Work Text:
Drip,
Drip,
Drip
The only sound to be heard among the silence. The unending racket created by the rain. What should be calming rather acts as a constant reminder. A reminder of the mistakes that were made, a reminder of good times, a reminder of something that could’ve been but will never be.
The rain grows stronger, hitting Aubrey’s window harder and harder. Seeping through the worn down roof that is supposed to be providing shelter from this storm. Some raindrops trickle down her long, pink, bubblegum hair.
It’s been 3- almost 4 months since Sunny left Faraway and nobody has heard a word from him. It’s been almost 4 months since the truth of Mari’s death was told. At first Aubrey didn’t believe it, she didn’t want to believe it, but it was Sunny saying it. He would never lie about something like that. For better or for worse.
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Everyone is standing completely still, in shock of what’s coming out of Sunny’s rasp and broken voice.
Kel’s usual gleaming smile, gone. Hero with multiple conflicting emotions inside of him that portray themselves on his face. Basil is still fast asleep. Then… There is Aubrey. Tears building up in her eyes. She can’t believe what she is hearing, this CAN’T possibly be true. It doesn’t make sense, Sunny wouldn’t do something like this. He is a good boy with a good mind, same with Basil. The thoughts in her mind were cut off by a sorrowful yet angry voice.
“S-Sunny, that isn’t funny. You can’t joke about things like that. That is REALLY insensitive”
Some of Hero’s anger slipped through his sentence as the frown on his face grew. Then suddenly, Sunny falls to his knees. His eyes filled with tears, his eyes empty and void of any happiness.
Drip,
Drip,
Drip…
His tears start falling on the floor as his cries become more and more audible.
They all get hit with the cruel realization that… This isn’t a joke.
Sunny, the stoic, calm boy. The one who was always willing to listen to anyone’s problems. The one who’s soft presence made all your worries melt away. The one they so deeply trusted, murdered his sister.
“T-There’s no way y-your-” Hero tries to speak, but his disbelief and boiling anger prevent him from doing so.
He walks up to Sunny, slowly, menacingly. Sunny looks up and Hero flinches. After walking in front of him, towering over him, Hero gives him a cold, unforgiving glare. Hero turns and bursts through the door, leaving them all behind.
“H-Hero, wait!” Kel seems to have woken up from the shock
He suddenly runs to the door, giving one last sad glance at the remaining in the room as he proceeds to chase his brother.
Aubrey stands there, overflowing with anger. She looks at Sunny with the look of someone who’s about to murder a person in cold blood.
It’s all his fault… He’s the reason Mari is dead, he’s the reason we’re all like this, he’s the reason I’M like this. He left me, abandoned me, abandoned us and now he comes back to hurt us MORE?
Her thoughts corrupted with sheer, overwhelming anger. She suddenly falls to her knees. She keeps staring Sunny in the eyes and then glances at Basil. She looks down at her own hands and then something snaps inside her. The overflowing dam, after years of wear and tear, has finally broken down and in front of Sunny was the girl crying about her lost shoe all those years ago.
Stop, stop it. Stop crying, you can’t show any weaknesses. Keep pushing forward.
Aubrey, unable to contain her emotions, runs out the room weeping and wiping her eyes.
Stop..
Stop..!
STOP!!!!!
That was the last time they would have ever seen Sunny.
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“The rain isn’t planning on stopping anytime soon, huh? Lame.”
Aubrey looks to the person speaking to her, her best friend Kim. They were hanging out at their secret hangout spot till it suddenly started pouring. They took shelter under a tree near the unused picnic basket just sitting there.
“What’s up Aubs? You look so depressing right now it’s making me upset just looking at you.”
“...It’s nothing, I’m fine.”
Aubrey’s voice lacks her usual boldness and enthusiasm. Completely devoid of any sort of happiness.
“Kim, what would you do if you lost someone close to you.”
Kim glances at Aubrey then looks back at the lake being hit with a barrage of downpour.
“Well, it would depend on your definition of lost. Lost like dead? Lost like they’re actually just lost? Or lost like we just fell out or somethin?”
“Lost as in you had the opportunity to do something, but didn’t and now because of that you might never see that person again.”
“Wow, sounds oddly specific.”
Kim shifts her body to face Aubrey and turns Aubrey’s head to her.
“Aubrey, I know I’m not the best person to talk to with this kind of sappy stuff but I am your friend. If you need someone to talk to I’m always here. Just say what’s on your mind. Or not, your choice.”
Kim shifts back to her normal position while Aubrey looks at her with a faint smile.
“Thank you, Kim. Really. The truth is that someone close to me left and we left off on a pretty bad note…”
“If it bothers you so much, change it.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, do you know where they are? Go to them and fix things up. I mean, probably not the best idea if they live a couple states away.”
That’s true, she could go visit couldn’t she? But the city is way bigger than Faraway and she doesn’t even have a clue where Sunny might be there. Even then it would take some money to pay for the bus ride there..
“If only that was a possibility”
Aubrey gives off a sad smile as she looks off into the now calming down rain. It didn’t take Aubrey long to realize how much she really missed Sunny when he was inside for those 4 long years. Then he came back, just to drop a bomb on them and run away. The once bold and rash Aubrey was reduced to the mess she was when Mari died. The only thing in her heart being the overwhelming sadness that makes it hard to keep pushing forward and the anger. Anger not at Sunny, but his unfortunate situation. An unfortunate boy who had nobody there for him. His decisions clouded by complete disbelief and sadness at the time of the accident.
“Eh, don’t count yourself out before you even try it.”
Kim gets up and stretches her arms out a bit before she starts speaking again.
“We should head home while the rain is lighter, it might start raining harder soon. Never know with how the weather’s been the past couple weeks…”
“Yeah, alright.”
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Sigh
Aubrey flops on her bed, hair still damp from the ongoing rain. Her mind was too busy recollecting thoughts on the conversation had with her friend to fully dry it.
Go to them, huh?
It’s not like this idea hasn’t gone through her mind before. Seeing Sunny after those long 4 years made her realize how much she truly deeply missed him. However she had no idea of his whereabouts other than the city he’s in. On top of that she has no knowledge on how to traverse the city.
There has to be something, anything that could help.
Aubrey shoots up off her bed.
I have to talk to them again, don’t I?
Aubrey hasn’t been in contact with any of her past friends since the incident at the hospital. Basil has been distant yet seemingly more at peace, Kel has been around with some of his own friends, yet the smile on his face when he’s with them seems somewhat forced. Hero… Hero’s been in a bad state. Nobody has really seen or heard from him the past few months. It’s as if he relapsed to his old ways because of the confession.
Best bet would be approaching Basil as he was the closest to Sunny and the one who last saw him before he left, maybe he knows something. It’s a little risky going up to him alone though, after everything she put him through. She shudders at that thought.
I need to apologize to him too, huh.
She walks to her window and looks outside, being greeted by the soft moonlight being emitted.
This late already?
She starts walking to her bed, thinking about what she would do tomorrow. She should probably get Kel with her at least to talk to Basil, don’t want to scare him away. He’ll probably be more calm with a familiar face. She decided that tomorrow she would pass by Kel’s house and see if he was there. She falls on her bed, closing her eyes and slowly drifting to sleep. Her mind filled with thoughts about a certain someone.
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Knock Knock Knock
Aubrey stares at the door, disappointed with the lack of a response. It’s been around 10 minutes since she started. She at least expected his parents to answer, guess they’re not there. Just great, she was going to have to go on a wild goose hunt to find him, wasn’t she.
She turned away and started heading for the sidewalk when suddenly the door opened. She quickly looked behind her to be greeted by a tall, sickly looking man with hollow eyes. Devoid of any sign of life, you would have thinked you were looking at a corpse.
“H-Hero, is that you?”
“Ah. Hey Aubrey, sorry I made you wait so long. I just woke up. It’s been a while hasn’t it?”
Hero’s voice was a little raspy, his voice monotonous, but the worst part was his eyes. He looks like a man who has lost everything.
“Aubrey, you awake?”
“A-Ah, yeah. Sorry.”
“It’s fine. Come on in.”
Aubrey walks in the quiet house. Sounds like nobody else who lives here is present.
“Do you want anything to eat or drink?
“No, I’m fine. I actually came here looking for Kel. I needed to ask him something.”
“Ah, I think Kel is at Gino’s with his friends today. I might be wrong though. He was talking about going the other day.”
“So that’s where he is? Thank you, Hero.”
When Aubrey was thinking of leaving, she remembered the state Hero was in. There was no way she could just leave him like this. She can’t abandon her friends again. If she did, she could never face Sunny again.
“Hero.. You can’t keep living like this.”
Hero’s eye twitches a bit before returning to its neutral state.
“Aubrey, you wouldn’t understand. It’s too much to handle. I can’t face it again. The past 4 years I’ve been living a lie. I thought it was all my fault. That I missed something. That I hurt her in some way, when in truth it's all because of her brother.”
His voice gets more and more vengeful as he goes on. His hatred starts leaking out of him.
“I understand completely. She was everything to me. She was the sister I never had. I will never feel the same now that she’s gone, but that doesn’t mean I will stop moving forward. Or else all the courage Sunny built up will be for nothing. All the effort he put in will just have gone to waste.”
Hero’s eyes flare up more. He looks on the brink of explosion.
“I can’t BELIEVE you’re applauding him for confessing what he did 4 WHOLE YEARS after it happened. He let us live a lie for 4 entire years. You were changed the most because of that, how are you just gonna let him off!?”
“I’m not, I still haven’t completely forgiven him. However, he did what he did when he was a KID Hero. You’re the most sensible of us I thought you would have seen that. It was a mistake, an unfortunate accident. You know how Sunny is. He will keep everything bottled up till the bottle itself breaks. He was hurt the most out of all of us!”
“DON’T YOU DARE SAY THAT. MARI MEANT EVERYTHING TO ME. I DON’T THINK I’LL EVER BE THE SAME AS I WAS BEFORE BECAUSE OF HER DEATH! HER OWN BROTHER, that.. FREAK JUST KILLED HER BECAUSE HE WAS UPSET! I THOUGHT YOU WOULD BE ON MY SIDE! Or are you letting past feelings cloud your judgment…?”
Aubrey’s cheeks become very faint red for a moment.
She’s been really trying to improve, to not let her anger control her as it previously did. It was easy to do. She was too sad to be focused on her anger. However, the control over her emotions were starting to slip out of her grasp. The corner of Aubrey’s eyes started to tear up.
“H-Hero, don’t you understand!? Mari meant everything to ALL of us! She w-was one of the kindest persons I’ll probably ever have met in my lifetime! Knowing that she wouldn’t want to see you like this Hero! It’s time to accept it! JUST ACCEPT THE FACT SHE’S GONE!”
Aubrey’s voice, a mixture of sadness, pain, and anger. She started wiping her tears on the sleeves of her jacket. Her last words especially let out her emotions. That sentence was not only directed at the Hero, but…
Just… accept that she’s gone…
She here's quick steps towards her and looks up. She sees an enraged Hero, holding up his hand. Then, something unexpected to her happens.
SLAP
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Aubrey rubs her cheek, tears streaming down her eyes.
“I ASK YOU TO DO ONE THING AND YOU CAN’T EVEN DO THAT RIGHT? IF YOU REALLY DON’T WANNA STAY IN YOUR ROOM THEN JUST LEAVE!”
Aubrey’s father pushes her out of the house and slams the door.
Raining.. It’s always raining,,
Aubrey sprints to the empty playground, driven by adrenaline and runs through the entrance to her friend's hangout spot. She scrapes her arms and legs on the tree branches but she doesn’t care enough to look at how bad it is. She reaches the lake and falls to her knees. She starts bawling her eyes out.
“IT’S NOT FAIR!”
It’s never been fair.
“I JUST WANTED TO GO OUT A BIT!”
They never want me to leave.
“EVERYDAY IT’S THE SAME THING!!”
Unending, never changing.
“I-I HATE IT SO MUCH!!!!”
She starts rubbing at her eyes that are refusing to stop. Her hair drenched with rain, her knees wet from the grass. Her eyes red. Then, she suddenly hears something behind her.
She quickly looks behind her, trying to identify who or what the noise was. She then sees a pale boy with raven-black hair emerge. He’s wearing a big black hoodie and holding an umbrella over his head. His abyssal eyes stare at her, she feels like she is forever falling under his gaze.
“S-Sunny, what are y-you doing here?”
Her voice breaking from all the yelling and crying she did. Under Aubrey’s watchful gaze Sunny becomes bashful.
“I-I was just walking around the town. I like the rain, it makes nice sounds when it falls.”
“A-Ah, I see. Sorry for disturbing you then, I’ll be on my way.”
Aubrey quickly runs past Sunny before she feels something grab and tug at her sleeve.
“I… heard you yelling.”
Aubrey freezes.
“Aubrey, you shouldn’t be out here in the cold rain right now. Especially not dressed like that.”
Sunny pulls Aubrey under some trees in hopes of rain not completely drenching him while he’s taking off his hoodie.
“Hold this for me?”
Sunny holds his umbrella out to her. She quickly and bashfully nods and grabs it from his hand with a little too much force.
“What are you gonna do?”
Aubrey curiously looks at Sunny and sees him starting to take off his hoodie. She becomes flustered and looks away. Sunny walks up to her and grabs the umbrella from her. He then quickly puts the hoodie over her head.
If the blush on her face wasn’t imminent before, it sure is now.
It smells… like him.
She tries to burrow under his hoodie which is a little too big for her. She then looks at Sunny.
“W-Wait, what are you gonna do?
“I'll be fine, we still have an umbrella, remember? I’m more worried about you. You’re still soaking wet. Let’s pass by my house, can we get you all warm there OK?”
Aubrey slowly nods her head, the smile on her face slowly taking over.
Sunny suddenly pulls her close to him and holds the umbrella above him.
“L-Let’s be fast.”
Sunny's more passive and bashful self returned after solving the problem. Clearly affected by the situation they were in right now.
“R-Right!”
They both start walking out of the hideout, careful to avoid tearing a hole in the umbrella.
“We also have to treat those wounds of yours. You have to be more careful, Aubrey!”
“A-Ah, you noticed then.. Sorry.”
“It’s fine, just be more careful. I don’t like it when I see you hurt.”
Aubrey's face lights up. He makes her so happy all the time. No matter the situation. He is everything to her. He’s the reason why she can keep pushing through her parent’s ruthlessness. Him, him, him.
Sunny…
An extreme warmness overtakes her as she keeps walking with her sunshine.
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Spinning
Spinning
Spinning
Aubrey’s mind is a mess. Last thing she would have expected is to get slapped by Hero of all people, the one they looked up to as an older, reliable brother. That slap scared Aubrey, it reminded her of her not too distant past.
No, she didn’t want to think that way. Hero and her father were two very different people. Calm down.
Breathe In.
Breathe out.
Her breath was still a bit erratic. She looked at the person who hit her. He was in a complete state of shock. He didn’t want to believe he did this to one of the people he was supposed to be looking after. He falls to his knees.
Aubrey shakes her head, waking herself up from her daze. She gets up from the floor and starts making it for the door. She takes one last look behind her to meet a sorrowful sight. She want’s to help him. She wants to talk to him. She doesn’t want to leave him like this. However, she’s scared. Scared of being hurt again by him. Scared of being reminded more of the past life she lived. She opened the door and closed it behind her gently. She started making a run for Gino’s.
“Aubrey… I’m so sorry.. I'm so sorry.. I'm so sorry.”
Hero’s eyes are filled with tears. His eyes overflowing with regret. Hero start’s mumbling.
“Mari.. I’m so sorry. I’m so pitiful, aren’t I? This isn’t what you would have wanted. I’m truly sorry.”
“It’s okay Hero, we all make mistakes. It’s just important at one point or another that we learn from them and try to fix them.”
He hears a familiar voice. That of one he holds dear to him. He picks himself off the ground and looks around. A gentle, soothing voice. The voice of the one he loves. Hero wipes the tears off his face and goes to a mirror. He looks at his sorrowful face. The pitiful state he’s in. His hair is oily and a complete mess, his eyes have distinct bags under them. He looks like a walking, talking corpse.
“Important to learn and fix them, huh..? I can’t let things stay like this.”
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Raining. Of course. When is it not raining, right?
Aubrey tries to make it to Gino’s as fast as possible to avoid getting completely soaked. She hates the rain, it seems to follow her wherever she goes and it comes at the worst possible times. The constant, unending rain. It makes Aubrey wanna put a hole in a wall but she doesn’t have time for that. She reaches the infamous pizza place and steadies her breathing before she walks in.
She looks around for the tall tanned boy and finally spots him. This is the first time Aubrey’s ever seen him like this though. He’s quiet, just sitting there in the back of his friend group. He’s not talking about anything or yelling or doing crazy things. He’s not acting like Kel. She slowly starts approaching the group of idiots.
“Damn, who’s chick is that?”
A boy with blonde hair calls out. Aubrey ignores his comment and walks up to Kel. He doesn’t seem to notice her. She taps him on the shoulder, getting his attention.
“Huh?”
He looks up.
“Aubrey? What do you want?”
His tone is neither hostile nor kind. It’s a bit cold and distant. Aubrey leans toward him and whispers something.
“I need your help with something important, can we talk about it somewhere else?”
He looks over at his friends, they all look like they’re seeking answers but are too scared to ask them.
“Sure, we can just pass by the market, I need to buy bread and milk anyways.”
As Kel gets up one of his friends speaks out.
“Kel, you never told us you had a hot girlfriend. What the hell man?”
Kel and Aubrey would normally be visibly upset about this assumption but Kel is currently a shell of his former self and Aubrey hasn’t been able to express her anger in a while.
“She’s just a friend, I can ask her for her number for you though.”
Kel gives a small playful jab.
“No, plus I don’t even have a phone.”
“There you have it.”
They walk out the store
“So, how have you been Aubrey?”
“Horrible for the most part.”
“Wow, how blatant.”
“You’re the one that asked, dumbass.”
It hasn’t even been 10 minutes since they have met up for the first time in months and they’re already bickering. They enter the market.
“By the way, how’d you know where I was?”
Kel curiously glanced at Aubrey.
“I went to your house and met Hero, he told me.”
“Ah, so you’ve seen him. That explains why there is a red handprint on your face.”
Kel gives a sad smile while Aubrey remains quiet.
“I’m sorry about what he did. He hasn’t been in the right state of mind for a while now. I’ve been trying my best to pull him out of his slump but nothings been working.”
“You’re too soft on him. Give him the hard cold truth. He has to face it eventually, he can't live like that forever.”
“Sunny seemed to be doing that just fine, though.”
Aubrey glared daggers at Kel.
“Sorry, that was uncalled for.”
“Yeah, it was.”
An awkward silence follows as they go to the bakery section. Kel soon breaks that while looking at the different options to get.
“What did you need from me Aubrey?”
“I wanted to ask Basil something but I’m scared of how he might react to me approaching him alone. I want you to come along. He should be calm if you’re around to protect him.”
“Huh? Basil? What do you want out of him?”
“None of your business.”
Kel shrugs and then goes to the counter, he hands the cashier a $20 bill and gets $16 in change. They start to make their way to the grocery aisle in search of the milk Kel needs.
“So…? Are you gonna help me?”
“I refuse, unless you tell me what you want from him. I’m not gonna help someone do something if I don’t know what the goal is.That’s unreasonable.”
“Wow. That’s so incredibly rich coming from you Kel.
“Whatever, my statement still stands.”
“Hmph.”
“Don’t “Hmph” me! You and I know this is ridiculous. Tell me what your goal is, then I’ll consider helping.”
“F-Fine. I… I want to see if he knows any details on where Sunny is living right now.”
Kel shudders at HIS name being called.
“Why do you want to know that? What are you gonna do to him..?”
“I-I’m not trying to hurt him or anything! The truth is, I really miss him Kel. He was always there for me when I needed him. I know Basil and you feel the same. I want to see how he’s doing and reconnect with him. I don’t want to lose him again.”
“Wow, I’m surprised. I thought you would’ve hated his guts after what he’s done. What makes you still want to associate with him?”
“Kel, I could never hate him. I could push him away all I want but even then he still finds his way into my heart. He’s done everything for me.”
Aubrey looks down with a smile on her face and an emitting blush.
“So that’s what this is about, huh?”
Kel whispers to himself.
“Huh?”
“Nothing. Is that the only reason?”
“Reason for what?”
“The reason you want to talk to him again”.
“Well not just that. I’m really worried about him. You saw how easily he locked himself away those 4 years. He hadn’t grown at ALL. He looked so frail. I can also.. sympathize with him.”
“Hm?”
“When I-I… pushed Basil in the lake. Him and Sunny could’ve died that day if it weren’t for Hero. I almost killed 2 of my closest friends that day. Sunny wasn’t as lucky as I was. He didn’t have anyone there to save him from his mistakes.”
“I hope you’re not just doing this out of sympathy then. That sympathy will run out if so and you will hurt the both of you.”
“IT’S NOT!”
Aubrey accidentally yells out. Everyone around them staring at them for a second then going back to their lives. Aubrey realizes this and looks down.
“Sorry. It’s not just for sympathy. I truly care about Sunny.”
A smile starts appearing on Kel’s face. One that resembles his past more youthful self.
“I’m so glad I’m not the only one. I’ll help you, as long as you do one favor for me.”
“S-Sure! What do you need?”
“When you get to Sunny, can you convince him to visit Faraway every once in a while. Oh and if he has a phone ask him for his contact information too!”
“That was the plan. Thank you for your help Kel. Really, I appreciate it.”
“It’s no problem, anything for one of my best friends!”
Kel gives off a beaming smile. A youthful flame in Kel has been reignited.
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Plomp
Aubrey falls down on her bed, tired from all the stuff she had done today. Running in the rain didn’t help much either, she felt a small headache come upon her. This was all worth it, though. Her efforts aren’t going to waste. She’s going to be able to meet up with Sunny. Then all the effort she’s putting in will seem like nothing. Her worries will melt away.
Aubrey begins to close her eyes, beginning to fall to sleep with ease because of her tiredness. Her eyes flutter till fine they stay shut, with only one thing on her mind.
Her beloved…
“Sunny.”
“Sunny!”
“Sunny, we have to start going home. It’s getting late. You have to wake up!”
Sunny slowly lifts his head off the soft surface he was laying on and rubs his eyes. He looks around and meets Aubrey’s eyes. He looks down to where he was sleeping and sees Aubrey’s lap. They were relaxing at the hangout spot after a LONG talk on the swing.
“U-Uh, I’m sorry..”
Sunny says with an evident blush on his face.
“Huh? N-No it was fine, really! It was cute seeing your sleeping face.”
The blush on Sunny’s face grows. Aubrey realizing what she had said follows this pattern.
“I-I MEAN I’M JUST GLAD YOU GOT A NICE REST, HAHAHAHAH!”
Aubrey gives off the most awkward laugh known to mankind. After a bit of silence and the two looking off into the opposite distances. Aubrey suddenly breaks it.
“Oh, right. We have to start heading home, it’s getting pretty late.”
Aubrey starts to get up then Sunny grasps her arm.
“I… I don’t want to go home right now. Can we just stay out a bit longer? At home I just practice with Mari over and over and…”
Sunny stops his sentence abruptly.
Ah, he must be tired from all that practicing.
“Oh.. Of course Sunny! We can stay here as long as you want.”
Sunny smiles. But his eyes look empty and sad.
“Thank you so much, Aubrey. You’re always here for me when I need you.”
“What!? That’s my line! You’re always there when I need someone to talk to. You’re always there to listen to me and lend me a shoulder to cry on.”
Aubrey grabbed Sunny’s hands.
What..? They’re so rough and calloused.”
“You do so much for me and I honestly don’t know what I would do without you, Sunny!”
Sunny looks like he’s at a loss for words. When he regains his senses he quickly pulls back his hands.
“I-I’m glad you see me like that Aubrey, but I’m really not that amazing.”
He mutters under his breath. Aubrey couldn’t understand what he said next.
“Not amazing enough for her..”
“Don’t think like that Sunny, you’re THE kindest person I’ve ever met!”
Sunny just stops talking and gives a sad smile as he looks into her eyes.
Why didn’t I pick up the clues there?
I could’ve been there for him.
Instead, I was just useless. I let him get hurt as I sat there smiling in ignorance.
If it weren’t for me, maybe she would still be here. Maybe Sunny wouldn’t have wasted away his youth.
I made the mistake of not being there once, it won’t happen again.
Aubrey’s eyes open as she shoots out of her bed, shivering.
Cold.
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Knock, Knock, Knock
Aubrey desperately knocks on the door as her eyes threaten to release a storm of tears.
“Sunny, please open the door!”
She bangs harder, no response. It’s raining. The wind is blowing, she’s cold. She misses Mari, she misses Sunny. Her eyes can’t hold it in anymore. She starts crying her eyes out.
“S-Sunny, I’m begging you! I miss you so much, I’m sorry if I did something wrong! Please!!”
No response.
She falls to her knees.
“SUNNY, I NEED YOU! I CAN’T STAND BEING ALONE ANYMORE!! EVERYONE ELSE HAS LEFT ME!”
She didn’t care if she was being a disturbance, she didn’t care what other people might’ve thought. It’s none of their business anyways.
Aubrey whimpers with a voice broken from her insistent crying and yelling.
“sunny… why are you ignoring me.?”
Why?
Why?
Why?
“Aubrey?”
“Aubrey?”
“Aubrey!?”
Huh?
Aubrey snaps out of her trance and looks around her. She is greeted by a worried Kel.
“We reached Basil’s house and then you kind of just.. stood there and started crying. Is something wrong?”
What? Crying?
Aubey put her hands up to her face and checked for any tears. Lo and behold, they were there. Falling, quite a lot of them too.
“Huh, I didn’t even realize. Sorry about that, Kel.”
Aubrey wipes her face with her sleeve and looks up at the door.
“You sure you’re OK Aubrey?”
Aubrey ignores his question.
“Let’s hurry up and ring the doorbell.”
Kel decided not to push any farther.
They ring the doorbell to their old friend's house, expecting his caretaker to open the door.
They were unprepared for Basil to open it.
“K-Kel?? Aubrey?? Uhhh, s-sorry did you guys need something.”
It’s not hard to tell that he’s distressed. Kel quickly speaks up before Basil finds this too much and flees.
“Hey Basil! We needed to talk to you about something really important, is that fine?”
“I-I’m not sure-”
“Don’t worry Basil, we’re not here to hurt you. You don’t have to be afraid of us.”
Kel quickly cuts him off before he is able to decline. Basil, still looking distressed, reluctantly opens the door fully and lets them in. They both walk inside, Aubrey standing behind Kel. She’s trying her best to stay out of Basil’s vision as much as possible to keep him calm.
“Where’s your caretaker? What was her name… Oh, Polly?”
“Y-Yeah, that’s her. She’s out right now. I think she said something about buying groceries.”
“Ah, okay.”
Aubrey had been staying silent the whole time, watching her old friends converse with each other.
“So w-what did you guys need?”
“First of all, we wanted to apologize.”
Aubrey looks over at Kel, Kel ignores her obvious gaze.
“I should’ve been there for you more, I saw you clearly hurting and glossed over it. I’m extremely sorry.”
Kel looks over to Aubrey.
“I.. I’m sorry as well, Basil. All those years I unrightfully hurt and harassed you. Even went as far as pushing you in a freezing cold lake. I’m really horrible. I’m sorry.”
“N-No! It’s fine, both of you. I deserved whate-”
“Shut up. Don’t you dare say you deserved any of that crap Basil. You’re a good kid that just made a really bad mistake. I’m sure that will already follow you for the rest of your life, so don’t add on to the weight. I don’t want to hear any more of that coming out of you.”
Aubrey interrupted Basil, feeling like it was necessary.
“A-Alright, sorry.”
“Don’t even apologize.”
“Right, so-”
Aubrey gives Basil a glare and he stops his sentence immediately. They sit in Basil’s living room in silence for a bit until Kel starts snickering. A confused Aubrey asks him,
“What’s so funny?”
“It’s just pretty funny how even after everything we’re all still the same to each other.”
Basil and Aubrey put on a frown. Kel noticing this clarifies what he means.
“I don’t think that’s a bad thing, though! It’s just cool how even after everything we’re still close like this. Basil is still a shy, reserved kind boy, Aubrey is still loud and obnoxious. She’s also still has an attraction to Sunny-”
“Kel, the ONLY one loud and obnoxious here is you! Also what do you mean “attraction to Sunny”? It wasn’t that obvious!”
Basil and Kel start bursting out in laughter. Aubrey starts to get annoyed.
“You guys are still so incredibly annoying.”
Kel tries to speak out but is still dying from laughter. Aubrey get’s up and starts walking menacingly towards him. He quickly shuts his laughter up and starts talking.
“It’s just, that has to be the biggest lie I’ve ever heard. Even as a kid I could see how obvious it was. You always wanted to be alone with him whenever you could, not to mention we caught you guys one time at the park on the swings with NO ONE around. Crazy how no one knew about this “outing” of yours, hm?”
“S-Sorry Aubrey, I’m gonna have to side with Kel here. It was really obvious. Also what do you mean still..?”
Aubrey hides her face in the couch so Kel speaks up for her.
“Oh right, we didn’t tell you yet. The other reason we came here is because lover girl here wanted to see her boyfriend really badly but didn't know where he was. She was hoping you might have known.”
Basil gives a soft smile.
“Sunny would be ecstatic to hear that you still care about him, Aubrey. I do have his home phone number and address. He gave it to me a week after he moved and told me if there were any problems with life or school I could call whenever and he would come speeding. Want me to call him right now?”
Aubrey lifts her face up from the couch and looks at Basil. A determined look on her face.
“No, it has to be in person. I have to see him and talk to him face to face. It would mean much less if it was over the phone. Also, I kind of wanted to surprise him or something like that…”
Basil smiles at her resolve.
“Here let me write the info down for you, I’ll also give you his number in case of anything.”
“Thank you so much, Basil!”
Aubrey looks the happiest she has looked since the accident with Mari.
“Do you know how you’re gonna get in Nearby?”
Kel asks Aubrey while Basil walks towards his room.
“Bus, I’ve been working a couple part time jobs here and there.”
“Ah, I see. Why don’t you just have Hero drive you though?”
“Kel, you know what happened. Now is a bad time to ask him to drive me to go see the person he hates the most right now.”
“Right.”
Basil returns with a piece of paper in his hand.
“Here you go, Aubrey. Don’t lose it, okay?”
Aubrey grabs it from his hand and looks at it.
“Of course!”
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“I can’t take it anymore, Mari. My hands hurt, I’m tired. Can we please take a break?”
“You can take a break as soon as you get this part right, okay? Can you just do that simple thing?”
A cold and demanding voice. One Aubrey has never heard from Mari before. She opens the door to the piano room. Mari’s gaze shifts from Sunny to the newly arrived guest. Aubrey see’s a glint of coldness before it shifts back to her normal, accepting kind eyes. Aubrey catches Sunny in the corner of her eyes, rubbing his eyes quickly and looking down at the ground.
“Hi, Aubrey! When did you get here? I would’ve greeted you at the door if I knew you were coming.”
“N-No, it’s alright. I came today to see if I could hang out with Sunny for a bit. He’s been practicing so much that I haven’t been able to see him much, you know..?”
Aubrey gives an awkward chuckle.
“Well, let’s hear it from him.”
Mari turns over to Sunny again.
“Can you hang out with Aubrey right now, Sunny?”
Sunny looks up fearfully. He looks like he’s on the brink of tears.
“S-Sorry Aubrey, I can’t right now. Soon though, okay?”
“Alright, that’s fine. I know how hard you’re working, Sunny. Just don’t overwork yourself alright?”
Aubrey responded, she looks a little worried. Sunny looks horrible. Like he’s about to burst.
“Well, that’s that. I’m sure Sunny would be happy to hang out some other day, Aubrey! Just come by then!”
“A-Alright then. Bye Mari. B-Bye Sunny.”
“Bye!”
Mari says. Sunny stays silent and waves at her with a forced smile on his face. She can easily read his emotions despite his usually stoic appearance and it’s clear as day that he is hurting in some way. She’ll have to bring it up with him soon.
She walks out the room closing the door behind her and walks toward the front door. She feels like she’s missing something. Something that is just itching her at the back of her mind. Constantly reminding her of this feeling of emptiness.
No,
You and I both know what she’s doing to him. You can see that. It’s so obvious and you choose to remain in ignorance. You’re scared that the perfect image of Mari you had isn’t true. You’re scared of facing reality and…
The more you run away from it
The worse it’s going to get.
“Miss..?”
Huh?
“Excuse me, miss? Are you getting on the bus or what?”
Oh, right.
“Ah, yeah. Sorry about that.”
Aubrey takes the steps up the bus and walks towards an empty seat in the back. The bus is mostly empty other than a few middle aged men and women. Aubrey looks out the window, thinking of only one thing, or rather, person.
I made the mistake of leaving you once, Sunny. I won’t do it again…
As the bus starts driving away, Aubrey looks at the gentle rain out the window.
Drip, drip, drip…
She becomes lost in thought. Aubrey has had a habit of spacing out when something important is on her mind. This usually didn’t happen much. Not until Sunny came back though. It got worse when he left too. It’s BEEN getting worse and worse with no signs of improving. This has put her in a lot of dangerous and awkward scenarios. Spacing out while crossing the street isn’t exactly safe, and it happening while unintentionally looking someone in the eyes is also pretty bad.
Aubrey looks back on yesterday at Gino’s with Basil and Kel after Aubrey got Sunny’s address.
“Aubrey, I know I already said this but please convince him to visit Faraway every once in a while. His friends miss him here, yknow?”
Kel asks with a more serious expression on his face.
“Of course, Kel. I will convince him to come here every so often. He can’t just split from us again.”
Aubrey responds to him.
Basil returns to the table with their pizza, overhearing what his friends were talking about. He adds on to Kel’s request.
“Can you also check on him? He says he’s fine and I don’t need to worry about him whenever I call but you know how Sunny is… He just hold’s everything on his mind till he eventually breaks. It’s been worrying me for so long now.”
Aubrey nods.
“It’s been on my mind forever, Basil. I worry about how he’s doing. I’m worried if he relapses into his old habits.. You don’t have to worry about it. I’ll make sure he’s okay.”
Basil smiles.
“Thanks, Aubrey.”
“When everything is said and done, let’s all go eat at some nice place! It’ll be a nice reunion or something like that..”
Kel suggests to the group. Basil is the first to respond.
“That would be nice, wouldn’t it? We have quite a bit of catching up to do.”
“I’m fine with whatever.”
Aubrey responds, Kel and Basil both look at her.
“You sound so excited, Aubrey. I’m really glad you’re so in on this.”
Kel responds blatantly sarcastically. Aubrey shrugs.
“Can’t put my heart in it yet, I have something else to worry about right now.”
Basil puts his hand on Aubrey’s shoulder.
“It’s nice that you care so much for Sunny, but don’t forget about yourself, Aubrey. If not for yourself, then do it for Sunny. You know how much he cares about you.”
“Did care, don’t know if he even still does.”
Kel instantly shuts down her negativity.
“Stop with that! You know him the best out of all of us, you know how to read his expressions the most. Even though I could tell those 3 days he was with us, whenever he saw you with his eyes had a certain glow to them. He cares about you so much. It would hurt him to see you the way you are now. Your eyes… are starting to look like his when he came out of his house.”
…They don’t understand, that’s exactly why I need this. I need to see him. I need a shoulder to lean on. I need Sunny.
Aubrey shakes herself awake. She dozed off a bit while waiting for the ride to end. She looks at the window to affirm how far she is. She gets greeted by a large, slightly broken down sign saying, “WELCOME TO NEARBY CITY”.
Must’ve been sleeping for longer than I thought, then.
Her emotions start to bubble. She was almost there. She was going to be able to see Sunny again. She looked outside again and noticed that the rain had gotten stronger.
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“Your big recital is only 2 days away, Sunny. I’m really excited to see you and Mari play.”
Silence.
“You’ve been working really hard, haven’t you? I’m sure you’re gonna be great.”
Silence.
Aubrey looks to the boy left of her. His eyes are empty and devoid of any sign of life. His mouth laid agape as he looked off into the distance. His hands were buried in his pockets.
“S-Sunny, are you okay?”
Sunny seemed to have woken up from whatever trance he was in. He turns to Aubrey and gives her the most forged smile he has ever made.
“I’m fine.”
“NO YOU’RE NOT!”
Aubrey couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“YOU’VE BEEN LIKE THIS FOR THE PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS AND IT’S REALLY WORRYING ME! PLEASE, SUNNY BE OPEN WITH ME. WHAT’S HAPPENING!?”
Sunny’s face contorts into one of anger.
“I said I’m FINE okay? Just listen to me! Nothing is wrong.”
“Sunny, the only one you’re lying to here is yourself. Something is wrong with you! Something is on your mind. Please just speak to me.”
Sunny get’s up and begins to walk away from the hideout. Aubrey grabs his arm.
“Aubrey let GO!”
“NO, I WON’T LET YOU WALK AWAY FROM THIS!”
Sunny begins to struggle, Aubrey grabs both his arms. They start to fight with each other for control. Sunny tries to free himself from Aubrey’s grip but she wouldn’t let go. Her hands began to slip.
“P-PLEASE AUBREY. I CA-AN’T”
Sunny’s voice starts breaking up while his eyes fill with tears.
“SUNNY, I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHAT’S WRONG! I JUST WANT TO BE THERE FOR YOU!”
Sunny loses all strength making Aubrey tumble on top of him while he had his arms pinned to the ground. Their breath tickles each other's cheeks as they try to steady it. In any other situation Aubrey and Sunny would have been extremely flustered. Aubrey allowed to get a good look at his sorrowful face. She flinches a bit at the sight. Sunny then mutters something that would break her.
“I don’t need your help, Aubrey. I don’t need you…”
Aubrey’s eyes begin to water. She lets go of Sunny quickly as she backs away and puts her hands to her face. She tries to stifle her cries as much as possible but some spill out.
He doesn’t… need me.
Aubrey hears silent steps approach her then suddenly come to a halt. She hears Sunny start walking away, then running.
That was the last time I saw Sunny for 4 years.
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The city, a rough, unforgiving place that chews up the weak and unwilling. It reeks of pollution and is almost always noisy. Now seemed to be an exception to that, though. With the rain only becoming stronger. The rain was starting to become a bit of a nuisance. Always coming in the worst times, as if it followed where Aubrey went. Anyways, she didn’t want to waste any time. She pulled out the paper slip and began to look around for the street.
She ran and ran and ran. Searching desperately, as if her life depended on it. After a couple of minutes of running in the rough rain she was already soaked. All the running paid off though, as she came in contact with Sunny’s street. She ran down the street looking for his house number.
Where is it…Where is it…
There!
She steadies her breath as she approaches the house. A smile creeping on her face. Her heart was beating fast. Adrenaline coursing through her.
She hesitates for a bit, then knocks on the door.
She waits a bit, then knocks again. It was taking a bit. She hears someone approaching the door and gets ready.
The door opens.
“Hello, can I help you young lady?”
What?
A middle aged woman answered the door, and it wasn’t Sunny’s mom either.
“S-Sorry, I’m looking for the Suzuki household. I thought this was the house.”
“Ah, Suzuki. They moved out not too long ago. I’m not sure where to though, sorry.”
What? What!?
“It’s fine. Tha-ank you ma'am.
Her voice was breaking. Oh boy. Thank god it was raining huh.
“Sorry I couldn’t be of help.”
She slowly closes the door and locks it.
As soon as the door was fully closed, Aubrey breaks into a full sprint.
It’s not true.
It’s not true. SUNNY CAN’T BE GONE.
Aubrey becomes engulfed with anger and sadness.
He couldn’t have moved. HE COULDN’T HAVE MOVED. HE JUST MOVED HERE. WHERE IS HE NOW? HOW FAR IS HE NOW!?
Aubrey runs faster and faster.
It’s not true, it CAN’T be true. This is some cruel joke played on me by the world.”
She looks up.
VERY FUNNY BUT YOU CAN QUIT IT NOW! STOP WITH THIS JOKE!
The only response she gets is a face full of rain.
Rain… Rain.. Rain… Rain… Always raining…
I hate it. I HATE IT! IT’S NOT FAIR! NOTHING IS FAIR!
Aubrey, not paying attention to where she was running trips on the wet sidewalk and falls face flat on the floor.
Aubrey’s cries start to become more audible and audible.
It’s not fair, it’s not fair… I just wanted to see him…
She curls up and starts crying harder and harder. It starts raining harder and harder.
I can’t take this anymore…
…
…
Suddenly, her head stops getting hit with rain. She’s too tired to look up, though. She’s tired of putting in effort.
“Excuse me, miss. Are y-you okay?”
A broken raspy voice calls out to her. One that carries a great sadness to it. A familiar voice. Aubrey’s curiosity gets the best of her. She slowly glances up.
She meets eyes with a boy that looks around her age and height, maybe a little taller. His hair disheveled, his eyes like infinite black voids that however had a certain shine and charm to them.
“A-Aubrey, is that you?”
The boy looks bewildered, so does Aubrey.
“S-Sunny?”
Without saying a word, the boy holds out his hand for the girl. She slowly but hesitantly takes it. The boy pulls her up and then gently pulls her into a hug. Aubrey couldn’t take any more. She buried her eyes in his shoulder.
“Sunny… Sunny… Sunny…”
She was trying to get out what she wanted to say but couldn’t her voice completely broken by her rampant tears.
“Yes Aubrey, I’m here.”
“I.. I…”
I
“I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!!”
Aubrey starts bawling louder than she ever has. Sunny gently rubs her back, trying to comfort the clearly hurt girl. Aubrey felt confused, conflicted. She was hit with every emotion she had been storing up since Sunny left. Like a huge truck had driven by and hit her directly. She felt mixed and jumbled. She didn’t know what to feel. She did know one thing for certain, though and it was that…
The future’s forecast… was looking bright.