He loved his friends dearly, but as the week was coming to a close the desire to be alone pressed down on him immensely. He was still far too used to being alone, and his social meter felt maxed out. All in all, a very fulfilling week.

“I have an idea.” He said once the car was on the road headed to Hero’s side of town. “What if we all wrote little thoughts in each other’s books about each picture? Like… commentary.”

“Would we just copy what we write in each book?” Basil asked.

Sunny shrugged. “Up to you.” He hesitated and then added, “In Headspace… we had a Foe Facts book. Whenever we met a new foe, we wrote some of our thoughts about it. It was fun to look over sometimes. We don’t need to comment on every picture.”

“If there’s enough room in everyone’s books, I’m down for it.” Kel said. “I think it’d be fun!”

“And four times the work.” Hero added. “I don’t see a problem with it.

“I can’t wait to see what everyone’s pictures are.” Basil said with a smile. “Did anyone use up all of their film?”

“I ran out a long time ago!” Kel said. “I took pictures of everything that I could!”

“Yeah, same here.” Hero agreed.

Sunny shook his head. He had mostly forgotten to take pictures, if he was honest. He was used to not doing so. 

“I have a couple left.” Aubrey said.

“Haha, I have a lot left.” Basil confessed. “It just didn’t feel right to take pictures that didn’t feel… in the moment, you know?”

“Which just means we’ll probably be tossing a lot of Kel’s since he took a bunch of pictures of nothing probably.”

“Hey! I have a lot of cool shots!” Kel protested. Then he laughed sheepishly, “Though, I don’t remember most of them.”

“Oh jeez.” Hero laughed. “Well… we’ll see them soon, won’t we?”

Sunny watched how the scenery around them changed as they went from the somewhat up-town section where he lived to the area more focused on Hero’s age bracket. The shops were smaller and more varied, with plenty of brand-name food places. There were wide parks and people who were bicycling as well as walking in groups. Sunny wasn’t sure he had seen this many people close to his age since the last time he had gone to school. He liked the aesthetics of the town.

They stopped for gas before they went to park at the shop that Hero said could develop their camera film for them. The skies above still didn’t seem to know what it wanted to do in terms of continuing to rain or if it wanted to clear up. Sunny watched the depressing downy blanket as he pulled out the umbrella to carry with them just in case. Despite all of the shops, there weren’t many places outside to hide if the heavens suddenly opened up once more. So, they decided to bring the umbrella just in case they were caught unawares.

The corner shop would take some time in order to develop all of their film, and so they had at least an hour of time to waste. Hero took them in the direction of the main campus of the college, which he said they’re allowed to walk around. While they walked, he explained about how the classes worked and some interesting things he had learned while there. Aubrey was the most attentive to it while the three boys behind them kept slapping each other in the face with the sticky hand toys.

“Hey by the way, Hero,” Kel interrupted after some time as they stepped onto the campus and looked at the looming buildings. The courtyard they were in was wide and had a couple of people passing through it. Hero mentioned that on sunny days there were usually a lot more people hanging out in this area, “this place is pretty bustling. How come you don’t go out more? Every time we talk with you, you’re at your dorm and studying or something.”

“Well… I mean, I already said I don’t really have friends here-” Hero started, but Kel waved him off.

“Yeah, I know, but you can’t make friends if you don’t go out to make some. There’s no way there aren’t some cool people here.”

“Not everyone is like you, Kel.” Aubrey told him. “Making friends isn’t that easy.”

“But it totally is. You just gotta be friendly.” Kel said, face open and genuine. “Look at Sunny, for example!” He grabbed Sunny by the shoulders and reeled him in to hug his shoulders, grinning. “He had isolated himself for four years, and he came back and made the whole town love him in three days before he left!”

“I wouldn’t call those friends, though.” Aubrey rolled her eyes, but Sunny could see that she was begrudgingly impressed.

“I have to agree with Aubrey here.” Hero said. “Acquaintances are fine -and I do have those. I’m not isolated, Kel- but it’s hard to make actual friends.”

“You make friends by hanging out with your acquaintances more.” Kel informed him helpfully.

“I know, I know… It’s just not that easy.”

Kel released Sunny and placed a supportive hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I know you can do it if you try, Hero. I’m not trying to push you or anything. But I don’t want you to be lonely either until Aubrey comes to this school, you know?”

Hero gave him a small smile, eyes softening with his appreciation. “I’ll work on it, okay?” He then looped his arm around Kel’s shoulder and smiled a little bigger. “What will you do when I get too busy, huh?”

“Ah! Careful with the hair, man! And I’ll have Basil and Sally to play with!” He shoved at Hero to get him off.

“Why am I in the same category as his baby sister?” Basil asked Sunny. Sunny didn’t respond as he stretched the gooey hand and it flung itself back, attaching to his eyepatch. He startled and yanked, which yanked the eyepatch off his face a bit before the two separated and the eyepatch snapped back to his face. He let out a surprised yelp. Basil laughed loudly as the others turned to see what had happened. Sunny was too embarrassed to confess to the occurrence. He quickly bundled the toy back into its little plastic bag and stuffed it into his pocket. Basil covered his face to muffle his laughter and shook his head, unable to form the words to answer their friends’ questions.

When they became bored of the campus and the rain started once more, they retreated into a local art gallery in order to explore local artists and see what they had to offer. Sunny wasn’t much of an art kind of person himself, but it did make him remember some stuff. He glanced at his friends and said, “Do you want to hear something funny from Headspace?”

“I keep forgetting you have a ton of stories from there. Heck yeah, I wanna hear it!” Kel said.

“It still kind of trips me up how wild your imagination is, Sunny. Even without the intent behind it.” Hero added.

“Me too.” Sunny said. Then as they gazed at some paint-on-glass art he told them about Rococo and the paintings he had made for them from hefty commission fees. However, one story led into two as through questioning he naturally progressed into Sweetheart and his reluctant retelling of their dealings with her. In real life, Sweetheart was from a cartoon that annoyed Sunny to no end. However, it had been one of the most popular shows on kids television when they had been younger, and that meant her show had taken up a lot of time slots. Sunny had always found her to be irritating and kind of pretentious, though now that he was older he could really just see she was written to be childish. It made his explanation of her activities easier since all of his friends knew who she was. They laughed at the story of Sweetheart’s Quest for Hearts and how poor Hero had been dragged into it.

“I had thought for a moment she was going to choose me when she mentioned striped pants,” Sunny said as they stepped back outside into sunnier weather. The clouds seemed to finally dissipate as the day grew later. The rain had coated the air with a hint of chill to help offset the heat that threatened to roll back in. The sun breaking through the clouds casted gorgeous rays across the city, “but she ended up choosing Hero instead. I don’t know why I had thought I would be chosen.”

“‘Striped pants’?” Basil asked. “I don’t think I’ve seen… well, either of you ever wear striped pants. Sunny, what were you guys wearing?”

Sunny blinked and understood he had never told them. “Oh. Some of us wear pajamas in Headspace. Except for you, Aubrey, and Mari.”

“Pajamas?” Aubrey asked. “I guess that makes sense in a literal dream world…”

“I don’t control what we all wear.” Sunny shrugged. “That’s just… kind of what they wear. They can change their outfits, though. They did when we were sailing on the pirate ship. I guess they just like their clothes.”

“What about you? Couldn’t you change your clothes?” Hero asked.

Sunny nodded. “It did change this year.” He didn’t feel the need to elaborate. He didn’t usually feel like changing his clothes too.

“Well, Headspace is built like a video game, isn’t it?” Kel said, arms tucked behind his head as he walked, “so not changing clothes makes sense. Video game characters wear the same clothes all the time.”

“That’s true!” Basil said.

“When you put it that way, that makes a lot more sense. Though I can’t imagine going out and fighting in pajamas.” Hero said. Aubrey suddenly snickered then. The boys glanced at her.

“Sorry, I still can’t get over the image of poor Hero being forced onto a reality dating game show.” She tried to wipe the smile from her face with her hand, but it didn’t work. “I can just imagine how uncomfortable he would be.”

Sunny didn’t point out that at the time, dream Hero was still dating Mari so it would’ve been particularly uncomfortable.

“Ugh, I’m more picturing being flirted with by Sweetheart.” Hero made a face. “Her personality would be really… overbearing.”

“Wait, didn’t you tell us she was dating Spaceboy in your dreams?” Kel asked Sunny. Sunny nodded.

“Their relationship was… chaotic.”

“I didn’t think I would say this considering exactly what Headspace is and was for you, man, but I have to admit I kind of wish we could see Headspace for ourselves.”

“I was thinking the same thing.” Aubrey agreed.

“Check it out.” Basil said, pointing towards a food stall that was set up in the park they were passing through. “Should we get lunch now? I’m really hungry.”

“Good idea! Then let’s do some more window shopping.” Kel said.

“Sure. I’ll show you guys where I found Sunny’s gifts. It’s a pretty cool toy store, actually.” Hero said before the group went to go get their lunch for the day.

Chapter Text

Sunny fell asleep on the car ride back home. The sunlight dancing off of the lingering trails of water on the windows had been so mesmerizing that it had lulled him into a glittery, half-asleep dream. His ear was tucked against the seatbelt in order to keep his head elevated as he drifted in and out with the white noise of the car’s tires on slick roads and his friends chatting or listening to the music. He wasn’t the only one who fell asleep on the ride home, but he wouldn’t find this out until after they were back at the house.

He dreamt that he was asleep in Mari’s lap as she gently played with his hair. He was semi-aware that his friends were playing on the playground with some other kids, but he didn’t dare to open his eyes and find out. He could almost smell her gentle perfume and the clean scent of her clothing over the earthy tones of the grass and sand. Her fingers carded through his soft, thin hair and left goosebumps across his body. If she spoke to him, he didn’t hear it.

One day, he thought, he would have to let this go. In what way, though? He didn’t control Headspace, and he had no reason to rid himself of it. He wasn’t hiding in it any longer. It was dangerous to a certain degree since Black Space was so close to the surface, but that hardly mattered when Sunny was confronted with the reality of what he had done on a near-daily basis. Maybe therapy would help to reduce the amount of Black Space in Headspace, and Sunny would be able to use it as a dreamy haven once more. He didn’t think that Mari being in that world with him was holding him back from moving on. So, what exactly did Mari and Hero mean?

He didn’t understand. Maybe he was just too young.

He put the thought aside for now. He would worry about that later. For now, he was happy. He didn’t want such depressing and anxious thoughts to interrupt the cotton candy bubble he was in. So, he closed his eyes and dreamed until he felt the telltale sensations of a car pulling into a driveway and parking. He blinked his sleepy eyes opened and rubbed at his one good one. He had a bit of drool on the corner of his mouth. He saw the others stirring as Hero climbed out of the front seat. Kel yawned loudly and stretched as far as his long limbs would let him.

“We’re back!” Hero announced cheerfully, throwing open the trunk door. “Wakey wakey! I need help carrying everything inside!”

“God, it’s only just now hitting me how sore I am from playing all day yesterday.” Aubrey complained as she climbed out to go help.

“That’s because we’re not on vacation anymore.” Basil joked, joining her. Sunny slipped from his seat just in time for the front door to open and for Hector to break loose and bark at them excitedly. He circled the truck and hopped at Hero’s legs, who had to do an awkward shuffle not to trip over or step on the small dog. Kel laughed and scooped the dog up to cuddle him as Hector licked his face ecstatically. He seemed far too hyper to be held, though, and almost got dropped from all of his wiggling.

“Welcome back!” Kel’s father called as he and his wife appeared with Sally in her arms to greet the kids. “Did y’all have a good trip?”

“It was great!” Kel said as he released the dog to pull out the umbrella and a bag. The others loaded themselves up with as many items as they could carry as well as the father came out to grab the rest and assist. “The beach was so much fun! Can we have family vacations there every year?”

“With what money, young man?” His mother asked, faux sternly.

“Besides, you know your mom likes the forests more.” His father agreed with amusement. “If we’re going to spend money on a vacation, it’ll be there.”

“You guys are no fun.” Kel complained and stepped past his mother into the living room. Sunny followed on his heels with a nod of greeting. “Where can we put everything?”

It took some time to fully unpack the car and to put everything away. The beach items were to go into the attic for the sake of space-saving. Once they were finished, Kel went right to his bedroom and collapsed on his bed with a loud sigh.

“Ah, home sweet home! I’ve missed you, bed!”

“Do you guys have a time you need to go home?” Hero asked while the others sat on the floor instead. Sunny pulled his legs in and relaxed against the side of Kel’s bed, feeling sleepy still. He felt like he could nap for days. He just needed to hold out a bit longer.

“Um, Polly’s expecting me by sundown at the latest. So I’ll need to go then.” Basil admitted.

“Yeah, I’ll go at the same time. I have to go pick up Bun-Bun from Charlene’s place, and that takes a bit to do because of his cage and stuff.” Aubrey agreed.

“You’re not gonna spend Sunny’s final night with us?” Kel asked.

“Sorry,” Basil gave a regretful smile, “I’d like to, but I can’t.”

“I love you guys, but I think I’ve had my fill of dealing with everyone.” Aubrey added with a small smile. “What time are you going home in the morning, Sunny? I’ll be there to see you off.”

Sunny looked at his phone to see if he had any messages. He shook his head. “I don’t know. Let me go call my mom.”

“Go for it. We’ll be here.” Hero said. Sunny got up then to go make his phone call. He was sure his mother would appreciate a check-in anyway. She’d like to know they all made it back safely. His phone call didn’t last very long, but he had to promise that he would tell her about some of the things they did once they were in the car together and on the way home. She also promised him a present at the house since she had missed his birthday yesterday. Sunny agreed to it all and hung up before returning to his friends.

He found them with all of their pictures spread out on the floor for all of them to look over. The photo albums they had bought earlier that week were sitting on Hero’s bed. Sunny joined them, kneeling on the ground to see what kind of haul that they had.

A majority of the pictures appeared to be candid shots taken by Kel. There were a lot of accidental fingers in some pictures. Sunny recognized the forest and a lot of pictures of the group of them just hanging out. Once in a while there was a posed picture or a group shot. Sunny didn’t always remember those, but it reminded him of the group shot that Mari had taken at the picnic that was still in his photo album.

“Oh, you’re back. What did your mom say?” Kel asked.

“She’s picking me up around eight.” Sunny responded.

“So early! Ugh, are we even going to be awake?”

“I’ll wake you guys up early enough to pack, don’t worry.” Hero said.

“We’ll be here before then.” Basil said. “We can say a proper goodbye this time.”

“Yeah.” Aubrey agreed. “So how are we doing this photo album thing? We only have one set of copies for each, so all of our albums will look different.”

“I think we should pick out the pictures we want to keep first.” Basil suggested. “And throw away any that nobody wants.”

“Good idea. I’ll start.” She grabbed a selfie of Kel and tossed it behind her. “Trash.”

“Hey! That was a good beauty shot!” Kel complained.

“Take selfies on your own time. Who wants your terrible pictures?”

“Well who wants pictures of your friends, huh?” Kel grabbed a shot of Aubrey with Sunny, Angel, and Kim at the beach. “This is supposed to be about us!”

“Hey, give me that! I like that shot!” Aubrey went to snatch it, but Kel held it out of her reach. “Sunny’s in that anyway!”

“It’s mostly the Hooligans!” Kel stretched his long arms out to keep it away from her as she fell on top of him. The two of them wrestled for the picture, nearly kicking Basil in the face as the boy leaped out of the way of their flailing limbs. “ARGH! GET OFF!”

“YOU LET GO!” Aubrey yelled back.

“Guys!” Hero snapped and snatched the photo from Kel’s hands. “You’re going to hurt someone! Get off of each other!” With the picture out of Kel’s hands, the two had no more reason to fight. They shoved away from each other with twin huffs of annoyance. Hero only sighed. “Each photo album is going to be special in different ways, so we can put any pictures we want into it. It doesn’t have to be just pictures of us. They’re memories, remember? If Kel wants selfies or Aubrey wants pictures of her other friends in her album, then that’s how we’ll do it. I’m pretty sure Basil meant we throw out the pictures that don’t really have anything in them.”

“Y...yeah.” Basil agreed tentatively. He still seemed uncomfortable when Kel and Aubrey physically brawled, but at least nobody got hurt this time. 

Sunny simply watched what went on before turning back to the pictures. He started to pick out what he thought were good ones. Usually the imagery was clear and not blurry, had at least one of them in it, or it told some kind of story that fascinated him. The others turned to assist him, and soon they had a decent pile. The discards were checked one more time before they were placed aside and ignored while the group spread out the ones they wanted to keep.

“Hmm, how should we do this fairly?” Hero wondered out loud. “Maybe we should’ve asked for more copies.” 

“That would’ve taken a ton of time and money. I think just having completely different albums is fun.” Kel said. “Like, it gives us a reason to show off our albums to each other.”

“Yeah!” Basil said. “That way we can reminisce together when we look through any of them. They’ll all be a surprise.”

“If there are any really good pictures that we all like, then we should give them to Hero since he’ll most likely take care of his album the best.” Aubrey added.

“That’s… a lot of faith in me.” Hero said.

“Am I wrong?”

“No, you’re not. Just a little surprised, is all.”

“It’s because you’re the favorite.” Kel teased a little. “Ooh! I definitely want the tourist picture!” He snatched up the picture of all of them at the gift shop. “We look so funny!”

“I’d like to keep this one.” Basil said as he picked up the very first picture they had taken that week. It was the lovely shot of Sunny with the sunset around him as the wind blew his hair. It was one of the ones that Basil had taken with his Polaroid camera, but he had added it to the pile for it to be fair game.

And like that, the group began to pick out the pictures they wanted in their albums the most. Sunny wasn’t a fan of pictures with himself in it because he wanted ones that focused more on his friends, but he found that the ones he got that did have him in it showed a new side to him that he felt like he hadn’t seen in a while. He looked happy, even if out of all of the pictures there was only one with him actually smiling in it. That one, because it was so rare, was given to Hero to hang onto with the promise that he would never get rid of it. It was an Ultra Rare Sunny picture. Sunny was a little embarrassed at how much his friends hyped it up. It wasn’t enough to get him to smile more to make them stop it, though.

In the end, they each only got a handful of pictures. But it was a wonderful group of pictures. For the next hour or two, they took their time putting their new pictures into their albums. Sunny helped the others when it came to adding the ones that Sunny had also given them as a gift the other day. Soon their photo albums were much more filled out than Sunny’s was, but he was okay with that. He would find other things to fill the album with. Like the sticky hand, and a small shell that he had brought with him from the beach.

By the time there was a knock on the door, it was getting close to sunset and the group had not only filled out their albums with comments and pictures, but they had also done some decorating to the outsides of their albums. Sunny had painted stars and planets on his. He still wasn’t the best at art, but it was abstract in a way that he found pleasant on the simple background of his cover.

“Aubrey, Basil, are you two staying for dinner?” Kel’s father asked as he poked his head into the bedroom. “We’ve got a roast just waiting to be shared! Plenty enough for two more people.”

“Ah!” Basil cried as he looked outside. The sun was well past beginning to set. “I can’t! I’m sorry, but I have to go! I got too caught up in everything!”

“Hahaha! Time flies when you’re having fun!”

“Yeah, we should head out. Thanks for everything, guys.” Aubrey stood with Basil, prompting the others to follow suit.

“We’ll walk you to the door.” Kel offered.

“Dinner’ll be ready in a few, boys.” His father warned them before he went on ahead. Sunny picked at some paint on his fingers as he followed after his friends to the front door.

“This was a lot of fun.” Basil said as they stood on the doorstep. His heart looked full as his chest filled up and he smiled brightly. “Seriously. This… This has been the best.”

“Despite everything, I’m really glad we did this.” Aubrey agreed, ducking her head a little as she gazed at her photo album. A small smile danced on her own lips as she tucked her hair behind her ear. “We should do it again. Maybe next time we’ll invade Sunny’s house.”

“That’s the plan!” Kel said as Sunny nodded.

“I know we’ll see each other tomorrow, but it feels weird to not say this now.” Basil took Sunny’s hands and squeezed them. “Thanks for everything, Sunny. It was great to hang out again. Please feel free to call me any time, okay?”

“Same here.” Aubrey punched Sunny’s shoulder very lightly. “I know things were… rough… this past year… but I want you to know that you can call me. Or text me. Just to keep us updated on what you’re doing. Don’t be a stranger. Okay?”

Sunny nodded at them both. He would try harder this time. “I don’t have much to talk about, though.”

“That’s fine. We almost always have plenty. We can just talk about nothing like old times.” She hesitated and added, “I’ve missed that, y’know?”

Yeah, he did know. He wanted to just listen to her talk again like before.

“We’ll see each other soon.” Basil said. “And not just tomorrow. We can’t always see each other like we used to, but that doesn’t mean we can’t visit once in a while.”

“I’ll try to learn to drive real fast so I can carpool you guys!” Kel said. “And get a car or something too!”

“I’m looking into possibly getting a bike in the future. Once I save up enough money.” Aubrey said.

Maybe Sunny should think about learning how to drive too. He’d never really considered it before, but it would be better than relying on his mom all the time. That, and she was thinking about getting a new car anyway. He might be able to inherit her old one. He would think about it.

“We really gotta go now, though.” She continued, tugging on Basil’s sleeve a little.

“Yeah. Bye everyone!” Basil said.

“Bye guys!” Hero said as the three boys waved their friends off. They watched them until they disappeared out of sight before turning to each other. Hero let out a pleased sigh. “Last day, huh? We’ve made the most of it! I have to say, this summer’s been pretty exciting. I’m glad we did this.”

“Right? It was great! We should do it every year!” Kel said.

“Uh, maybe. It would be nice to maybe try to do a group vacation during the summer or something.” Hero agreed. “Y’know, when we’re not all busy.”

“Even if we don’t, we’ll still be friends forever.” Kel led the way back inside, beaming. “Though, I still think we should definitely do a get-together once a year. If we don’t, it feels like we’ll all fall into our own little bubbles. Then we’ll have to do kidnappings!”

“Pfft, kidnappings? Nice, Kel.”

“Sounds fun.” Sunny said.

“See? Sunny’s on board! Alright, Sunny, you and me! We’ll force a get-together every year. How’s that sound?” Kel asked, holding out a hand.

Sunny slapped it in a high-five. “Perfect.”

Chapter Text

A little over a year ago, Sunny thought he would never feel real joy ever again. The concept was one that smelled of a train that had long since left the station and left nothing but a sad, nostalgic taste upon his tongue. Happiness was something that had been frozen and removed from his chest, stolen away with the crack that had taken Mari with it. The closest thing he had felt to joy was the peace he had during his make-believe fun days in Headspace before the cycle of Basil’s discovery would bring the darkness once more. It was a treat he was not allowed to have. He had lost his chance, and it had been done with his own hands.

There are moments even while he was with his friends and enjoying every second that it felt like he was lying to himself and them. That the light feeling in his chest was, in reality, a figment of his imagination and that he didn’t actually feel a thing. If he could smile, he imagined that the moment the stimulation was gone his smile would simply drop from his face since there was no true emotion behind it. He felt fake, and then a glass wall would divide him and his friends. He would be looking through the window of his bedroom down at the street where he could see his friends playing, but he couldn’t join them. A part of him still felt trapped in that cage of a house even though he hadn’t been in it in over a year.

He would drift on that feeling, separated from his body despite being with his friends, and wonder if any of this was real. Maybe he had never actually left his house. Maybe this was all in his head. He had seen some things that would make it feel a little like Headspace. Maybe Omori had tried a different route since Black Space had kept entering the old world. Maybe Sunny was still in that house, asleep, dreaming of shaved-ice summers and hot sand between his toes. If that was true, would this week begin again? It wouldn’t be a terrible hell, if he was honest. He kind of liked the idea.

But no, he didn’t want that to be true. All of the things they had discussed, all of the healing they’d done, all of the forgiveness they had given each other, it would lose meaning if none of it was real. Besides, he’d much rather deal with the consequences of reality than dream any longer. It was much more fun when he didn’t know what would happen. Even if it was boring… even if it was scary… those were just some of the prices that needed to be paid in order to experience the positive emotions that came from his interactions with people he loved.

His last day with Kel and Hero came to a close quicker than any of the boys had wanted. They had made an effort to create a pillow fort together in the bedroom and succeeded after hours of stressing about it. The last of their energy had been put towards the creation, and the three boys had collapsed inside of it along with Sally, who had tried her best to help as long as her little body would let her. The four of them passed out together in a heap of tangled limbs and just a hint of discomfort. Sunny slept so deeply that he barely remembered his dreams. He knew they were good, though, because he was woken up by Hero still feeling good from what he had been experiencing.

“I can’t believe the week’s already over.” Hero said as he helped Sunny with packing what was left of his stuff that was scattered about. He was better at folding and putting the clothes away than Sunny was. The boy had so much new stuff that it wouldn’t fit inside just his suitcase and his tote bag, so they used some plastic bags to carry the rest. “I feel like it’s going to be quiet around here without you.”

“You say that like Sunny’s much of a talker to begin with.” Kel joked, sitting aside rather than helping the two pack. “But still, it’s definitely better than last year. You didn’t say a word until the hospital.”

“I didn’t have anything to say.” Sunny half-lied. There was plenty to say, but none of it had been important. By the time the thought had crossed his mind to maybe speak up, he chose not to instead since nothing mattered. It was better for him to stay quiet. It worked out in the end, he supposed.

“You just needed practice.” Kel tapped Sunny with his foot. Sunny shrugged in response. Maybe he was right as well.

They finished closing everything up, and the three boys carried everything downstairs to leave by the door for when Sunny’s mother showed up. That was when Kel’s mom called, “Boys? I made breakfast! Sunny, come eat while you still can!”

“Oh sweet!” Kel dashed off ahead of them while Hero and Sunny entered the kitchen at a slower pace. Pancakes, bacon, eggs, and fresh fruit awaited them. Sunny’s stomach growled viciously. Kel’s mother beamed as she held her arms out before scooping Sunny into a tight hug.

“Ohhhh…! It’s been so good having you around again, Sunny. Not only to keep Kel busy, but because we’ve all missed you so much!” She pulled back and her smile softened. “It just wasn’t the same without all of you here. I’m glad you’re doing well. Last time I saw you, you were far too thin and pale. You were like a ghost!”

Sunny didn’t really know what to say to that.

“Mom, c’mon. Let him eat.” Kel whined around a mouthful of bacon.

“I will if you stop eating everything first.” She said back, but she did let Sunny go. She turned back to him, “Don’t be a stranger, alright? Feel free to come spend the night once in a while over vacation if you want. There’s plenty of room. And if you want to steal one of the boys once in a while, you’re welcome to!”

“Mom.” Hero said with amused exasperation. He simply walked around them and went to go get his own food. 

Sunny nodded. “Thank you.” He said before he followed Hero so he could eat.

Everything was moving so slowly but too quickly. The feeling of the finish line loomed over Sunny’s head and itched at the back of his neck. Soon, all of this would be over. His house, though a haven, also seemed like it would be far too quiet. It would be him and Mewo most of the time without much else to do. He was fine with that, but it also seemed a little lonely.

Aubrey and Basil showed up in the middle of breakfast and were invited to eat as well, though they turned down the offer. Despite that, Aubrey still stole a pancake and ate it dry with her bare hands as they both joined the others at the dining table. Sunny thought back to Sunday mornings when they would all watch cartoons together in his living room. Sweetheart’s theme song would blare in the background as Kel talked over the show and Aubrey yelled at him to shut up. Basil would read on the couch to the best of his ability while Hero and Mari finished cleaning the dishes from their bowls of cereal they’d all had. Sunny would try not to fall asleep on the couch, not wanting to miss a single moment.

Now they were all here in Kel’s house, and it was almost like nothing had changed. Aubrey and Kel didn’t bicker nearly as much, but still riled each other up. Basil often watched and occasionally joined in, but looked like he would rather be somewhere quiet doing something else. Hero was often torn between very lightly egging on petty arguments and shutting them down completely. And Sunny listened to it all and knew he would miss it when he left.

It was like the blue-haired neighbor of Kel’s said: moving away from friends is hard, but it got easier. He was leaving once again, but that didn’t mean that things had to be too different. He would miss out on the things they were doing in school, and he would probably feel some jealousy at being left out, but they could always talk on the phone and they had the rest of summer vacation to maybe visit each other once more. He would have to start planning his own future, but for now Sunny wanted to live in the present as long as he could. Right there with his friends was where he felt the most at home.

“Oh, I think I heard a honk.” Hero said. “Your mom might be here, Sunny.”

“Aww, looks like this is the end.” Kel whined a little.

“Here, let’s clean the dishes. I think Mom just went out to say hello. We have a couple minutes now.” The group got up to do some quick cleaning. They stepped out into the living room and glanced out of the window. As expected, the two mothers were chatting cheerfully with each other.

“So, this is it.” Aubrey said. “It’s kind of weird knowing Sunny’s not going to be around anymore.”

“Why does this feel more like you’re moving away than it did last time?” Kel asked, rubbing at his neck.

“Because it feels more like old times than, well, last year.” Basil said before he reached out and took Sunny’s hand to squeeze it. “Keep in touch, okay?”

“Yeah, don’t forget to message us. And show us some of the stuff you’ve been up to.” Hero agreed with a smile. 

“Get a better phone.” Aubrey pointed at Sunny’s pocket seriously. “If we’re going to be texting, you can’t do it while you have a set number of minutes. If you ask anything for your birthday, get that.”

“Then you can send us pictures and stuff without emailing!” Kel said. “And we can send you some cool stuff too! I’ll be sure to invite you to one of our basketball games, okay?”

“And we can go to the boardwalk downtown and ride some rides next time.” Hero added.

“Just… let’s not wait another year to hang out again. Even if we’re not all together for every meet up, that just makes it more fun for when we do meet.” Aubrey said, and gave Sunny a light punch in the shoulder.

“Oh no! This calls for a group hug!” Hero called.

“Wha-WHAT? No!” She protested.

“Hero, you’re so embarrassing!” Kel cried, but Hero listened to no protests and scooped everyone into a big hug with Sunny right in the middle. Sunny didn’t even mind it this time as he let out a laugh at all of the groans and complaints, which only got the others to laugh along with him. They pulled apart with smiling faces as Sunny wiped the smile from his own mouth with his hand.

“I’ll keep in touch better.” He promised. “Thank you for everything.”

“Then it’s a promise we’ll all keep!” Kel announced before he scooped up some of Sunny’s stuff. Hero and Sunny grabbed the rest. “Let’s get going, then! I can see their talk is winding down.”

The group exited out of the building only to see Sunny’s mother’s eyes light up at the sight of them. For a moment, shock glittered over her face before it melted with bittersweet, happy nostalgia. She looked like she might cry for a moment, before she smiled instead.

“Oh… It’s so good to see you all together like this again!” She said softly as she moved to open the trunk to put away Sunny’s stuff. “It didn’t really hit me in the hospital, but… this is much better.”

“I agree!” Kel said. “It’s good to see you too!” He accepted her hug as she went around and gave each of them a fond greeting. Sunny was only a little embarrassed by his mother fawning over all of his friends, but he couldn’t really blame her for it. He just tried to stay out of the way and finished putting his stuff in the car before he stood by the passenger door. He never really understood how Kel could just talk to people he hadn’t really spoken to in years like not a single day had gone by. It was admirable.

“Oh no.” Aubrey whispered from next to Sunny. He glanced at her and saw her eyes were filled with pain and just a hint of happiness as well, “I’ve missed her.” Sunny just stared at her until Aubrey got embarrassed and swiped at her damp eyes and muttered a, “Shut up.”

The goodbyes took twice as long because Sunny’s mother wanted to speak to all of the kids and catch up a little with them. Sunny didn’t exactly want to leave either, but even he was getting tired of simply standing around. He had prepared mentally for his time to leave, and now it was being delayed because his mother was a bit of a chatterbox. He was happy to see her look so happy, though. She had tried her best for years to find her peace and happiness again, so she deserved extra time to reminisce with old friends. She still did not look at their old house a single time, though, before she glanced at her watch and said,

“Oh! We’ve got to go. Come on, Sunny! Good bye, everyone!” She waved to them and climbed in the front seat.

“See you around, Sunny!” Hero said as he gave Sunny one more quick hug. “Say hi to Mewo for me.”

“Stay safe.” Basil squeezed Sunny’s hand with a genuine smile. He looked only a little sad to be seeing his friend go.

“We’ll be waiting to hear from you.” Aubrey said.

“And tell us more stories about Headspace next time, okay?” Kel added as he gave Sunny a tight hug, lifting him straight off of his feet before lowering him back down. He didn’t move his head from his shoulder yet as he added lowly, “Seriously, man, I’ve missed you so much. Thank you for coming out that day. It finally feels like things are better again.”

“Thank you for coming for me.” Sunny murmured back. Kel squeezed him one more time before he released him. His eyes were shining a bit, but he was beaming. Sunny was reluctant to pull away from everyone, but he waved his goodbyes and climbed into the car. They all waved as Sunny and his mother drove off. Standing beside the group was Mari, who was smiling despite the shine of tears in her eyes as she waved her goodbyes as well. She looked bright and colorful and alive next to everyone. Even if it was a goodbye, it didn’t feel like he was leaving any of them for very long. He couldn’t really bring himself to feel sad. They all kept waving until Sunny couldn’t see them any longer as the car turned the corner to head towards the highway.

He spun back around in his seat to sit properly and adjust his seatbelt as he listened to his mother’s classical music coming through the radio. The gentle rumble of the car flowed over him.

“Did you have fun?” She asked him after a few minutes of quiet.

“Yeah.” Sunny brushed his fingers over his new necklace. The shape of the petals were already becoming familiar to his fingertips. He finally felt peace in his heart once again. “I had a ton of fun.”