Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was that day again…

“Why can’t you just play a simple song, Sunny?!”

The day of the recital…

“I’m doing the best I can!”

It always starts with this day…

“You’re going to ruin everything! Do you know how much money we had to get to buy you that violin?!”

And, in a way, everything ends with this day, too.

“Shut up! I hate you!”

“Guys, stop fighting!”

The Suzuki siblings, who were on top of the stairs, both turned their attention to the new person in the room. A small, frail boy with a panicked expression on his face as he ran up the stairs towards the siblings. Tears were rushing down his face as he moved to separate the siblings.

“Please stop! This isn’t like you two!”

The two siblings continued to glare at each other despite Basil’s words. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Two siblings that loved each other more than anything else were now practically at each other’s throats.

Mari was the first to break the silence.

“Stay out of this, Basil. This doesn’t concern you.”

Basil couldn’t help but stutter a bit as he turned to Mari, arms outstretched to stop the siblings from approaching each other.

“No! I won’t! You two are supposed to be close! You two shouldn’t be making each other cry like this!”

Mari raised an eyebrow. Frankly, all Basil was managing to do was make her even more frustrated. He just didn’t GET IT! And now he was acting like Sunny was cr-

…Oh.

Mari looked at Sunny, and while it was clear that there was still anger in his eyes, there were also tears. Tears that betrayed the true emotion that Sunny was desperately trying to suppress.

Fear.

Mari’s expression softened as she saw what was going on. How could she do this? She never wanted to make Sunny afraid of her… She closed her eyes and sighed.

“Sunny, I…”

“Hey everyone! We’re heeeeere!”

Basil and the siblings both looked to the door as Kel barged straight into the house, followed closely by Hero. Hero couldn’t help but chuckle at his little brother’s antics, but those chuckles quickly stopped as he got a look at the situation. Mari and Sunny, being separated by Basil? Why was Sunny crying? And Mari looked absolutely furious!

“Mari? What’s going on?”

Mari and Sunny looked at each other for a moment, thinking about what to say before Basil blurted it out.

“Mari and Sunny are fighting!”

Oh no. Hero started marching up the stairs. This was going to end poorly.

It didn’t help that Aubrey had just arrived as well.

“Hm? Hey, why’s everyone on the stairs? Did I miss something?”

---

“We’ve got some time before the recital. I want you two to sit down and talk this out. Clearly you’re both angry and frustrated at each other, but if neither of you listen, you won’t get anywhere.”

Sunny had never seen Hero like this before. Sure, he’s mediated some fights between Kel and Aubrey before, but those were just petty squabbles that he sort of just… separated them from.

Never anything like this.

Everyone was seated at the dining room table. Mari and Sunny were across from each other, with Hero and Basil at the heads of the table. Aubrey was to Sunny’s right, and Kel was to Mari’s left.

“...”

Hero sighed. Looks like these two were really content with just staring at each other and waiting for an apology.

“Listen… I know you’re both upset with each other and I know you want the other to apologize, but we aren’t going to go anywhere unless one of you starts speaking up about what’s going on.”

Mari frowned at those words. This was something she hadn’t seen from Hero before, either. He’s gotten serious plenty of times, but he’s never really stepped up to be a leader like he is right now. She had to admit… It was pretty attractive.

But now isn't the time for that. For now, she turned to Sunny and decided to start talking.

“Alright, if Sunny isn’t going to talk, I will. We got into an argument on the stairs because Sunny ran away during our last second practice.”

Sunny flinched. He turned to the side, keeping quiet as Mari continued to speak.

“We would always play it perfectly, up until that one part. That one note that Sunny always plays too high. And he kept missing it again, and again, and again.”

Sunny’s eyes began to water. A sniffle could be heard from him as Mari kept going.

“Every day! Every day I tried to get him to practice more just for him to not improve even the slightest bit! I just don’t understand, why is this so difficult for you?! Say something, Sunny!”

The other kids at the table couldn’t help but be uncomfortable at how loud Mari was speaking. Kel simply looked away from everyone while Aubrey turned towards Sunny. A concerned look was plastered on her face as Sunny finally began speaking.

“I-I just… I just wanted to spend time with you, Mari…”

…Silence hung over the dining room as everyone watched Sunny start to tear up. It was quiet, but everyone felt like they could hear him loud and clear.

“I-I just… I-I wanted to spend time with my sister… I was scared that… th-that I’d lose you soon, and that I w-wouldn’t be able to spend time with you again… A-And you were so busy with the piano that I just… I just wanted… to be with you…”

Sunny kept sniveling, trying to wipe the tears away from his eyes. Everyone on the table had their expressions soften.

“B-But the more I played the violin… Th-The less time I had to spend with my friends… All I wanted was t-to spend time with them…”

Kel got up from his chair and started softly rubbing his back. A smile was plastered on his face as he began trying to cheer up his friend.

“Sunny… Don’t worry! No matter what, we’ll always be here with you! Isn’t that right, guys?”

Everyone else at the table smiled and nodded. Aubrey got up and hugged Sunny’s arm.

“Yeah! We’re always gonna be here for you, Sunny!”

A smile crept onto Sunny’s face, his eyes still full of tears as he accepted the affection from his friends.

“Th-Thank you…”

Mari, on the other hand, just clicked her tongue. So that’s what it was about. Sunny just didn’t care about the violin… Well maybe he should’ve thought about that before he signed up! Now it was the day of the recital and he was talking about not wanting to do it! It’s too late for that, Sunny!

“Mari.”

Mari was snapped out of her thoughts as Hero called out to her. The frustration and anger was still clear on her face, and she didn’t even bother trying to hide it from Hero. Mari walked over to him.

“What do you want, Hero?”

Mari’s harsh tone caused Hero to flinch, but he brushed it off. Mari needed his help right now, and he was going to give it.

“You should apologize to Sunny.”

“Why? He has no one to blame for this but himself.”

Hero sighed and looked her in the eyes.

“Mari, he’s a kid. All he wanted to do was spend time with you. He said it himself!”

Mari grit her teeth and clenched her fists. Hero just didn’t get it, did he? None of them did.

“You of all people should know why it’s not that simple, Hero!”

Hero’s expression hardened.

“It’s because I know that I’m telling you not to take your frustrations out on Sunny. He’s doing his best! What matters more to you: making sure the recital is perfect, or making sure your little brother is happy?”

Mari froze for a moment. As much as she wanted to refute his words… She knew he was right. All she was doing was taking out her anger on her little brother… All because he didn’t match her ideas of perfectionism. Letting out a sigh, she turned to go talk to Sunny-

“Alright kids, it’s time for the recital! Everyone ready to go?”

-Only to be interrupted by her father. Everyone at the table froze.

That’s right. The recital was still happening. Everyone looked between each other.

…This was awkward.

---

Sunny was holding onto his violin backstage. To say he was nervous would be understatement. Frankly, he was terrified. Everything he’s worked for, every moment spent practicing this god forsaken instrument was all for this.

And all the while, he couldn’t help but think about how much he didn’t want to do this.

The talk with Mari earlier was still swirling in his head. If it wasn’t for some clever makeup, he was sure his eyes would still be red and puffy. He just needed to get this over with, and he’d never have to play the violin ever aga-

“Little brother… Everything’s going to be okay.”

A chill shot up Sunny’s spine as Mari’s hand was put onto his shoulder. With a bit of a hesitant expression, Sunny turned back to his older sister standing over him.

“Mari…”

Mari couldn’t help but flinch as she saw the slight amount of fear in Sunny’s eyes. Did their argument really affect him that badly?

“Sunny, I… I’m sorry.”

Sunny, who was entirely expecting to hear a lecture from Mari, couldn’t help but let his mouth open slightly in surprise as she apologized to him.

“I know it’s not an excuse for how I acted, but I was so stressed to make sure this recital was perfect, and I wanted to put on a great show… And all of that piled up until I took it out on you. And I’m sorry for that.”

Sunny was silent, not moving an inch as he waited for Mari to continue. Mari put a hand on both of Sunny’s shoulders and crouched down to match his eye level.

“I just want to let you know that, no matter what, you’re my beloved little brother. It doesn’t matter if our performance isn’t perfect… I still love you, okay? And I’ll always be with you as your big sister. So let’s just go out there and do our best, little brother!”

Sunny felt like he was going to start crying all over again. He wrapped his arms around Mari and gave her as big a hug as he could muster. Mari softly giggled as she returned the gesture to her little brother.

”And now, last but certainly not least, Mari and Sunny Suzuki!”

The two siblings pulled away from each other as their names were called, turning to the stage.

“Well, this is it, little brother. Let’s show them what we’re made of.”

Mari held onto Sunny’s hand as the two of them walked out on stage to roaring applause.

---

Two Weeks Later…

All things must come to an end, and summer was no different… Sunny and Kel were standing at the bus stop, waiting for the bus to come and pick them up for school.

Sunny never minded school that much. Sure, he preferred summer just like any other kid, but he was never adverse to learning and the like.

Of course, Kel seemed to disagree.

“Ugh, I can’t believe it’s time for school already… Why can’t summer just be year-round?”

“Mhm.”

“Like seriously! It’s-”

Kel, who was lost in his ramblings for a bit, turned to the side to see Sunny staring off into space. Not exactly an uncommon thing for Sunny, but Kel was always curious to see what Sunny was thinking about.

“What’s up, Sunny? You’re staring off again.”

“Aubrey isn’t here.”

Kel looked over to where Sunny was staring. Sure enough, Aubrey wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Kel tilted his head in confusion.

“Huh… Yeah, you’re right. Shouldn’t she be here by now? She was here yesterday.”

Sunny didn’t respond. He simply just… continued staring out into space. Why wasn’t Aubrey here? Well, Sunny had an idea, but it wasn’t one he wanted to entertain for very long. If something was going on with her at home…

He shuddered. Sunny really hoped that wasn’t what was happening…

“Sunny! The bus is here!”

Sunny was snapped out of his thoughts by Kel, who was already stepping onto the bus. Sunny, with a slight flush on his face, stepped onto the bus behind him.

“Geez, you’re spacing out a lot today, Sunny! Any more and the teachers will chew you out in class.”

Sunny couldn’t help but give a small smile in response. Kel was always such a goofball… He always puts him in a good mood. Kel smiled as he took his seat right next to Basil, while Sunny sat right across from them. The bus started moving along, and eventually, they passed by Aubrey’s house.

Sunny really wished she was okay.

---

The Next Day…

“She isn’t here again…”

Sunny couldn’t help but frown as he noticed that Aubrey wasn’t at the bus stop once again. Being gone for one day without a word was worrying, but nothing to freak out over… Now though? None of them had heard a word from her on why she wasn’t coming to school. It seemed like Kel was starting to get worried too.

“Yeah… What do you think’s going on, Sunny? You think she’s okay?”

Sunny wanted to tell Kel that she would be fine and that there was nothing to worry about, but he knew for a fact that wasn’t the case. Something was wrong, and he wasn’t going to sit here and do nothing about it. So, he started walking.

“Huh? Hey, Sunny! Where are you going?”

“I’m going to check on Aubrey. I’ll be back.”

Sunny never even turned around as he quickly gave his reply. Kel was just left sputtering in disbelief as he watched his friend continue walking away.

“But… But the bus! It…”

Kel groaned and facepalmed. Well, he couldn’t exactly just leave Sunny by himself…

“Wait up, Sunny!”

Kel ran after Sunny to catch up with him.

After a while, the two of them made it to Aubrey’s house. Sunny, ever the go-getter apparently, walked up and knocked on the door without a word. Kel, on the other hand, had a few words for Aubrey.

“Aubrey, are you in there? You haven’t been showing up to school! Is everything okay?!”

“Kel, would you just shut up?! I’m-”

Aubrey was snapping back at Kel as she opened the door, only to be met with the stoic expression of Sunny. She stopped in her tracks, looking him in the eye for a moment in shock.

“Oh… Hi Sunny.”

“Hi Aubrey.”

Kel could only look between the two as the awkward tension lingered in the air. Was he missing something? She was so dismissive of him, but as soon as she saw it was Sunny, she’s totally fine with it?

“Uh… Yeah! Anyways, Sunny and I came here to check on you! You haven’t been showing up to school lately…”

Sunny nodded his head in confirmation, waiting for Aubrey to respond. Aubrey swallowed, looking between her two friends as she awkwardly chuckled.

“Um… Yeah, sorry… I-I haven’t been feeling great… Yeah. Sorry to worry you guys…”

Sunny tilted his head in confusion. He knew that wasn’t all it was, but when Aubrey made eye contact with him, she just slammed the door in his face. Sunny’s eyes widened a bit as she did that.

“Wh- Hey! Aubrey, what was that for?!”

Kel let out a sigh as he pat Sunny on the back.

“I guess she just needs some time to herself, huh? We’d better head back.”

Sunny hung his head, but silently nodded. Maybe she just wasn’t comfortable talking about it with Kel around? After all, he didn’t know about what was going on…

“Huh? Hey, stop! Wait! Pick us up!”

Sunny turned around to see Kel waving frantically as the bus was about to pass them. Sunny quickly sprung into action and ran towards the bus that was about to pass them up.

Maybe he should’ve thought of this.

“Waaaaaait!”

---

Later That Day…

“Bye Sunny! See ya tomorrow!”

Sunny waved Kel off as the two of them stepped off the school bus. Sunny waited until Kel was inside his house before pivoting and walking over to Aubrey’s.

Aubrey could try to pass it off as sickness as much as she wanted, but Sunny knew better. And as much as he was willing to give her her privacy, he couldn’t sit back and watch as she isolated herself from everyone. He needed to make sure she knew that she was loved and appreciated.

knock knock

Once again, Sunny silently knocked on the door. Once again, Aubrey opened it. Once again, the two of them made eye contact.

“...Sunny…”

“Aubrey. Kel isn’t here with me this time. You can tell the truth.”

Aubrey froze. So, Sunny was able to see right through her. Aubrey grabbed onto her right arm, awkwardly shifting in place as she looked at the ground.

“...Sunny, I think it’d be best if you didn’t know.”

Sunny held his stoic expression as Aubrey said that. After a brief pause, Sunny responded.

“I don’t want to leave you alone.”

“I know, but-”

“AUBREY! WHO’S THAT AT THE DOOR?!”

Aubrey flinched at the loud yelling from behind her. She turned and screamed back.

“N-No one! Just someone trying to sell us something!”

“Tell them to fuck off! We’re not interested!”

Aubrey, who had a worried expression on her face, looked back at Sunny.

“I’m sorry…”

She closed the door on him once again. Sunny had a hard time hiding how hurt he felt as he turned around and started walking home.

He wasn’t going to give up on this. Sunny may be quiet, but he was incredibly stubborn, especially when it came to his friends.

He would get Aubrey out.

---

It had been eight months since then. Every day, Sunny would visit Aubrey’s House after school. Every day, he would knock on her door.

Every day, he was met with no one. Aubrey stopped answering the door after that first encounter.

“What’s on your mind, little bro?”

Sunny was lazily lying down on the couch and staring up at the ceiling when Mari approached him. He slowly rolled over, giving a look to his sister before rolling back onto his back. Mari gave a devious smirk and crossed her arms.

“Little brother of mine, you know what happens when we don’t talk to each other about our feelings…”

The less said about that whole fiasco, the better. Mari sighed and walked over to Sunny, softly parting his hair.

“Is this about Aubrey?”

Sunny was a little surprised to hear her say that. He turned to her with a confused expression.

“How’d you know?”

“You’ve been getting back home from school later than I have lately, Sunny. I thought you were just spending extra time with Kel and Basil, but I saw you walking to Aubrey’s house one time when I was getting home from school. So, I had a decent idea.”

Sunny sighed. He’d never be able to get anything by her, was he? He looked back up at the ceiling.

“...I’m worried about her. She hasn’t come to school this entire year. We’re already almost at the end…”

Mari hummed to herself a little bit, nodding as she continued listening to Sunny.

“I just… She told me about some stuff going on. Like, before this happened. And I can’t help but be worried about her…”

“Hm… Seems to me like she’s going through a tough time. Would you like to go visit her together? Maybe she’d be more receptive to another girl coming to visit!”

Well… Sunny wasn’t so convinced, but it was worth a shot, right? Sunny sighed and hauled himself out of bed, putting on his shoes as he headed out of the house. Mari happily followed behind him. Truth be told, she was pretty worried about Aubrey as well, so this was a good excuse to go and check on her! With that thought in mind, the two of them happily walked down to Aubrey’s house.

However, as they did…

“Mari… Do you smell that?”

Mari looked down at her younger brother in confusion, but when she sniffed… Sure enough, there was something strange.

“Hm, you’re right… That smells like smoke. Is something burning?”

Walking down the road gave them their answer. When Aubrey’s house was in sight…

…They saw the entire house on fire. The Suzuki siblings looked on in horror at the sight they had seen.

“Oh my god… What happened?!”

While Mari looked on in shock, it took her a moment to notice that Sunny wasn’t next to her. Instead, he was rushing straight into the burning house.

“Sunny? Sunny! Sunny, what are you doing?! Don’t go in there!”

“I have to go save Aubrey! Mari, call 9-1-1!”

“How do you even know she’s in there?! Sunny, don’t hurt yourself!”

However, it was too late. Sunny had already rushed into the house, and now he was dealing with the consequences of his actions. The entire house was in flames… rotten, burning wood was falling down from the ceiling. Despite that, Sunny had no time to sit and wait. He had to find Aubrey.

“Aubrey! Aubrey, are you in here?!”

Sunny frantically called out to her, but got no answer. This was bad. Was she already…?

No. Sunny shook his head. Aubrey was alive, he knew it. Sunny looked over to the ladder to Aubrey’s room, quickly rushing over and climbing it up. His entire body was burning up. It hurt to breathe. His eyes were watering from all the smoke. And yet, he had no choice but to keep going. When he reached the hatch, he quickly opened it, despite the burning sensation in his hand.

“Aubrey! Aubrey, are you in here?!”

Sure enough, as Sunny peered into the room, there was Aubrey. Cowering in a corner, terrified. Her expression turned to one of shock as Sunny entered the room.

“S-Sunny?! What are you doing here?!”

Sunny quickly crawled off of the ladder and made his way over to Aubrey.

“No time for that! Aubrey, we have to get out of here! Come on, grab my hand!”

Sunny did his best to reach out to Aubrey, and despite some hesitation, she took his hand. The entire house was falling apart, and Aubrey had no other choice.

Aubrey was with him. Now, all he needed to do was to just get to the entrance to the house. It wasn’t that far from Aubrey’s room! He just needed to-

Snap!

Sunny looked up at the sound of the snap. A large, burning piece of wood was about to fall on top of him. With no other choice, Sunny instinctively blocked it with his left arm.

“AUGH!”

“Sunny!”

Aubrey screamed out as she saw Sunny collapse to his knees. Sunny’s arm was on fire… the sound of fire trucks were blaring outside… Aubrey was on the verge of complete panic.

“Sunny, say something! Please!”

The tears in her eyes were becoming worse. She could barely see. There was another figure standing around the door. There was help? The person was saying something, but she couldn’t hear. All she could focus on was Sunny’s breathing. She had to get him out of here…

…With the last of her strength, Aubrey slowly hauled Sunny out of the building. Once she knew he was safe, she passed out.

“Aubrey! Sunny! Are you two okay?! Plea-”

And then nothing.

Chapter Text

Everything hurt. That’s all Aubrey knew for certain when she opened her eyes and saw the pale white ceiling hanging above her. Everything else felt like a hazy dream to her. What was real? What did she imagine? Did Sunny really…?

Aubrey’s eyes shot open. Sunny. Aubrey quickly sat up in her hospital bed, frantically looking back and forth to see where he was. Her burnt body was begging her to stop, but that wasn’t important right now.

“Sunny?!”

As Aubrey let out a scream, a nurse burst into the hospital room. Aubrey was taken aback at how quickly anyone had managed to get here, but maybe her perception of time was a bit warped. Everything seemed a bit loopy at the moment.

“Oh, you’re awake! I apologize for the rude awakening. How are you feeling?”

Aubrey, huffing and puffing, did her best to try and compose herself. Okay… What happened? All she could remember was her house being on fire, and Sunny…

“I-I’m… I’m okay, I think… What happened…? How did I end up here?”

The nurse frowned, taking out a clipboard and scribbling down some notes. Aubrey swallowed a bit as she waited for an answer.

“Well… It seems that your house had caught fire due to a gas leak. By the time the firemen arrived, most of the house had burnt down already.”

Aubrey couldn’t help but notice that the nurse hesitated, almost as if she wasn’t sure how to say the next part. Aubrey had a feeling she knew what was coming.

“...I don’t know how to tell you this. Your parents… They were caught in the fire. There was nothing we could do for them by the time the ambulance arrived. I’m truly sorry.”

Aubrey had a blank expression on her face. That’s all she could get herself to do as she processed that information.

Her parents… Were dead. Just like that, she was all alone.

Why didn’t she feel worse about this?

“Considering how bad the fire had already gotten, I’m shocked that that boy decided to rush in… But because he did, he managed to save your life.”

That’s right. Sunny rushed in… and saved her. Aubrey looked up at the nurse.

“Um… Is he okay? The boy… Sunny?”

The nurse gave Aubrey a curious look before turning to the door.

“Oh… Yes, he’s okay. Right now he just needs his rest, but he’ll be okay.”

Aubrey let out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding when she heard that. She… She was glad Sunny was okay. If he wasn’t… She didn’t know what she would have done.

Right as Aubrey was about to ask another question, the door to the room opened a crack. From the crack peeked- Mari?

“Um… Sorry if I’m interrupting anything, but may I come in?”

The nurse gave Mari a soft smile, nodding her head as she exited the room. Once the nurse was gone, Mari walked into the room with a sad smile. Once she saw Aubrey, she started tearing up.

“Aubrey… I missed you so much. I’m so glad you’re okay…”

Mari leaned forward and softly wrapped Aubrey up.

Aubrey couldn’t hold it back anymore. She started sobbing into Mari’s shoulder.

“I-I missed you too, M-Mari… I-I’m sorry…”

Mari softly rubbed Aubrey’s back.

“Shhhhh… There’s no need to apologize. I know you had your reasons… Everything’s going to be okay.”

Aubrey just sniveled in response. As much as she wanted to hug Mari for the rest of eternity, her burns were begging her to stop. Aubrey sucked in air through her teeth as she laid back down. Thankfully, it seemed like Mari didn’t notice.

“So… Have the doctors already told you what happened.”

Aubrey nodded her head. She put her hands down in her lap and looked down.

“I… I don’t know what to do, Mari… I lost everything. My parents, my house… my friends…”

Tears started forming in Aubrey’s eyes as she covered her face with her hands.

“I-I’m all alone… My parents were all I had left! I… I have nowhere to go! I-”

Aubrey stopped as she felt Mari take her hand. Aubrey looked Mari in the eye, who was simply giving her a soft smile.

That smile… The smile of someone who Aubrey saw as a sister. Someone she looked up to more than anyone else. How long had it been since she saw that smile? Frankly, Aubrey lost count after the first three weeks. And yet, here she was seeing it again.

“Aubrey… Everything is going to be okay. Sunny and I are going to be here for you, no matter what. That crazy boy ran in there to get you, so I think he still considers you a close friend.”

Aubrey was on the verge of collapse again. She wiped some tears away with her arm.

“Y-You’re too nice to me, Mari… I missed you so much…”

Mari softly giggled.

“I missed you too, Aubrey. Glad to have you back.”

---

Frankly, Mari had no idea where to go from here. As much as she acted like the brave older sister of the group… She was still just a 16 year old, almost 17 year old girl. To say she was underprepared for this situation would be an understatement.

How was she going to help a girl who just lost everything she’s ever owned? A girl who’s isolated herself from everyone? A girl who just lost her FAMILY?! Mari couldn’t even begin to imagine what Aubrey must be going through right now. All she could do was be there for a close friend of hers, someone she considered a little sister.

The door to the room opened. Oh thank goodness, her parents were here. Even if she didn’t expect them to be top tier therapists, they could at least help her out a bit. Mari’s Mother looked around the room.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Aubrey… I thought this was Sunny’s room.”

Mari smiled and shook her head.

“Sunny’s still asleep right now. The doctor said he needed to rest up.”

Mari’s Mom walked up to Aubrey, bending down to eye level as she put a small smile on her face.

“Aubrey, sweetie… Have you been alright? We haven’t seen you with the others in quite some time. Did something happen?”

Aubrey shifted a bit in her bed, looking down to the side as Mrs. Suzuki asked that question. Seems like it was an uncomfortable topic. Thankfully, it seemed like the adults in the room picked up on Aubrey’s discomfort and decided to change topics.

“Well, I suppose that doesn’t matter. The reason we’re here is, well… We were wondering if you had anywhere else to stay. We heard about what happened and… we wanted to make sure you were safe.”

Aubrey shook her head. She didn’t know why, but trying to have a discussion with Sunny’s Mom like this felt… very awkward. It’s like the words were getting caught in her mouth. It didn’t seem that Mrs. Suzuki minded, but…

“Well, if you have nowhere to go… We were thinking it’d be okay if you stayed with us for a while.”

Mari’s Dad finally spoke up, and Aubrey was blown away.

Stay… with the Suzukis? Mari would be my actual big sister…?

“Um… I-I think… I’d like that…”

Mari smiled, softly patting Aubrey on the head as she did.

“That’s great! Don’t worry, we’ll make sure to get you all set up. I’m sure Sunny’s fine with sleeping on the couch!”

While Aubrey gave a small smile at Mari’s joke, Mari’s Mother was less than pleased.

“He is not going to be sleeping on the couch, young lady! We will figure something else out.”

Mrs. Suzuki sighed and turned to Aubrey.

“Don’t worry, sweetie. We’ll make sure you have a place to stay.”

The four of them all began chatting a bit, though it was unfortunately cut short by a nurse entering the room. She told everyone that visiting hours were over, and so the Suzukis went home. Aubrey smiled and waved as they left, laying back down in her bed.

…

…Why didn’t any of them visit Sunny while they were here?

---

A Few Days Later…

“So, you wanna go visit Sunny? The doctors are finally letting us go and see him!”

Aubrey’s progression was going swimmingly. The doctors said she escaped with minor burns and mostly passed out due to the smoke in her lungs. At this point, she was free to get up and move around if necessary.

So, when she was met with the opportunity to go and visit Sunny, she happily accepted.

“Great! Let’s go!”

Mari helped Aubrey out of the hospital bed and began walking down the hallway. She’d never been in a hospital before, but even when she was simply watching them on TV, she never appreciated how… stale everything looked. It freaked her out.

“Now Aubrey, I will say… Sunny’s in rough shape. He’s going to be okay, but I need you to promise me that you won’t freak out or blame yourself when you see him, okay?”

Well that wasn’t good. Aubrey bit her lip. Was he really that bad off? Despite Aubrey’s mental protests, she nodded her head. Mari took a deep breath and opened the door to Sunny’s hospital room.

Aubrey couldn’t hold back her gasp.

There he was… Sunny Suzuki, the boy who saved her from the fire. Clearly, he paid the price for it. His body was covered with scars and severe burns. She was expecting his body to be in bad shape, but… his skin was discolored in multiple places. There was a harsh burn on his right cheek… the entire right side of his body was a deep, crimson red. The number of bandages on his body frightened her. He looked closer to a mummy than a normal human… The bandages covering his right shoulder were stained red ever so slightly.

That was where the piece of wood hit him…

It was hard to tell that this was the same boy who she had known as a kid.

Mari softly squeezed her hand. Needless to say, Aubrey felt a lot better knowing that Mari was here for her. She took a deep breath and walked over next to Sunny.

“Hey Sunny… It’s Aubrey.”

Sunny softly opened his eyes, turning over slightly in his bed to look Aubrey in the eyes. Aubrey had to choke back a sob as she saw how slowly he moved.

“Aubrey… Are you okay?”

Aubrey couldn’t believe her ears. Why couldn’t this dork just think of himself for once?! She let out a choked sob and nodded her head. It was gonna be a lot harder to hold the tears back.

Sunny smiled. “That’s good… I’m glad.”

Aubrey bit her lip. She didn’t want to cry in front of Sunny… She really didn’t. But god dammit, Sunny was making it very difficult.

“Why…?”

Sunny tilted his head.

“Why what?”

“Why did you run into the house? It… It was on fire! You could’ve died! How’d you even know I was in there?!”

Sunny maintained his blank, stoic expression as he allowed Aubrey to speak. To him, it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“You’ve kept yourself holed up in there for 6 months. The chances that you weren’t in there when I saw the house burning were low.”

Sunny lowered his gaze.

“Besides… I couldn’t just leave you in there. I wanted to make sure you were okay…”

Yup, here come the tears. Aubrey was gripping the bed sheets to try and keep herself stable.

“Why…? Why for me…? I’ve been ignoring you this whole time…”

Sunny shook his head, slowly raising a hand to take Aubrey’s into his.

“...You’re my friend. I didn’t want you to be alone.”

Aubrey couldn’t handle it any longer. She started bawling, leaning forward and hugging Sunny’s neck as all the repressed emotions spilled out of her. Sunny, with all the strength he could muster, hugged her back.

“I’m so sorry, Sunny! I-I… I-I never should’ve… I never should’ve left! I just… Everything with Mom… A-And Dad was so angry… And I just didn’t- But I did-”

Mari was going to have to keep note of some of what Aubrey said for later. For now, she simply leaned forward and joined the hug.

“Aubrey, it’s okay… We know you had your reasons. We were in the area because we were coming to check on you, after all.”

Aubrey sniffled, smiling at Mari as she sat back up.

“Th-Thank you… I don’t deserve this…”

Mari huffed, keeping her arms wrapped around Aubrey as she scolded her.

“None of that talk, little missy! You deserve every good thing that happens to you, and I won’t take no for an answer!”

Aubrey couldn’t help but giggle. It really did feel like old times… She missed these two so much.

“Sunny! We brought you some cookies! Hero- Huh?”

…Well this was awkward. Kel and Aubrey were now looking directly at each other with shocked expressions on their faces. Aubrey cursed herself internally. Of course she should’ve expected Kel to be here! Why wouldn’t he show up to support his friend?

“Aubrey?! What are you doing here?”

Aubrey puffed out her cheeks. 6 months had gone by and Kel was still as STUPID as ever!

“What do you mean?! I got hurt in the fire too, Kel!”

Kel huffed and crossed his arms.

“I know that! I mean why are you in this room? Shouldn’t you be resting?”

Aubrey huffed right back, crossing her arms and looking away. Same, stupid Kel…

“...I’m fine. I just wanted to visit Sunny.”

“Okay…”

An awkward silence lingered over the room as the two of them stopped talking… A silence that was only broken when Basil and Hero entered the room. Hero was the first to break the silence.

“Kel, what did I say about running in the hospital? You’re going to-”

Hero’s eyes landed on Aubrey, and he instantly became a bit more aware of his surroundings.

“Oh, Aubrey! I didn’t… I didn’t think you would be out and about.”

“Yeah…”

Basil gave Aubrey a small wave as Hero awkwardly chuckled at the conversation breaking down once again. Aubrey gave a small wave back.

“Wait, I almost forgot!”

Kel turned to Sunny, bringing up a bag full of chocolate chip cookies and handing them over.

“We made you a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies! We wanted to do something for you while you were in the hospital, so we went from the classic! We even managed to get Hero to not do Oatmeal Raisin!”

Sunny couldn’t help but chuckle at that, much to Hero’s chagrin.

“Oatmeal Raisin isn’t that bad…”

Mari rolled her eyes and softly flicked Hero on the forehead. Seems like some things will never change.

“Hero, he’s 13. Let him enjoy chocolate chip cookies.”

Hero grumbled under his breath, and everyone laughed a little. Sunny turned to Kel with a soft smile.

“Thanks for the cookies, guys… I appreciate it.”

Kel’s smile reached ear to ear as he heard Sunny say that.

“Of course! Anything for you! I just hope you recover quickly.”

Sunny nodded his head, putting the cookies on the side table as he sunk back into the pillows. Mari tried to stifle a giggle.

“Looks like Sunny is getting sleepy again. How about we let him get some rest?”

Seems like everyone was on board with that. After saying some goodbyes, the friend group all decided to leave the room.

…Which left them in a very awkward situation. Basil walked over to Aubrey.

“Um… Hi Aubrey. It’s… been a while, huh?”

“Hi Basil.”

Aubrey felt bad. Really, she did. She knew that they hadn’t done anything wrong, but… something was preventing her from really striking up a conversation with them. She didn’t hate them… Right? No, of course not…

Why did this have to be so confusing?!

“Um… I think I’m gonna go back to my hospital room. Bye.”

“Aubrey, wait!”

Kel’s attempt to get Aubrey to stop was met with no response. Aubrey walked off back to her room, leaving the other 4 with concerned expressions.

“What the heck? Aubrey didn’t even give me a response!”

Hero put a hand on Kel’s shoulder.

“Listen, Kel… Think about how Aubrey must be feeling right now after everything. I don’t think it’s anything personal…”

Basil frowned and twiddled his thumbs. Hero had a point… Even if they hadn’t talked to her in forever, did that mean they weren’t friends anymore? Why did Aubrey separate from them in the first place? The flower boy couldn’t help but be worried about his first real friend.

“I just hope she’ll be okay…”

“Don’t worry! I’m sure my family will take good care of her. After all, she’s moving in with us!”

Everything was going to be okay.

---

About A Week Later…

“You must make sure to put this ointment on every day, alright? I know it’s annoying, and you may need help reaching the areas on your back, but it’s necessary to prevent any long term damage to your skin. Come back here when you’re about to run out, and we’ll give you the second bottle.”

Sunny nodded his head, putting the bottle in his pocket as he headed toward the stairs. Well, today was the day that he was finally getting discharged. It had felt like an eternity in this hospital, even if he knew it was less than two weeks. Doing nothing but sleeping and staring at a ceiling was… oddly comforting, if not boring.

“Hello brother! Are you ready to head home?”

Mari and Aubrey were waiting for him in the lobby of the hospital. With a small nod of his head, he began heading out of the hospital and to the car.

“...How’re you feeling?”

Aubrey gave Sunny an innocuous question as Sunny inspected himself up and down.

“...Better. Doctor says I still need to take care of my skin. Warm showers are probably not in my future.”

Aubrey couldn’t help but giggle at what Sunny said. Even someone as stoic as Sunny could crack a few jokes now and then, couldn’t he?

“I’m glad you’re doing better.”

They all loaded up into the car (which was a bit more cramped with one more person than normal…) and began heading home. Mrs. Suzuki looked to the back seat.

“Well, since you’ve been to our house countless times in the past, I don’t think we’ll need to give you a tour. However, we have an air mattress set up in Sunny and Mari’s room. Are you alright with sharing a room with them, sweetie?”

Aubrey smiled and nodded her head. Frankly, there was nothing she wanted more.

“That sounds great… Thank you, ma’am.”

Mrs. Suzuki just laughed.

“You’re more than welcome. Oh, looks like we’re already home.”

Mr. Suzuki pulled the car into the driveway and parked. Everyone exited the car, and after Mr. Suzuki unlocked the door to the house, they all walked in.

Everything was just as Aubrey remembered it… Even down to the stain in the carpet that Kel left one time.

Kel… Ugh, no. Aubrey did not want to think about him right now. Mari grabbed her hand and snapped her out of her thoughts.

“Let’s get you set up in our room, okay?”

Aubrey smiled and nodded, following along after Mari. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad!

“Sunny, are you coming with us?”

No answer. Mari looked behind her with a confused look.

“Sunny?”

Mari gasped. Sunny was huddled into a corner, eyes wide and blankly staring ahead. Mari quickly rushed over and put her hands on his shoulders.

“Sunny, what’s wrong?!”

Sunny weakly looked up at Mari. He still wore that same wide-eyed expression, but seeing Mari helped him calm down a bit.

“I-I… I’m okay. I’ll see… see you guys in the room.”

And with that, Sunny scampered up the steps towards their room. Mari could only look on in confusion.

“...What was that about?”

Aubrey knew. Mari might not have noticed, but Aubrey did. And the amount of guilt she felt was near overwhelming.

Sunny was staring at the fireplace.

Chapter Text

Aubrey slowly walked up the stairs behind Mari. She’s done this countless times before, but the idea that this is where she was going to be living from now on certainly puts it into a different perspective.

Don’t get her wrong, she loved the idea of living with the Suzukis! A sleepover with the Suzuki siblings every single day? That was great! Especially after not seeing them for so long.

…And yet, there was something about this whole situation that was distinctly wrong. It didn’t feel right. Did she deserve this? Did she even want this? Well, whether she wanted it or not didn’t matter. What other choice did she have?

Aubrey shook her head. Talking to herself like this wasn’t going to help her.

Let’s just… get settled and figure it out from there.

As she and Mari stepped into the room, the very first thing they saw was Sunny, laying flat on the air mattress and staring at the ceiling. Aubrey couldn’t help but giggle at him splayed all over the mattress. Sunny had these sort of tendencies that were incredibly charming.

“Sunny… What are you doing?”

Sunny didn’t move an inch. He simply moved his eyes over to where Mari was standing.

“Photosynthesizing.”

Aubrey let out a bit of snort, doing her best to cover her mouth to stop the laughter from escaping. Mari rolled her eyes and walked over, grabbing onto her little brother’s cheek.

“Last I checked, Basil was the plant person around here. We’ve gotta set up this bed for Aubrey, little brother.”

Sunny shook his head and pointed over to his own bed.

“This is my bed now. Aubrey can have my old one.”

Before Mari could begin to protest, Sunny dug himself into the blankets of the air mattress. All the two girls could see of him now was his head popped out, as his entire body was completely wrapped up by blankets. A “Sunny Burrito”, if you will. Mari simply let out a sigh at the scene, though it was clear to Aubrey that Mari was holding back a smile as well. Seems she found Sunny’s antics just as charming as she did.

“Little brother, you’ve been so much more stubborn as of late… You’re too young to be in your rebellious phase!”

Sunny simply huffed, his eyes beginning to close as he began to fall asleep. Mari simply smiled as she led Aubrey over to Sunny’s old bed.

“Well, if Sunny’s going to be this stubborn, I suppose you’ll be taking his old bed. That okay with you?”

Aubrey simply smiled and nodded, walking over to the bed and sliding underneath the covers.

“Thank you two so much… You’ve always been so nice to me…”

Mari smiled, softly parting Aubrey’s hair as she made sure her friend was tucked in and comfortable.

“Anything for a friend, Aubrey! Now sleep tight, okay? Tomorrow’s gonna be another great day!”

Mari walked over to her bed, sliding underneath the covers as she prepared for bed.

…

After a little while, Aubrey was left staring up at the ceiling. So much had happened in such a short amount of time… How was she supposed to process it all?

Her house… all of her possessions… They were all gone. The thought of that killed her as she gripped the bedsheets. Everything she knew about life was taken from her due to a freak accident.

…And yet. Sunny saved her life. Aubrey had secluded herself from them for half a year. She didn’t so much as give them a word as to why. She even slammed the door on Sunny, for God’s sake! He was just worried about her, and she returned the favor by completely ignoring him, despite his several attempts at trying to contact her.

…

And yet, he still ran into a burning house to save her life. Now, his generous family was letting her stay with them. She was in the same room as two of her closest childhood friends. Friends that she entirely ignored.

She didn’t deserve this. She gripped the comforter hard as she rolled over and looked at Sunny. He was well and truly asleep… He looked so peaceful like that. Wrapped up in blankets, his chest rising up and down with each breath… Aubrey couldn’t help but stare at him for a bit.

…That is, until she finally realized what she was doing and turned away. Her face was burning up.

Did I really just do that?! God, there’s something wrong with me…

Aubrey looked around a bit. Seems like no one was watching her…

At least no one was awake for that, but I really should get back to sleep…

As Aubrey shook away those thoughts, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift off into a comfortable sleep.

…

A smirking Mari rolled back over and went to bed. She had seen everything she needed to see~

---

It was dark again. Aubrey could barely see anything as she looked at her strange, dark surroundings. It was nothing but a black void stretching out for as far as Aubrey could see. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t speak. Every attempt to speak came out as nothing. And so, she decided to just stand there, waiting for something to happen.

…

Something happened. Aubrey turned around and saw a faint light source on the ground. Once she saw that it was a small flame, a chill ran down her spine.

No. Not again. She couldn’t handle dealing with this again. She had to RUN.

She still couldn’t move. The flame was slowly getting bigger. No no no no NO NO NO-

The flame was stepped on, and it fizzled out. Aubrey opened her eyes and looked up to see Sunny, staring at her with the same stoic expression she’s grown familiar with.

“Wake up.”

Huh? What did that mean? Aubrey gave him a confused expression, but he simply continued speaking.

“Come on, Aubrey… It’s time to wake up.”

---

“Aubrey… We’ve got a lot to do today…”

Sunny was softly shaking Aubrey, doing his best to wake her up without disturbing her too much. As much as he wanted to avoid it, he would get the airhorn if absolutely necessary.

Thankfully for Aubrey’s ears, she slowly opened her eyes in response to Sunny’s shaking.

“Mm… Morning, Sunny…”

Sunny simply looked down at her as she slowly got up. Aubrey was used to the various Sunny-isms, but his tendency to just look at people was a little strange at times, she had to admit.

“...What is it, Sunny?”

Sunny flinched at what Aubrey said, taking a step back and scratching the back of his head.

“Oh… It’s nothing. Mari’s making breakfast downstairs if you wanna have some.”

Aubrey sleepily rubbed her eyes. Sure enough, the smell of something delicious was making its way up the stairs and to the bedroom. Aubrey gave a nod as she slipped out of bed.

“Mm… Thanks Sunny… I’m just gonna get ready for the day, first.”

Sunny nodded, turning to leave. However, before he left, he paused and turned towards Aubrey.

“By the way, Mari said you can borrow any of her clothes.”

With that, Sunny left. Aubrey was a bit surprised to hear that, and it definitely woke her up a bit. Mari was fine with lending her clothes? Aubrey looked down at the floor.

“She didn’t have to do that…”

…Aubrey walked over to the closet and started looking through the clothes. As much as it would be embarrassing to wear Mari’s old clothes… she didn’t exactly have any other options. Aubrey doubted that anyone in this house would accept her wearing her normal clothes as an option.

As she was rummaging through the clothes (thankfully Mari’s, not Sunny’s), Aubrey eventually stumbled upon what she could only assume was her school uniform. There were multiples of it… and Aubrey couldn’t help but be attached to it. Mari always looked so cute in this uniform… With a nod of her head, Aubrey scooped up the uniform and brought it to the bathroom with her to freshen up.

---

While Aubrey was getting ready for the day, Sunny walked down the stairs. He had to admit, having Aubrey in the house as a full time resident was… a little embarrassing. He was so used to it just being him and Mari that having another person there, even if it was a close friend, definitely shifted things for him.

…Not that he thought it was a bad thing. It was just… different.

Sleeping on an air mattress probably had something to do with how different his sleep felt, too.

Regardless of all that, Sunny had some unfinished business. Last night, he saw something in the fireplace, something the others couldn’t see. Maybe Aubrey could’ve, but she didn’t react as strongly as he did. Regardless of that, he knew it was there, and he was going to confront it.

Besides, he wanted to wait for Aubrey before having breakfast. If he and Mari got a headstart on the pancakes, there wouldn’t be any left for Aubrey when they were done. So, he decided to wait. Sunny sat down on the couch, staring intently at the fireplace.

…

Nothing was showing up. Sunny had a little bit of a pout at that. Really? After all of that, the weird thing doesn’t even show up? What a letdown.

…Well, Aubrey still wasn’t awake yet. Gotta pass the time somehow. Sunny looked back at the fireplace, and decided to let his imagination run wild.

A dark wizard emerged from the ashes of the fireplace. It was a strange man… he had lanky bones and a dark gray beard. He raised his hands up to the air and started casting lightning.

”Ahahahaha! This kingdom is all mine! Now perish under the might of the great Hrothgar!”

Sunny narrowed his eyes at the new sorcerer that had appeared. This guy was a threat… If he didn’t do anything, he was going to attack his friends! Sunny was about to stand up and fight, but he was stopped by Mari.

”Don’t worry, little brother! Let me handle this!”

Mari, clothed in a traditional white mage outfit, held her staff up and pointed it at the sorcerer. The sorcerer fired a blast of lightning towards Mari, who easily deflected it.

”It seems you have some talents, young lady! However, I will not be defeated! I call upon Zeus, the god of lightning! Grant me the power to-”

Before he could finish his little speech, Hrothgar was smacked in the back of the head by Aubrey, who was wearing a full barbarian outfit. Sunny couldn’t help but blush as he saw her.

”Hah! That’s what you get for messing with my friends!”

Aubrey turned over to Sunny and winked, causing the blushing boy to flinch from embarrassment.

“Sunny?”

Sunny was snapped out of his reverie by a familiar voice. The younger Suzuki sibling turned to the side and saw Aubrey at the bottom of the stairs, head tilted as she looked at Sunny.

“You were staring off into space there. Is everything okay?”

Sunny coughed, nodding his head as he turned to the kitchen.

“Yeah. I was waiting for you so we could have breakfast.”

Aubrey smiled at Sunny.

“...You were daydreaming again, weren’t you?”

Sunny blushed and scratched the back of his head. Looks like he was caught in the act…

“Maybe…”

Aubrey giggled. “Sunny, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I think it’s kinda cool that you can imagine all that stuff in your head!”

Sunny’s voice got caught in his throat as Aubrey said that. He was… not expecting her to say that. Without so much as a second thought, Sunny turned around and started heading for the kitchen.

“L-Let’s go check on the food!”

He was way too cute sometimes.

---

Sunny stepped into the kitchen with Aubrey at his side. He was starving… As much as he didn’t mind waiting for Aubrey, his stomach felt differently. It was growling like a damn tiger as he awaited his food.

“Mari? Are you in here?”

As Sunny stepped into the kitchen, he noticed that neither Mari nor his Mom were here. Where were they? Sunny looked around the kitchen-

!!!

Sunny fell backwards, scrambling to the corner of the room. Aubrey looked confused until she saw what Sunny was looking at.

…The eggs were cooking. There was a small flame that was cooking the eggs underneath. Sunny was shaking in the corner, while Aubrey was just… looking. Something about the fire… As much as it reminded her of one of the worst days of her life, she couldn’t help but keep looking at it. It was… enticing. Something about it… Made her happy.

Sunny couldn’t look away. He was about to cry. All he could see was a monstrous fire bursting from the pan. A fire that was screaming in agony. It was hard to hear anyone else. It was hard to see anything else. All he could sense was the overwhelming fire surrounding him. Sunny just stared, unable to move from his spot as the fire approached. This was it. He was going to die.

“-nny! Sunny! Sunny, are you okay?!”

The fire disappeared. It looks like his Mom came in and hovered over Sunny as Mari came over to him. Sunny looked over to his sister, a distant look in his eyes as he took in the concerned look of his sister.

“...Mari…”

His mother rushed over and wrapped her arms around Sunny. Sunny snapped back to reality and hugged her back.

“Oh dear, is everything okay? What happened? You can tell me…”

Sunny nodded his head, keeping his arms around his Mom as he slowly stood up.

“I-I’m okay… Just… The fire…”

Mari flinched. Turning to the stove, she quickly ran over and turned it off. Of course Sunny would be scared of fire, what was she thinking?!

“Oh god, Sunny, I’m so sorry… I-”

“It’s okay…”

Sunny shook his head.

“You couldn’t have known. It’s fine.”

Mari didn’t really like accepting that as an answer, but considering her little brother’s body language, it seemed more like he didn’t want to continue this topic any longer.

“A-Alright…”

The older Suzuki sibling clapped her hands together and smiled.

“Either way! Are you two ready for pancakes? I was making some eggs too, but they might be a bit longer…”

Aubrey was snapped out of her reverie at the mention of pancakes. She, along with Sunny, both had big smiles on their faces as they ran over to where the cooked pancakes were. As they happily scooped up their food and went to the dining room table. Once the two were out of sight, Mari looked to her Mom with a worried expression.

“...I’m worried about him, Mom.”

Mrs Suzuki simply nodded.

“Me too, dear. Me too.”

---

After a mostly silent breakfast, the three kids loaded into the car while Mrs Suzuki sat in the driver’s seat.

“So, you said we’re doing some chores today, Mrs. Suzuki? What do we need to do?”

Aubrey asked politely. Mrs Suzuki simply smiled as she turned the car on.

“We’re getting what you need to survive. Clothes, toiletries, school supplies, and your own bed. Can’t have you sleeping on that air mattress every night.”

Mari giggled, turning around to look at her brother.

“Actually Mom, I’m sure you’ll be happy to know that Sunny let Aubrey sleep in his bed last night. Isn’t that right, Little Brother?”

Sunny awkwardly blushed and turned away. He never did like getting put on the spot like this.

“Is that so? How sweet of you, Sunny!”

Aubrey shifted. Were they really going to be buying that much stuff…? That… She didn’t feel like she deserved it.

“Um… Y-You don’t have to get all that for me…”

Mrs Suzuki was about to step on the gas to pull out of the driveway before she stopped. She turned around to Aubrey with a serious expression.

“Sweetie, as adorable as you look wearing Mari’s clothes, they barely fit you. We offered to let you stay with us, and so you’re going to get everything you need to survive and thrive. I’m not letting you try and act fine when you’re not being given the bare minimum.”

Aubrey felt tears in her eyes. She sniffled, wiping the tears away as she let out a choked up answer.

“Th-Thank you…”

Why were they all so nice to her? Was it really possible to have a family as kind and caring as this one?

…Of course it was. The Suzukis have always been like this. The nicest, sweetest, most wonderful people in the world.

Mrs Suzuki, satisfied with Aubrey’s reaction, pulled them out of the driveway and started heading to the nearest city of Nearby. Conversation was light on the way… Sunny and Aubrey weren’t exactly keen on talking after what happened this morning, so it was mostly Mrs Suzuki and Mari catching up on how school was doing.

School… Aubrey had almost forgotten. She had skipped school for the last 6 months. How in the world was she supposed to catch up? It was almost the end of the school year already… There was no way she was going to be able to pass. Would that mean she’d be held back a year?

…Would she not be in the same class as Sunny? That thought worried her. She turned to her left, looking at Sunny who was simply watching the clouds from out the window. Most likely daydreaming again… Was this something he was worried about? No, why would he? He already does so much for her, why would he even bother being worried about something like this? It was dumb. With a soft sigh, Aubrey looked back down at her feet.

“Alright, let’s get to work, kids!”

Once Mrs Suzuki pulled into the parking lot, everyone got out of the car and followed her into the store. Of course, Mrs Suzuki picked Target. Aubrey wasn’t listening too intently to the conversation in the car, but apparently she chose it because “It has everything!”. From what Aubrey remembers, she wasn’t exactly wrong. Targets always seemed like such a massive place whenever she showed up.

“Alright… I still have plenty of general items for us to get while we’re here, so I’ll take care of those. Sunny, you can come with me. Mari, do you mind taking Aubrey to get everything she needs? Remember; Toiletries, clothes, and school supplies. Your father and I can order the new bed when we go out together.”

Sunny simply just nodded his head, silently walking aside his mom as they headed to the produce aisle. Mari turned to Aubrey, smiling with that ever so sweet smile as she took Aubrey’s hand.

“Well, this is exciting! Just you and me shopping. When was the last time we just spent time together like this?”

Aubrey couldn’t help the bubbling sensation of happiness within her. Spending time alone with Mari… Even when the friend group was all together, how often did she get to do that? She loved Mari. Always had, always will. She was the big sister she never had. So to have this time where she can just… do silly stuff with Mari… It reminded her of simpler times. And it made her very nostalgic.

“I… I don’t remember. But I’m looking forward to it!”

Aubrey and Mari smiled at each other as they walked into the Target. As much as she would love to talk to Aubrey 1 on 1 for a while, there was work to do.

“Okay… First thing’s first, let’s get you some new clothes. Oh! Speaking of which, Aubrey. You look really cute in my school uniform!”

Aubrey bashfully just shrunk in on herself as Mari said that. Sure, Mrs Suzuki had said it earlier, but it was a bit different when someone your own age said it. It felt… nice.

“Y-You think so?”

“I know so!”

And I think Sunny likes it, too~

Mari had a smug smile on her face as they walked toward the clothing area. Now wasn’t a good time, but she was going to tease Aubrey like crazy. After what she saw last night? Mari was never going to let it go.

Aubrey’s gonna learn exactly what it means to live with me~

The two of them walked over to the clothing section, and they both started looking for some clothes that would work for Aubrey.

“Aubrey, look at this! Isn’t this just like your old nightgown?”

Sure enough, Mari had picked out a soft purple nightgown that looked similar to Aubrey’s old one. Frankly, it was pretty nostalgic seeing something like that again…

…But would it be good to wear? Aubrey wasn’t entirely sure… She held it up against her body.

“Does it still look good? It’s been a while since I’ve worn something like this…”

Mari giggled and pat Aubrey’s head.

“I think it still looks great. It might have been a while, but you’re still the same Aubrey that I was friends with.”

Aubrey gave a sad smile. If only that were really true… Regardless, Aubrey decided to go for it. She picked up some other basic sets of clothes, though not without Mari admonishing her for leaning towards the cheaper side in terms of price.

“You should prioritize what you like, Aubrey! Don’t worry too much about the price, we can cover it!”

She didn’t know what she did to deserve this family. She really didn’t.

Regardless, once they felt they had enough clothes, the two of them moved onto toiletries. Aubrey didn’t think this would take too long, especially since she knew the types of brands she liked, but Mari seemed to have different plans. When they reached the haircare section, she seemed to have an idea of some sort and ran off. Just a few seconds later, she returned with two bottles in her hands.

“Heeeeey Aubrey! Look what I found!”

As Aubrey took a closer look, she-

…No way.

“Hair dye? You… You remembered our promise?”

Mari giggled and nodded.

“Sure did! We never got to do it with the recital and school happening, but now would be the perfect time! What d’ya say?”

Aubrey bit her lip. She wouldn’t lie… She was DESPERATE to do something like that. She always wanted her hair to be pink, and to match with Mari… It was like a dream come true.

But she knew that wasn’t all it was. She wanted to change. She wanted to throw her old life behind her. Aubrey didn’t want to be the same, scared little girl that always needed other people to help her. Sure, maybe her hair being pink wouldn’t necessarily help with that… But it still meant a lot to her regardless.

“Uh… Aubrey? You there? You’re spacing out on me.”

Aubrey snapped back to attention, turning to Mari and chuckling.

“O-Oh, yeah! I’d love to dye our hair! I was just trying to imagine how it would look when we’re both done. I think we’ll look great!”

Mari looked at Aubrey with a serious expression. She leaned forward and went to eye level with the younger girl.

“Aubrey. You know you can’t hide anything from me, right?”

Aubrey froze. A chill ran down her spine as Mari said those words. Oh god. Was she already discovered? She didn’t want to burden Mari with all of these emotions she was feeling…

“Wh- I mean, I don’t…”

Mari smirked.

“You’re imagining Sunny’s reaction, aren’t you?~”

Oh. That’s what it was about. Even if Aubrey was relieved that her secret wasn’t revealed, she couldn’t help but have an intense reaction to what Mari said.

“N-No! That’s… That’s not it! I just… I was just imagining my hair! That’s all!”

Mari maintained her signature smirk as she stood up straight once more.

“Suuuuure~ You’re not as sneaky as you think, Little Aubrey! I saw you looking at him last night~”

Oh god. Mari was awake during that?! Aubrey’s face was burning up, turning away from Mari and heading off.

“W-We still need to get school supplies, right? Hahahaha! Let’s go!”

With that, Aubrey scampered out of the section, much to Mari’s amusement.

“Oh Auuuuubrey~ You can’t run foreverrrr~”

Sadly, the shopping trip was coming to an end. Despite the initial teasing, Mari and Aubrey spent the last half discussing what Mari had been up to. It was… nice, being able to talk to her friend again. The two girls met up with Mrs Suzuki at the checkout line, pooling their items together. However, Aubrey was concerned.

“Where’s Sunny?”

Before Mrs Suzuki could even respond, Sunny arrived. Aubrey’s face lit up as she saw what he was holding.

It was a big Mr. Plantegg.

“I wanted to get Aubrey one more thin-”

Aubrey wrapped her arms around Sunny, a wide smile on her face as she held him tight.

“Thank you thank you thank you Sunny! I love it!”

Sunny smiled. Yeah, this was a successful shopping trip.

Chapter Text

After a long trip back home, Aubrey was in ecstatic spirits. She had been hugging the Mr. Plantegg that Sunny got her ever since they left Target, and it seemed like she wasn’t going to let go for a very long time. Mari couldn’t help but smile at how happy she was.

“You really like that plushie, huh? It suits you!”

Aubrey giggled and twirled a bit with Mr. Plantegg.

“Of course I do! It’s just… really nostalgic. Thanks so much, Sunny!”

Sunny smiled and gave Aubrey a silent thumbs up as he entered the house, bending down and softly petting Mewo as he did.

Mrs Suzuki was the last one to enter the house, and she looked at her watch as she did. 4 PM already… How did time fly by so quickly? She let out a sigh and shook her head.

“Aubrey dear, sorry for not telling you until now, but we got you a tutor to help you catch up on your studies. He should be here in about half an hour, so make sure to be ready for that.”

Aubrey was a little saddened by this, but she nodded her head. While she wanted to spend as much time with Sunny and Mari as possible… The last thing she wanted was to fall a year behind her friends.

…Well, friend. Mostly just Sunny. A pang of guilt went through her as she thought that, but she shook it off. She would reunite with them when she was ready…

In the meantime, she followed Sunny to the living room. Sunny pulled out… a sketchbook? That’s right, she had forgotten that he liked to sketch stuff occasionally. Aubrey couldn’t help but peek over Sunny’s shoulder as she watched him start sketching something.

Sunny was painfully aware of Aubrey’s presence, and his face betrayed his emotions. He tried to hide this by holding the sketchbook closer to his face, to middling success. Hey, at least Aubrey couldn’t really tell. Regardless, Sunny began sketching out the best moment of today.

After about 20 minutes, Aubrey let out an inaudible gasp as she realized what Sunny was sketching. It was her… her and the excited expression she had when she got Mr. Plantegg from him. She couldn’t help but smile at his art.

“Aw, Sunny… The art’s so good!”

Sunny turned to Aubrey for a split second before bashfully turning away from her once again.

“O-Oh, um… Thank you… I just really liked how excited you were when you got Mr. Plantegg…”

Aubrey giggled, backing away from Sunny a bit as she continued to hold the plushie. Sunny… He loved seeing Aubrey smile. He couldn’t lie, he missed seeing it during the 6 months that she had locked herself away in her house. It just… It made him feel at home.

ding dong

Sunny and Aubrey looked up towards the door. That must be the tutor his mom was referring to, huh…? Sunny closed his sketchbook and stood up.

“I think that’s your tutor, Aubrey. You should probably get the door.”

Aubrey sighed and nodded her head. She liked these quiet moments with Sunny… Regardless, she got up and went to the door. She unlocked it, and-

“Hi, Aubrey! Are you ready to get caught up on schoolwork? I’ve got all the missing assignments from the school!”

Aubrey froze. Her pupils dilated as she looked up, and-

Hero. It was Hero. Hero was her tutor.

“...Aubrey? Is everything oka-”

slam!

Aubrey slammed the door on Hero. No. No no no no, this was NOT happening. She turned away and ran up the stairs into her shared bedroom with the Suzuki siblings. Sunny, watching the whole interaction, went up after her.

The loud slam of the door caught Mari’s attention, who walked over and opened the door to a very confused Hero.

“Hero…? What was that all about?”

Hero, only managing to look a little bit less frazzled, turned to Mari and flashed a bright smile.

“Oh! Well, I’m here to help tutor Aubrey, and-”

Mari’s expression soured. Oh. So THAT’S what the issue was about, then. Her Mom mistakenly thought everything with Aubrey and her old friends was peachy, and since she didn’t tell Aubrey who her tutor was, she freaked out. Mari let out an exasperated sigh.

“Okay… Come in. Aubrey’s probably… gonna need a minute, okay?”

Hero still looked confused, but he nodded his head as he walked over to the living room. He put down all the various assignments, quizzes, and tests that Aubrey missed, as well as the necessary textbook materials that were given by the school.

“I just didn’t think that Aubrey would ever slam the door on me like that. Did I do something wrong?”

Mari hesitated. How was she going to explain this to Hero without hurting his feelings?

“No, you didn’t do anything wrong, it’s just… Aubrey’s still going through a lot, okay? It was hard enough to get her to open up to me and Sunny. Please don’t take it personally, Hero…”

The older Rodriguez sibling couldn’t do much but nod his head and sink into the couch.

“I see… How has she been, by the way? I haven’t been able to check in since the hospital visit, but is she recovering okay? How about Sunny?”

Mari, for some reason, turned towards the kitchen.

“They’ve been okay. They don’t really mention their burns much anymore, though I can tell Sunny is toughing through them.”

Mari frowned before continuing.

“...I think Sunny might be afraid of fire, though. This morning, when we were cooking the eggs, he was cowering in the corner when he saw the stove.”

Hero grimaced, his expression softening as he responded to Mari.

“That’s… understandable. I just hope both of them are going to be okay…”

Mari looked up the stairs to where Aubrey and Sunny ran off.

“Yeah. Me too.”

---

Aubrey slammed the door shut behind her as she dashed into her room. God, she wasn’t ready for this. Why did it have to be Hero who was tutoring her? She wasn’t ready for this! There was so much that she needed to parse through, and reconnecting with her old friends was the LAST thing she wanted to do right now.

Knock knock

A knock on the door snapped Aubrey out of her thoughts. She opened it up a peek to see that it was Sunny.

“...Can I come in?”

Aubrey slowly nodded her head, opening the door just enough for Sunny to come in before closing it again.

“...”

“...”

The two of them sat in silence for a bit as they allowed the atmosphere to settle. After a minute or two, Sunny spoke up.

“It’s about Hero, isn’t it?”

Aubrey nodded her head.

“I just… I’m not ready to see him. It’s been so long, and I just… I don’t know.”

Sunny tilted his head.

“Wouldn’t you want to reconnect with him, though? He’s our friend.”

Aubrey bit her lip. She really didn’t want to explain this, but she felt that if she didn’t… Sunny would keep asking about it.

“...Aubr-?”

“It feels like he abandoned me, okay?!”

Sunny was taken aback by Aubrey’s sudden outburst. It’s clear that she kept it soft enough so that Hero and Mari couldn’t hear, but Sunny could feel the frustration emanating off of her.

“Six months! I spent six months trapped in that house, waiting for someone to get me out, and yet there was nothing I could do! I was stuck there!”

Sunny grimaced and bit his lip.

“...Doesn’t that mean you should hate me?”

Aubrey huffed and shook her head.

“Sunny, you were there every single day, knocking on your door to check on me. How many times did Hero come to visit? Not ONCE. Not once did he EVER come and try to help! Not ONCE did Basil come to help!”

Aubrey scoffed and turned to the side.

“And Kel?! Kel showed up on the first day because you DRAGGED him there, and not again! He’s probably out with his new friends because he forgot all about me, huh?!”

Sunny was looking at her in shock as she went on this rant. He’d seen Aubrey mad at Kel before, but that was usually in good fun. Never, never had Sunny ever seen Aubrey this angry. It was a bit hard to watch, but he knew he had to be there for his friend. Aubrey saw Sunny’s concerned expression and bit her lip.

“...Is it selfish of me to have wanted to come and save me from that hellhole? I don’t want to be mad at them, but every time I think about it, it just feels like they abandoned me! Like the entire time, I was a replaceable part of the friend group and they could dump me at any time! Did I even ma-”

Aubrey was cut off by a pair of arms wrapping themselves around her. The words were caught in her throat as Sunny gave her a soft squeeze.

“...You’re not replaceable. You’re my friend, and I will always think of you as such.”

Aubrey sniffled, tears forming in her eyes as she hugged Sunny back. The hug only lasted for about a minute, but it was the best Aubrey had felt in a while.

Once Sunny pulled away from the hug, he continued.

“...I’m sure the others had their reasons. I don’t think it’s because they don’t care about you. We’re all friends, right?”

Aubrey wiped the tears away and nodded her head. Sunny took her head and guided her to the door.

“Let’s go back downstairs, okay?”

“Okay…”

Sunny always knew just how to make her feel better.

---

“So now, we have to find out how much x equals in this equation. If 3x equals 6, then how much does x equal?”

Aubrey tapped the eraser of her pencil against her lips as she thought about it. She was starting to catch up on basic algebra, and frankly, she had no idea what all these letters meant.

“Um… Is there any easier way to do this?”

Hero smiled and nodded. He took out a piece of paper and started scribbling on it.

“So, with these types of questions, the goal is to have the letter be completely on its own. To do that, we do the opposite of anything on the x side to both sides. For example, this equation is multiplying whatever x is by 3, right?”

Hero drew a line under both sides, putting a 3 under both of the lines.

“In that case, we can divide both sides by 3 to get our answer. 3x becomes just x, and the 6 becomes 2. Because of that, we know that x equals 2. Does that make sense?”

“Ohhhhh…”

Aubrey let out a bit of understanding at Hero’s explanation. She started applying that to the other problems, but not before softly muttering.

“...Thanks, Hero.”

Cripes, this was awkward. Hero was doing the best he could, bless his soul, but trying to form any sort of significant conversation with Aubrey was turning out to be difficult. The two of them would often sneak glances at each other, trying to figure out what the other was thinking. It was incredibly tense.

Mari and Sunny were doing their own homework across the room, but even they weren’t safe from the tense atmosphere. Sunny would constantly steal glances at the other two to make sure nothing major happened, but it was clear that Aubrey was still incredibly tense. He let out a sigh and continued writing down some answers to his English work.

“Something bothering you, brother?”

Sunny turned to Mari, motioning to the other two with his head before Mari nodded in understanding. Seems like her precious little brother was affected as well.

“I see… How about we go and grab a snack from the kitchen?”

Sunny saw Mari wink at him out of the corner of his eye when she said that. Well, might as well go see what Mari wants to discuss. He nodded his head, putting down his paper and pencil before following his sister into the kitchen. Once he was there-

“So. Are you going to explain what happened this morning?”

Sunny froze. What a complete 180 to what he was expecting. Sunny’s attention started shifting left and right as he tried to get a way out of this, but based on his sister’s expression, it was clear Mari wasn’t going to let him go easily.

“Uh… I-I don’t…”

Mari sighed, kneeling down and putting her hands on Sunny’s shoulders with a look of concern.

“Sunny. What happened this morning isn’t something to be embarrassed about. I understand if recovering is going to be hard, but if you want to recover, you need to talk to me, okay? I’ll do whatever you need. So please… What happened?”

Sunny let up, a sigh escaping his lips as he rubbed his arm.

“...In the fire… on the stove. I saw… something.”

Mari looked a little surprised. She figured it was just his fear of fire that caused him to act that way, but… Maybe there was more to it?

“You… saw something? What’d you see?”

Sunny grit his teeth, looking to the floor as he recounted what he saw.

“W-Well… When I first saw the fire on the stove, it reminded me of that day… I tried to ignore it, but then the fire started growing… It became almost human...”

Sunny gripped the sides of his head.

“It was just spreading everywhere… The flames were all over the place. I thought they were going to swallow Aubrey up… A-And then the screams came… God, the screams were so loud, and I just-”

Sunny couldn’t say any more past that. He put his face in his hands, letting out choked sobs. Mari couldn’t do anything but softly hug her precious little brother.

“Sunny, I… I’m so sorry. I had no idea that you…”

Mari shook her head, pulling away and wiping her brother’s tears away.

“...We’ll make this right, okay? I won’t let a single flame near you, okay? All it’ll cost is your love!”

Sunny couldn’t help but smile as his sister said that.

“Thanks, sis. I love you.”

Mari giggled.

“I love you too, Sunny.”

All the while, Aubrey and Hero were continuing their studies. Aubrey, however, was a little distracted. She was often looking over at the kitchen, and she couldn’t hide her smile any longer. In fact, she was incredibly happy.

Because Sunny saw it too.

---

It was getting late. Aubrey looked like she could collapse on that couch at any moment. Sunny and Mari had already gone to get ready for bed, meanwhile she was still here doing history homework.

It was exhausting.

Thankfully for her, Hero noticed how exhausted she was and let out a chuckle.

“Alright, maybe we should save this for another time. I’ve still got my own homework to do, after all.”

Aubrey looked a bit surprised to hear that from Hero. He spent all that time helping her, and he wasn’t even done with his own work?

…Huh.

Hero got up, giving Mari a quick hug before leaving the house. Aubrey just… watched in surprise as he walked off.

“Aubrey? Are you ready to get to bed?”

Aubrey turned to Mari, nodding her head as they walked up the stairs. Thankfully for her, all of the toiletries and clothes that they had bought today were all put away nicely. Aubrey picked out a nightgown and took it with her to the bathroom before starting to brush her teeth.

…Hero. She knew he was a good guy… She knew that. Him sacrificing his time to make sure she was on the right track confirmed it for her, even if she knew it was hardly necessary.

…Why was it so hard to forgive him, then? She wanted to, she really did. And yet, every time she thought about saying a simple “I forgive you, let’s be friends”, she was stuck in her own head. She didn’t want to hate him, but…

Ugh, why did everything have to be so complicated?!

Aubrey spit out the toothpaste, washing out her mouth and cleaning off her toothbrush as she changed into her brand new nightgown. It didn’t matter. She would figure out all that complicated stuff later. For now, it was time to get to bed. Aubrey walked into the bedroom, and seeing that Mari and Sunny were already in their respective beds, Aubrey crawled into her own. She held onto Mr. Plantegg tightly as she allowed herself to drift off to sleep.

“Good night, Sunny… Good night, Mari…”

It didn’t take long for Aubrey to fall into a peaceful sleep. When she awoke she was surrounded by a light purple landscape. She looked down; there she was, fully clothed in a mage’s garb that was entirely colored pink. She held onto a pretty cool looking staff, in her opinion.

“Aubrey?”

Aubrey turned to her left, and sure enough, there was Sunny. Fully decked out in knight armor, holding a broadsword to boot. Honestly, he looked pretty good, even if seeing a full suit of armor on Sunny’s small frame was a bit of a funny dichotomy. Aubrey waved.

“Hi Sunny!”

Sunny smiled and walked over to her. He was so used to this dream only having basic NPCs in it. It was either that or the made up versions of his friends, but…

Well, they never compared to the real life versions of them. Speaking of which, Sunny had a question that needed to be asked.

“Are we sharing a dream right now?”

Aubrey was a bit taken aback by Sunny’s words, but the fact that he even asked that question… Well, it seemed like they were.

“Yeah, I guess so… What is this place?”

Sunny and Aubrey looked up at the purple sky, with Sunny shrugging his shoulders.

“I don’t know. I’ve been having this recurring dream for a while now, but this is the first time anyone else has hopped into it.”

Aubrey giggled as she turned to her “roommate”.

“That’s pretty cool! So you get to be a big, tough knight in this world?”

Sunny pouted, lifting up his shield a little bit as if to show Aubrey.

“Well, I’m more so supposed to be a paladin…”

Aubrey huffed and started pouting. Wasn’t there basically no difference between the two? Well, Mari and Hero always said there was when they played… Dungeons and Dragons, was it? Did Sunny get his hands on that at some point? Whatever, that’s not important!

“Okay Mister Paladin… If you’re so smart, then surely you know what we’re supposed to do here, right?”

Sunny nodded and turned to the giant castle close to them, pointing towards it as he did.

“In there. Lots of demons. You in?”

Aubrey nodded her head, staying a bit behind Sunny as the two of them walked to the castle. She held her staff behind her, humming a familiar tune as the two of them walked to the castle. Sunny visibly reacted when he realized what song it was.

“...So. You liked the recital?”

Aubrey raised an eyebrow at Sunny. Of course she did! Those two were amazing!

“Of course, silly! You and Mari were amazing!”

Sunny let out a dry chuckle in response to Aubrey’s gushing. At least they thought so…

“I just didn’t think you’d be singing it 6 months after the fact.”

Aubrey tilted her head. Well… Sunny had a point, but was it wrong for her to think it was an amazing song?

“Well, even still! I just think the song’s neat.”

Sunny smiled. Maybe there didn’t need to be any bigger reason than that. He was probably just overthinking things, as per usual.

“Halt!”

As Sunny and Aubrey were just about done with their conversation, they didn’t even realize that they were already at the castle. Two guards, which seemed to be living sets of armor, blocked their way as they approached the main gate.

“Only those approved by the King are allowed to pass through here. Anyone else must leave, or face the consequences?”

Aubrey and Sunny both looked at each other. Even if it was just for a moment, it was clear that both of them were willing to try their luck. Without so much as a word, Sunny jumped forward and slashed down one of the guards. The other guard jumped back in surprise, moving to go and slash Sunny before Aubrey bonked him on the head with her staff. It didn’t disintegrate him like Sunny’s attack did, but it stunned him for long enough for Sunny to finish him off with a quick stab.

“Alright! Let’s head into the castle, Sunny!”

As the two of them waited for the main gate to open, Sunny turned to Aubrey with his typical stoic look.

“...You know you can cast magic, right? This is a dream.”

Aubrey was a bit taken off guard, awkwardly giggling as she followed Sunny into the castle. Oops…

---

Aubrey had to admit, this was pretty dang fun. Going around this vast and expansive castle alongside her best friend was so exciting! Especially as she learned more and more about how magic worked, it was becoming super cool!

…Well, she wasn’t sure if magic really had any rules per se, but she was having a good time regardless! And that’s what really mattered!

“We’re almost to the throne room.”

Aubrey was drawn out of her thoughts as she heard Sunny say that. Sure enough, the two of them were standing right in front of the throne room. Looks like their little dream adventure was coming to an end, huh? She couldn’t lie… It was a little disappointing.

“Aubrey. You ready?”

Aubrey nodded her head, following after Sunny as he opened the doors to the throne room.

“Well well… It’s the little rats that have been scampering around my castle. I must say, I’m quite impressed that some little kids such as yourselves have managed to come this far.”

The demon stood up from his throne, waving his hand and having 4 gargoyles appear by his side. He began walking forward with a look of contempt.

“But this is where your journey ends. I, Lord Beelzebub of the Underworld, will take you both down myself!”

The gargoyles took that as their cue to start charging forward. Sunny, being the tank of the party, rushed forward and intercepted them. The gargoyles were doing their best to poke and prod at Sunny, but he was a master at deflecting and counter attacking. Any damage he took would be healed off by Aubrey, who was sending in thunderbolts to attack the gargoyles. The Demon King growled, not saying a word as he flew right towards Aubrey.

Sunny was immediately taken aback by this move. “! Aubrey, look out!”

Aubrey was snapped out of her routine by Sunny’s words. She looked over and saw the Demon King flying right towards her, smacking her away with his trident and causing her to roll across the floor. Sunny grit his teeth, turning around to try and go help her… but the gargoyles hit him to the ground as well. His sword skidded to the edge of the room.

“How disappointing… It seems that your little formation crumbles as soon as someone attacks the back line. Well, at least you made it a little enterta- Ghh!”

The Demon King was swatted back by Aubrey smacking him in the face with her staff. Unorthodox, but effective.

“Back off, weirdo! Icicle Spear!”

Aubrey cast another spell, firing a volley of icicles toward the Demon King. He blocked them with his cape, but Aubrey’s little stunt certainly left him frazzled.

“You little brat! I’ll show you what it means to mess with the Demon King!”

Beelzebub held his hand in the air, charging up a ball of dark energy as he laughed maniacally. Aubrey was AFRAID. Something like that would kill her for sure…

“Say goodbye!”

Beelzebub threw the dark ball. Aubrey, frozen in fear, had no choice but to take it on. No choice but to…

“FLAME PILLAR!”

Aubrey screeched the name of a spell she hadn’t used yet, a massive stream of fire bursting from her staff as it slammed into the Demon King.

“AUGH!!”

A loud scream left the demon’s lips as he collapsed to the ground, flaming and burning all the while. Aubrey was panting hard. She… She had no idea what came over her. All she could remember was the frustration of losing the fight, and-

“...What?”

She looked down. All of a sudden, she was holding a sword composed of only flames. The Demon King looked terrified, trying his best to scramble away from her as Aubrey started walking towards him. Aubrey was ANGRY.

“W-Wait, please! S-Spare my life, I beg of you!”

Aubrey didn’t stop approaching. The remaining gargoyles, who were in the middle of fighting Sunny, started to take cautious steps backwards.

Sunny himself wasn’t doing much better. Seeing Aubrey with that much fire was incredibly unnerving.

“A-Aubrey?”

Aubrey didn’t hear him. She looked down at her sword, as it… spoke to her.

Strike him down. Let out all of your anger. He tried to hurt you and Sunny, didn’t he? Burn him to a crisp. Let him know how it feels.

Aubrey’s eyes became pointed, looking over at the Demon King with an expression filled with contempt. She slashed horizontally, striking the King and sending flames all over the throne room. Banners caught fire, and some of them burned extremely quickly. Sunny’s fear was beginning to intensify.

“A-Aubrey, please, stop…”

Aubrey slashed again. Another loud scream of pain was let out, and more of the throne room was caught on fire. The gargoyles… They weren’t even around anymore. Sunny didn’t care regardless. He was stressed out. He was panting hard, but with every breath he took, more smoke entered his lungs. He had to get out of here… But he didn’t want to leave without Aubrey.

“Aubrey, please! The castle is on fire!”

Aubrey still didn’t listen. In fact, she was… laughing?

That’s right! Burn! Burn to your heart’s content!

“Heehee…”

Sunny ran up to Aubrey, grabbing her arm before she could slash Beelzebub again. Tears were streaming down his face, and he was shaking, but he refused to leave without Aubrey.

“Aubrey, please, stop! We need to leave!”

“You see it too, don’t you?”

Sunny had a horrified look on his face as she said that. Aubrey turned around, softly smiling to Sunny as she did.

Her eyes betrayed a much different emotion.

“You see something in the fire, don’t you? You can hear it. It’s all around us, Sunny.”

Sunny started stepping backwards from Aubrey. No… No no no. This was just a weird dream.

“Aubrey…?”

“But you’re scared of it…”

Aubrey took a few steps towards Sunny, who continued walking backwards.

“You shouldn’t be afraid of the fire, Sunny… There’s nothing to be scared of!”

As much as Sunny wanted to believe that, he just couldn’t. All around him… Screams, smoke filling the room, and the horrific feeling of heat on his skin… Aubrey reached her hand out to him…

Sunny turned and ran. The fire intensified behind him, and as it did, so did the screams. Sunny covered his ears and ran as fast as he could.

All he could do was cry as the fire consumed the entire castle.

---

“AHHHHH!”

Sunny let out a scream, sitting up on his air mattress as he panted hard. Sunny looked at his surroundings… No fire. He let out a small sigh of relief. That dream… Really terrified him. Why was Aubrey so enamored with fire? Was he the only one that was terrified of it…? He shook his head. Maybe that wasn’t even Aubrey. Speaking of whom… he should go and check on her, right? He turned to go to her, and-

…

She was already awake.

Aubrey was staring right at him.

Chapter Text

She was staring at him. That was the first thing Sunny noticed when he turned around to meet Aubrey’s gaze. For some reason, just the gaze of his childhood friend was enough to unsettle him.

“Sunny…? Is everything okay…?”

Sunny turned to the side to see Mari slowly waking up. Did he really scream loud enough for her to wake up? Was the dream that unnerving?! He’s never had such a visceral reaction to a dream before… Even when he had nightmares in the past, he would usually just crawl into bed with Mari.

“I-I… Uh…”

Sunny looked back to Aubrey. She was still looking at him intently.

There was a look of regret in her eyes. Frankly, Sunny couldn’t care less. He quickly got out of bed and ran to the front door.

“Sunny, wait!”

He was already gone. Sunny, tears in his eyes and panting hard, sprinted as fast as he could to safety. He needed to get out of there. Even if Aubrey didn’t mean it, that dream just felt so real that… He couldn’t stay.

He went to the one place where he knew he would be safe. He ran to the park, diving in between the various trees and bushes before he made it to the Secret Hangout spot. Once he finally emerged from the clearing, he collapsed to the ground to try and catch his breath.

“Sunny?”

Sunny flinched a bit. Turning to his right, he saw-

“...Kel?”

Sunny got up and walked over to his friend, sitting down next to him. Kel looked a little confused.

“Hey… I haven’t seen you in a bit. Where’ve you been?”

Sunny shifted a bit. Guess he had to explain this to Kel at some point, right? Well, he didn’t have to, but… Kel deserved to know, even if Aubrey wasn’t ready to face him yet.

“Well… Aubrey’s been living with us ever since we got discharged from the hospital, and so we’ve all been focused on making sure everything’s okay with her. Sorry I haven’t been hanging out with you and Basil much…”

Kel smiled and rubbed his friend’s back. As much as Kel certainly missed hanging out with Sunny this past weekend, he could see that making sure Aubrey was okay was more important.

“That makes sense. Still, we should all hang out again, just like old times! I know it’s been a while, but we’re all still friends, yeah?”

Sunny looked over at Kel. The younger Rodriguez brother had a shaky smile on his face, almost as if he was unsure of his own words. A pang of guilt hit Sunny as he saw that. Was… Was Kel lonely? When Aubrey was locked away for those 6 months… The whole friend group fractured a little bit. They still passively talked to each other, but Sunny had to admit that he did not put as much effort into maintaining those relationships as he should’ve. He was so focused on making sure that Aubrey even got out of the house, that…

…He knew that was just an excuse. He softly smiled and turned back to the lake.

“...Yeah. We should hang out again.”

Kel chuckled and flashed a big smile.

“Aw yeah, this is gonna be awesome! I can’t wait!”

Sunny stared out into the pond.

Just like old times, huh?

“...Hey, Kel. Why are you out here? I-If you don’t mind me asking.”

Kel looked a little confused at Sunny’s question. He tilted his head.

“Well why are you out here, Sunny?”

Sunny pouted at Kel. So that’s how he wanted to play it…

“I asked you first, Kel.”

Kel just let out a sigh and hugged his legs.

“...I got lonely. I was thinking about all the time we spent together in the past, and… I missed you guys, you know?”

Sunny frowned.

“I always assumed that you were fine… You’re part of the basketball team now, right?”

Kel chuckled, but it was clear to Sunny that it wasn’t a very happy chuckle.

“Well… Yeah. But they’re not my super close friends, you know? It’s not the same.”

Kel smiled at Sunny.

“But that’s fine! Cause we’re all gonna hang out again, just like old times!”

Sunny gave Kel a small smile. Of course, that smile disappeared as soon as Kel asked him the next question.

“Now stop dodging my question! Why’re you all the way out here?”

Sunny let out a sigh. Well, guess he was gonna have to start talking now, huh? He looked down at the ground. Kel really has gotten a lot smarter this past year… and a lot more mature, too.

“...You’re not gonna believe me even if I talk about it.”

“C’mon, try me!”

“I shared a dream with Aubrey.”

Kel was a bit taken aback by what Sunny said. Shared a dream? That sounded really cool! Kel leaned forward a little bit.

“Woah, that sounds awesome! What did you guys dream about?”

Well, at the very least, Kel seemed to believe him. Sunny took a deep breath before continuing his explanation.

“...We were in a fantasy world. It was a place I’d dreamed of multiple times in the past… But Aubrey was there this time. It was going great, we were fighting demons and stuff… It was a lot of fun.”

Kel nodded his head. Why would this make Sunny run out of his house in the middle of the night? Sunny grimaced.

“...When we made it to the Demon King… We were kinda pushed on the backfoot, and Aubrey used a fire spell.”

Ah. Kel cringed.

“Sunny, are you… afraid of fire?”

Sunny nodded his head.

“I just… ever since that day, even small little flames are enough to freak me out. Every time I see one, I remember that day… All the sounds, all the sensations… I remember how Aubrey could’ve died if I was too slow. It scares me to think about…”

Sunny opted not to tell Kel what he sees in the fire. It… It wasn’t important.

Kel wrapped him up in a hug.

“Sunny, I’m so sorry… I’m sorry for not being there for you.”

“Kel, that’s not your fa-”

“But it is!”

Kel pulled away and looked Sunny in the eyes.

“We’re supposed to be best friends, and I just… I didn’t even bother asking you what was happening! Some friend I am.”

“Hey.”

Sunny lightly flicked Kel on the forehead. Kel recoiled and covered the spot where Sunny flicked.

“Ow! What was that for?!”

“The Kel I know wouldn’t let this get him down. Look, I forgive you, okay? You being here for me right now is enough to make it up to me. So don’t be so hard on yourself, okay?”

Kel was a little surprised, but he still nodded his head. Sunny looked back to the lake.

“...Thanks, Kel. I think I needed to talk to someone else about this.”

Kel smiled and nudged Sunny’s arm.

“Hey, no problem! That’s what friends are for, right?”

The two of them looked out to the pond for a bit in peaceful silence.

“...Hey, doesn’t this kinda remind you of us sneaking out to go to Hobbeez? Man, we haven’t done that in forever. Wanna go do that?”

Sunny smiled, but softly shook his head.

“It does, but… I think I wanna just sit here with you, if that’s okay…”

Kel nodded. He completely understood.

---

“Sunny, wait!”

Mari tried to reach out to her little brother as he dashed out the door, but it was already too late. He didn’t even put on any shoes! Mari let out a sigh, pulling herself out of bed as she walked over to Aubrey.

“Aubrey… Is everything okay? You looked spooked when you woke up…”

Aubrey looked up at Mari for just a moment before retreating back into her blankets. Seems like she wasn’t much in the mood for talking… Mari gave a sad smile as she sat on the edge of the bed.

“Aubrey… I know what happened was probably scary, but just know that I’m always gonna be here to support you, okay?”

Aubrey shrunk in on herself, but peeked out from under the covers to look at Mari. She seemed… very frightened.

“...I had a bad dream… With Sunny.”

Mari tilted her head a tad. A shared dream…? What could’ve possibly happened that would make Sunny have that kind of reaction. She softly poked at the bed.

“Like… a shared dream? What happened?”

Aubrey shuddered, much to Mari’s chagrin. Was it really that bad?

“We… We were in some kind of fantasy world. I was a mage and Sunny was some kind of Knight. He looked really cool…”

Mari looked a bit incredulous at that, until she came to a realization.

Has Sunny been rummaging through my Dungeons and Dragons books? I’ll have to keep them in a safer place…

She shook her head. That wasn’t important right now! Right now, she needs to be there for someone she considers a little sister.

“That sounds fun, Aubrey! What happened next?”

Aubrey swallowed, emerging more from the covers as she continued the story. Mari felt bad putting her on the spot like this, but she wasn’t gonna be able to help if she didn’t know what was going on.

“I… We made it to the throne room, and we were cornered, and Sunny was gonna get hurt, so I… I used a fire spell.”

Oh. Mari’s expression fell immediately. That… would certainly explain a lot. Mari decided to let Aubrey keep going.

“He… He looked so scared. I knew he was scared of fire, but I just kept going! My staff was replaced by a fire sword and I enjoyed every minute of it!”

Aubrey put her face in her hands as fresh tears started falling down her face.

“My best friend was in agony and I was enjoying the feeling of controlling the fire! Mari, why did I do that?! Am I a bad person…?”

Mari frowned, softly brushing Aubrey’s hair aside as she shook her head.

“Aubrey… That doesn’t make you a bad person. We all make mistakes in stressful situations…”

Aubrey didn’t respond for a bit before moving her hands away from her face.

“...I knew that the fire hurt Sunny really badly. I knew that and I still went ahead and did that anyway.”

Aubrey grabbed her arm and awkwardly looked to the side.

“Sometimes I can’t understand why Sunny is afraid of the fire. There’s nothing to be afraid of, right?”

It’s not that simple.

Mari wanted to tell Aubrey that, but the last thing Aubrey needed was a talk about how Sunny needed to be handled with care. That would just make her feel worse. Instead, Mari let out a sigh.

“People handle these things in different ways… What you both went through is something that no one your age should. You have your way of dealing with it… And Sunny has his. Neither of you are right or wrong, it’s just… different.”

Mari smiled at Aubrey once again.

“What’s important is that you two acknowledge that you’re both just healing, and that you be respectful of one another. You made a mistake, and I understand it’s upsetting to hurt someone you care about, but Sunny isn’t gonna stop being your friend over this.”

Aubrey sniffled and looked up at Aubrey.

“...You really think so?”

Mari smiled and nodded.

“Of course, Aubrey. That boy cares about you much more than you know.”

Aubrey flushed a bit at that comment, which elicited a giggle from Mari. These two were absolutely hopeless.

Before the conversation continued, the door to the bedroom opened up once more. Sunny returned to the room, which caused Mari to go and check on him.

“Sunny! Are you okay? Where did you run off to?”

“Hangout Spot. Talked with Kel. Fine now.”

With that, a clearly exhausted Sunny walked back to his bed and flopped down on it. Seems like he was gonna be out for the rest of the night. Mari could only sigh at his shenanigans.

“Oh Sunny… Well, we should get to sleep too, Aubrey.”

Mari gave Aubrey a hug before returning to her bed.

“Good night, Aubrey!”

Aubrey looked up at the ceiling with a blank expression.

“...Good night, Mari.”

---

To say the next morning was awkward between everyone would be an understatement.

Mari, Sunny, Aubrey, and the Suzuki parents were all sitting at the table eating their breakfast in pure silence. Not a word was uttered by anybody. There were some worried glances passed by Mari and Mrs. Suzuki, but other than that, it’s as if everyone was invisible to each other. The atmosphere was absolutely oppressive.

And Aubrey knew it was her fault. She just looked down at her breakfast as she slowly ate.

“Well, I suppose it’s time for me to head out for work… Sunny, Mari, I hope you two have a good day at school.”

Mr. Suzuki thankfully shattered the oppressive atmosphere with his departure, giving Mrs. Suzuki a small kiss goodbye as he headed out the door. Not long after, Sunny took his plate to the kitchen and left to get ready for school. Mari let out a sigh and followed after him. Looks like she had to go talk with her little brother.

“...Is everything alright, Aubrey? You three were completely silent during breakfast…”

Aubrey looked up from her food as Mrs. Suzuki spoke to her. It was just them now as she watched Sunny and Mari walk out the door, presumably to the bus stop. Aubrey sighed and put her fork down.

“...I think Sunny’s mad at me.”

The shock on Mrs. Suzuki’s face made her feel even worse. How could she mess up so badly…?

“He is? Hm…”

Mrs Suzuki turned to the front door for a moment before turning back to Aubrey.

“Well, if I know my little boy, I know that he doesn’t like to hold grudges, especially against people he cares about. He may be upset, and I may not know the details of what happened… But what I do know is that he cares about you a whole bunch. As long as you apologize to him, I’m sure he’ll forgive you.”

Aubrey really didn’t deserve to have a family as kind as the Suzukis. She really didn’t. Even still, she couldn’t stop the small smile forming on her face as Mrs Suzuki’s words.

“Thank you… I’ll make sure to apologize to him right when he gets home!”

Mrs Suzuki giggled.

“That’s the spirit, dear. Now, make sure to get some work done, alright? I’ll be taking care of some chores around the house in the meantime.”

Aubrey nodded her head, picking up her plate and washing it off. She put it into the dishwasher and walked over to the living room to get started on her work.

She had a lot to get done, after all.

---

The front door opened once again later that day. Sure enough, Sunny was home from school, and Aubrey could only assume that Mari would follow not long afterwards. Still, Aubrey decided to take a break from her schoolwork to say hi to her friend.

“Hi Sunny!”

Sunny turned to Aubrey, his face flushing ever so slightly as he did. After a brief moment, he turned back towards the stairs and gave a quiet response.

“...Hi Aubrey.”

Sunny went up the stairs and to their room, not even giving a passing glance to Aubrey as she visibly deflated. Guess he still wasn’t over it, huh?

Aubrey let out a sigh and got back to her work. Apparently there were a lot of essays for her English class while she was gone… go figure. It’s not that she hated writing, but did they really need this many essays?! Seriously, this was a bit much!

Just as Aubrey expected, Mari came through the front door not long after Sunny. She turned to Aubrey and softly smiled as she went to sit next to her.

“Hard at work, Aubrey?”

“Yeah…”

Well that wasn’t good. Was Sunny still angry at her? Mari pouted a little bit as she watched her brother, now in casual clothes, come down the stairs. Sunny wasn’t the type to hold a grudge for this long… Mari let out a sigh and walked over to Sunny.

“Oh little brother! Mom told me that we’re pretty low on some things. Do you mind running to the store to pick some stuff up? Oh, and make sure to bring Aubrey with you! She’s been super hard at work all day, and I think she needs a break.”

That snapped Aubrey out of her essay fueled focus. She looked up to see Sunny turning towards her, giving her a blank expression before nodding at Mari.

“...Okay.”

Mari smiled, handing Sunny some money as she walked over to Aubrey. The elder Suzuki sibling leaned forward and whispered to Aubrey.

“I don’t think he’s mad at you, Aubrey. This’ll be a good chance to talk to him! You got this.”

Aubrey absolutely did not got this. How was she supposed to talk about last night when she hasn’t even processed it herself?! The anxiety on Aubrey’s face was clear as day as she got up from the couch and walked over to Sunny.

“Um… Are we ready to go, Sunny?”

Sunny nodded and walked to the front door, opening it for Aubrey as the two of them walked out the door. Mari just giggled to herself.

“They’ll be just fine.”

The two childhood friends were walking down the street to Faraway Plaza in complete silence. Sunny was blankly staring ahead towards his destination while Aubrey was fidgeting and looking everywhere but at Sunny. How in the world was she supposed to start this conversation…? How could she? “Oh, sorry for maybe traumatizing you in our shared dream last night! Friends?” Yeah, that would go GREAT.

“Aubrey…”

Aubrey almost froze on the spot as she heard Sunny speak. She nervously turned to her left to look at her friend.

“Y-Yeah?”

“I think we need to-”

“I’M SORRY!”

Sunny was taken aback by Aubrey’s sudden outburst. An outburst that only kept going as tears started forming in her eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Sunny! I didn’t mean to scare you last night! I just… We were cornered, and I got so angry that they were attacking you, and suddenly that anger just exploded out of me and I started shooting fire, and then I saw that thing again, and…”

Aubrey couldn’t even look at Sunny as she dumped out all the feelings she had been building up the past day. Sunny’s expression softened as he listened to her. With a sigh, he put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Aubrey. It’s okay. I forgive you.”

Aubrey looked a little surprised to hear that from Sunny considering… well, how he’d been acting.

“...You do? But you seemed so angry when you walked into the house… Mari and Mrs Suzuki were talking about how you never held a grudge, and yet you still seemed so mad…”

Sunny couldn’t help the slight touch of annoyance on his face at that. His Mom and Mari were speaking for him again? He let out an exasperated sigh. He could talk to them about that later. For now, the focus was Aubrey.

“I wasn’t… mad. Well, maybe I was a bit, but not at you. It’s…”

Sunny moved his hand away from Aubrey’s shoulder and put it in the pocket of his shorts.

“...I just wanted to talk to you about this, but I had no idea how to bring it up. I couldn’t really bring it up in front of my parents or Mari, you know? I don’t think they’d be able to understand.”

Sunny chuckled.

“If we told them that we saw a person burning alive in the fire, I don’t think they’d really… believe us. I don’t want them to think we’re crazy.”

Oh. So that’s what it was about. Suddenly, Sunny’s actions started making a lot more sense.

“Oh… Right. Yeah, we should probably talk about that…”

“Why aren’t you scared of it? I… I just can’t imagine how you can look at that and not be afraid.”

She knew this question was coming. In all honesty, she didn’t really know why she wasn’t afraid of it, either. It served as a reminder of… that day. Every time she saw a flame, that’s all she could think of. She assumed it was the same for Sunny, too.

So why wasn’t she scared?

“Well, I just… I guess whenever I see it, I associate it with that day, you know? The day my house burned down. So I guess it’s a little scary…”

Sunny nodded his head and waited for her to continue.

“But like… I don’t know. I’m not really sure why, but sometimes I get… angry? When I look at the fire.”

Sunny wasn’t expecting that. He tilted his head in confusion.

“Angry? Why’s that?”

Aubrey let out a sigh and shook her head.

“I don’t know… I’m sorry, Sunny.”

Sunny softly rubbed her back.

“It’s okay. I’m still kind of processing all of that, too.”

Aubrey gave Sunny a small smile as a moment of silence permeated over the two childhood friends, a silence that was only broken by Sunny’s offhand comment.

“...I thought you were pretty cool last night.”

Aubrey felt her face turn a light shade of red at that comment. When she looked over at Sunny, his face was a nice shade of crimson as well.

“R-Really? You think so?”

Sunny scratched his cheek.

“I mean, I didn’t get to see much of it because… y’know… But what you did to the Demon King was really cool…”

Aubrey felt her chest tighten as butterflies flew around in her stomach. She looked away from Sunny with a bright smile on her face.

“Th-Thanks… You were pretty cool, too…”

For some reason, Aubrey could tell that Mari was smiling.

---

Eventually, the two of them finally arrived at Othermart, where Sunny pulled out the shopping list.

“Okay, let’s see… Mom wants us to get… eggs, first.”

Sunny walked towards the back of the store, with Aubrey following not far behind. Aubrey… had never really been grocery shopping without her parents before, so seeing that Sunny was this responsible was a bit of a shock to her. Her parents assumed she would “spend all the money on snacks and toys”, which is why they never let her do this.

Guess they never did trust her.

…Something caught Aubrey’s eye. Sunny was walking ahead of her while Aubrey stopped in her tracks.

There was a lighter on the shelf.

There was no chance that Sunny was going to let her buy it. Absolutely none. Hell, just the sight of it might make him panic. And yet… She wanted it. Really badly.

…She made sure no one was looking, checking both to her left and right, before stashing it in her pocket. Once she did, she went to catch up with Sunny.

The only witness was a girl with red glasses, who gave a cocky smile.

“Interesting…”

---

“Well, looks like we’ve got everything. Are you sure you can carry that many bags, Aubrey?”

Aubrey and Sunny left Othermart with quite a few bags. Sunny, being the person that he is, wanted to check on Aubrey. Aubrey simply gave him a flat expression.

“Sunny, you look like you’re struggling way more than I am… Can you carry that many bags?”

Sunny was a little embarrassed to get that from Aubrey, but he decided to nod his head as he turned back to his house.

“I’ll be fine. Let’s just head ho-”

“Sunny? Aubrey?”

Aubrey froze. God dammit, not again. She and Sunny turned around and were now face to face with Basil, fresh from Fix-It with some flowers in his hands. Basil couldn’t help but smile as he saw them.

“It is you two! I’m so happy you two are up and about again…”

Basil started walking over to them, much to Aubrey’s chagrin. Why did this have to happen now? She just worked out her issues with Sunny, and now she had to talk with someone who she had ZERO idea how she felt. Awesome.

Sunny, meanwhile, appreciated the excuse to put down the grocery bags.

“Hi Basil. We were just getting some groceries done.”

Basil nodded in understanding as he lifted up his flower seeds to Sunny.

“That’s great! I’m doing some chores of my own. I got some new flower seeds!”

Basil had his typical awkward smile as he showed the seeds to his two friends. Sunny gave a soft smile as he took a look, while Aubrey was awkwardly standing off to the side.

“That’s cool. What type of flowers are they?”

Basil chuckled.

“Well, uh… They’re daffodils, actually! I wanted to grow some of them after everything that happened because in the flower language, they represent-”

“New beginnings, right?”

Aubrey interjected, staring off into space with her arms crossed as she finished Basil’s sentence. Basil’s expression brightened as he heard her say that.

“Y-Yeah, you’re right! Well… I just figured because of everything… Y’know… We could all use a fresh start. Both in our lives, and in our friendship.”

Aubrey hesitated a bit at that. Dammit, why was this kid making it so hard to be mad at him?! Sunny, on the other, simply nodded his head.

“Yeah, I think I’d like that. Do you wanna hang out this weekend? Just like old times.”

Aubrey looked a bit shocked to hear that from Sunny, but Sunny returned the favor by giving her a pointed look. Ugh. Whenever Sunny decided he wanted to do something, he was going to do that. He could be surprisingly stubborn…

Basil lit up like a Christmas Tree.

“R-Really? That’d be great! It’s been so long since we’ve all hung out as a group… I can’t wait to spend time with you guys!”

Basil looked down at his watch, a look of nervousness on his face as he did.

“Oh, I really gotta get back home… Okay, I’ll see you two this weekend!”

With that, Basil held the flower seeds close to his chest as he walked away.

…

Once he was out of range, a very upset Aubrey turned to Sunny.

“Why did you do that? You know I’m not ready to talk to them again!”

Sunny simply just scooped the grocery bags up and continued walking home.

“You can’t avoid them forever, Aubrey. They’re our friends.”

“They weren’t there for me when I needed them. How could they be my friends?”

Sunny frowned, turning to his side to look Aubrey in the eye.

“Aubrey… I know your feelings on them are complicated, but don’t you think it’s better to talk it out with them directly than to constantly avoid them? We put in the effort to talk today, didn’t we?”

Aubrey awkwardly looked to the ground.

“I guess…”

Sunny nodded his head.

“I’ll be there to help you, okay? We can get through this.”

Aubrey softly smiled. She really hoped Sunny was right.

Chapter Text

Sunny and Aubrey stepped into the Suzuki household, closing the door behind them as they went to put the groceries on the counter. Sunny lets out a sigh as he and Aubrey make their way over to the living room. Sitting on the couch are… Mari and Hero.

“Oh, you two are back! Do you need help putting away the groceries, little brother? Aubrey has her tutoring session with Hero!”

Sunny clearly saw Hero blushing and shuffling away from Mari when they arrived, but he decided to file that away in the “Mari Teasing Material” folder before nodding his head. Mari smiled and got up from the couch, waving at Hero before going into the kitchen to help her little brother.

“...”

Aubrey was awkwardly staring at Hero, who was doing his best to settle down his heart when Aubrey sat next to him.

“A-Alright, let’s get started… Where did we leave off last time?”

While the two of them were about to get started, Sunny started to help putting away the groceries.

“So, did you two make up?”

Sunny turned to Mari. Of course that’s what that was all about… Sunny nodded his head as he put the eggs into the refrigerator. Right now, he wasn’t really in a talking mood.

“That’s great! I’m glad you two are on better terms.”

Sunny turned to the living room when Mari said that. Were they really on better terms? Sure, they sorted it out, but… She still seemed pretty apprehensive about hanging out with Basil. Sunny cared about her, and he would be there for her, but…

…Gah, this is too confusing. Regardless, he should tell Mari about his plans for tomorrow. He turned to her and softly tugged her sleeve.

“Hm? What is it, Sunny?”

“Basil. Tomorrow.”

Mari smiled and nodded her head.

“You and Aubrey are going to visit Basil tomorrow? That’s great! I’ll make sure to let Mom and Dad know. It’s great that Aubrey’s meeting up with the others by herself!”

By herself. Right. Sunny didn’t really have the heart to tell her that he had to push her into it, so he decided to drop the subject as he finished unloading the groceries.

After about an hour had passed, Hero was done with Aubrey’s tutor session. He closed the textbook, a soft smile on his face as he stood up from the couch.

“That’ll be all today, Aubrey. You’re making great progress! I’m sure you’ll be all caught up by the end of these next few months.”

Aubrey simply nodded her head as she stopped working, softly sinking into the couch as she did.

“Thanks Hero.”

Hero had a slight flinch on his face as he gathered his things, letting out a huff as he headed to the door.

“I’ll uh… See you soon, Aubrey.”

Aubrey nodded her head, heading over to the stairs to go up to her shared room. Hero let out another sigh, moving to open the door before he was stopped.

“Huh? Mari?”

“Something’s bothering you.”

Mari had put her hand on the door, looking Hero right in the eyes as she did. Based on her expression, this was a long time coming.

“Mari… I’m just stressed, is all. Y’know, finals are coming up, and I’m spending a lot of time with Aubrey, and-”

Hero paused as he saw Mari’s expression. Seems like she wasn’t convinced in the slightest.

She always knew how to read him well. He let out a sigh.

“Okay, fine…. I’m worried about Aubrey. And I guess… Everyone?”

Mari’s expression softened.

“Hero, you know she doesn’t hate you or anything like that…”

“Does she? It’s hard to even get a proper conversation going with her when we’re doing the tutor sessions.”

Hero grit his teeth ever so slightly.

“I… I know why she feels that way. I really should’ve been there for her when she needed me, but now it just feels like it’s too late. You know that Kel has been worried about all of you, right? He just wants us all to hang out again, and I’m sure Basil feels the same way. Just…”

Hero sighed and shook his head.

“...I just feel like I’m not doing a good enough job. For anyone.”

“Shhhh…”

Mari softly closed Hero’s lips, shushing him before wrapping him up into a hug. Mari could feel Hero’s tense shoulders softening at the hug.

“I know it’s hard, but we just have to keep being there for her, okay? Regardless of what the situation is, we’re all going to be together as friends. So please, just keep doing your best Hero, okay? For me?”

Mari’s soft smile caused Hero to recoil and blush a little bit.

“Y-Yeah, I can do that…”

“Great~ Now don’t let me hold you up. I’m sure you’ve got plenty of your own work to do, mister!”

Hero let out a groan as he stepped out the front door.

“Don’t remind me… I’ll see you tomorrow, Mari.”

Mari giggled and waved him off.

“See you tomorrow, Hero.”

---

Aubrey made her way up the stairs and into their shared room. She heard Mari start saying something to Hero, but she really didn’t want to hear it. She just walked into the room and flopped down onto her bed with a sigh.

“Are you okay?”

Of course, she had forgotten that Sunny was here, too. She looked down at her friend, who was giving her a curious look. Aubrey had assumed that Sunny was in a non-talking mood, but it seems that wasn’t the case.

“Oh, uh… Yeah. I’m fine. Just tired… There’s so much I need to catch up on. Why do I even have to do all of this anyways? It’s stupid!”

Sunny chuckled, a smile creeping onto his face as he sat on his air mattress.

“You’re doing great though.”

Aubrey puffed her cheeks out, crossing her arms and huffing at the boy she shared a room with.

“I mean, I guess… It’s just so boooooring…”

Sunny frowned, but nodded his head. He could understand that much, at least. If he had to cram in 6 months of schoolwork in the last 1 to 2, he didn’t know if he could make it. That was a lot of work that would have to be done.

“...I never did tell you why I was stuck in my house, did I?”

Sunny had a shocked expression on his face as Aubrey said that. He turned to her, shaking her head as he expected her to continue. Aubrey seemed hesitant, but she decided to continue regardless.

“...Around the time of the recital, I… My parents were fighting a lot more than usual. They were constantly yelling at each other, and… It just felt so suffocating. I really thought the recital would be a turning point, but I guess they just couldn’t deal with each other.”

Sunny nodded his head, turning to Aubrey as he awaited the rest of what she had to say.

“...The disappointment of that really hurt. It's just… It felt like it wouldn't improve. What was the point of doing anything? Was I going to end up like my parents?”

Aubrey’s eyes started watering a little bit.

“They started taking it out on me… Whenever I tried to tell them something, or get them to stop fighting, they…”

Sunny’s expression fell. Dread crept up his spine as he realized the implications.

“It became harder and harder to hide… I didn’t want anyone to find out, and so… I just stopped showing myself. To you, to our friends… to anyone. I didn’t want them to know.”

Aubrey put her chin on her knees, holding her legs to her chest as she stared at the ground.

“...Maybe it was stupid of me to try and wait for someone to come and save me. But I hoped… I prayed every day that someone would. You, or Mari…”

Aubrey scoffed and turned to the side.

“And yet, even when you showed up every day, I still ignored you… So much for-”

Aubrey was taken a bit off guard as she felt some weight on the other end of the bed. Sunny had sat down, wearing a neutral expression on his face as he looked at her. Well, it was neutral to some. To Aubrey, though? She knew better.

“...I don’t regret coming to check up on you. I only regret not doing more.”

“Sunny…”

Aubrey had a hard time holding back the tears. She buried her face in her legs, letting out choked sobs as Sunny softly rubbed her back.

Even if Aubrey knew she was suffering, she couldn’t help but take comfort in this moment. She knew she wasn’t alone.

---

Well, it was Saturday. That meant that today was the day that Sunny and Aubrey were going to visit Basil. To say Aubrey was apprehensive was an understatement, and as much as she wanted to just hole herself up in the room… When she looked over to Sunny and saw just how excited he was, Aubrey couldn’t find it in herself to betray him like that.

Besides, she’d be lying if she said she didn’t want to make up with Basil. He was her first friend, and as much as she wished he would’ve tried to visit during her months locked in that house, the emotional attachment she had to him doesn’t just fade away that easily.

“Thank you for doing this, Aubrey.”

Aubrey was snapped out of her thoughts by Sunny, who was looking at her with a smile. Aubrey blushed ever so slightly and crossed her arms.

“Y-Yeah… I’m doing this for you, okay? Not for Basil or for anyone else. I’m doing it because you want me to.”

Sunny just chuckled to himself as they continued making their way to the flower boy’s house. Aubrey might not be able to admit it, but Sunny knew that she wanted this as much as he did.

Eventually, the two of them made their way to Basil’s house. Sunny stepped forward, softly knocking on the door before waiting to be let in.

“Coming!”

After a few seconds of soft footsteps from inside the house, the two friends heard a soft click! of the lock before it opened, revealing Basil. Basil smiled widely as he saw who was at the door.

“Sunny and Aubrey! You guys made it! Sorry, we weren’t expecting you guys so early… Have you eaten anything yet? Grandma and I were cooking some eggs.”

Sunny smiled, nodding his head as he turned to Aubrey.

…Looks like she would need some time to process what was happening. Sunny couldn’t even imagine what was rushing through her head when she saw Basil again. Sure, she saw him yesterday, but the circumstances were different.

Everything felt different.

Basil, noticing that the atmosphere shifted somewhat awkwardly, chuckled and turned to the kitchen.

“U-Um… I-I’ll take that as a yes! Sorry, come in!”

Basil stepped out of the doorway as he allowed Sunny and Aubrey to step in. The two did so, taking a look around as they did. Moreso Aubrey than Sunny, since… Well, it’s been a lot longer since she was last here.

So many memories were packed in these walls… Her earliest sense of happiness and belonging. A memory of her meeting with Basil for the first time rushed through her head.

”What kind of flowers are those?

She let out a sigh as she followed Basil and Sunny to the dining room table. Basil sat at the head of the table, with Sunny and Aubrey on both sides.

“Knowing Sunny, I kinda expected you guys to come early, heh… So Grandma is making enough for all of us!”

Sunny smiled and gave Basil a thumbs up. Leave it to Basil to plan ahead like that.

“So, Aubrey… H-How’ve you been?”

Real smooth, Basil. Aubrey looked over at him, awkwardly twiddling her thumbs as she prepared to come up with an answer to that.

“Uh… Well, I’ve been… okay. Just kinda getting back on my feet, and all…”

“Mm… Well, I’m glad you’ve been doing better! I’m sure Sunny and Mari have been supportive, right?”

Sunny nodded his head, to which Basil smiled.

…

After that, the conversation kinda died out. The three of them awkwardly sat at the table, waiting for something to happen.

Thankfully for them, something did. Basil’s grandma called over to the kids sitting at the table.

“Breakfast is ready, everyone!”

Aubrey quickly took the opportunity for escape provided to her, pushing out of her chair and rushing over to the kitchen to get her food. Sunny just let out a sigh, going over to Basil and softly patting him on the back.

“You know she doesn’t mean anything by it.”

Basil let out an exhausted sigh as he got out of his chair as well.

“I know…”

Everyone was once again seated at the table, happily eating their food. Basil’s Grandma wanted to strike up some conversation with Aubrey.

“Aubrey dear, it’s been so long since I’ve last seen you. Have you been well? I’m so sorry about what happened to your house.”

Aubrey gave a soft smile, putting her fork down as she responded.

“I’ve been okay, thank you. The Suzukis were kind enough to let me live with them… I didn’t have any immediate family nearby, so I’m extremely grateful to them…”

Sunny, even when he knew it wasn’t directed at him, couldn’t help but blush. A certain flower boy took mental note of this, filing it away for later.

“That’s wonderful. How have the Suzukis been? Other than Sunny here, I haven’t seen them in quite a bit of time.”

Basil’s grandma directed this question towards Sunny, who swallowed his eggs before responding.

“They’ve been okay. Mom and Dad are still working hard, and Mari’s been stressed about finals coming up, but they’re still doing alright.”

Basil’s grandma smiled and nodded.

“That’s great. Well, can you tell them I said hello? I’d love to spend some time with them again. It has been far too long since we’ve spent time together.”

Sunny nodded his head, finishing the last of his eggs before clearing his plate. When he returned, Basil’s Grandma started talking to Basil.

“Any plans for today, Basil?”

Basil, who was just finishing the last of his breakfast, was taken a bit off guard by his grandma’s question.

“Uh… Not really? I sort of just… invited them. Hehe…”

Aubrey rolled her eyes. Of course there wasn’t actually any plan… What else did she expect?

“Well, in that case, you two go and have fun, alright? I’ll take care of the dishes.”

With a smile, Basil’s Grandma cleared the plates of the remaining children. Once they thanked her for the meal, the three of them walked into Basil’s room. They sat in a circle… silent for a moment before Basil had an idea.

“Oh, I know! How about we all look through the photo album? It’s been so long since we’ve done that!”

Aubrey had almost forgotten about the photo album when Basil began pulling it out. It had been so long since she really thought of the friend group as a whole… Has it really been 6 months since they all hung out together? She supposed it was closer to 7 months at this point…

Why did she stop hanging around them? Why did this have to happen?

So many memories rushed through her head as she looked through the photo album with Sunny and Basil. Sunny getting his violin… Basil’s Birthday… Kel and Hero’s arm wrestling…

“I need to use the bathroom. I’ll be back.”

Before I could say something, Sunny got up and left the room. All of a sudden, Basil and Aubrey were without the mediating presence. Basil couldn’t help but awkwardly chuckle.

“So, uh… Oh! Aubrey, remember our beach trip?”

How could she forget? That was one of the best days of her life. Basil pointed to the photo of Aubrey biting into a big piece of watermelon as a soft smile crept onto his face.

“Man, I couldn’t believe how big those watermelon slices were… it’s almost as big as your head, Aubrey!”

Aubrey huffed at Basil, pouting as she gave him a dirty look.

“And what’s THAT supposed to mean, Basil?!”

Basil recoiled from the sudden tone shift, shaking his head and nervously looking to the side.

“I-I didn’t mean anything by it! I was j-just saying that… the watermelon was pretty big…”

Aubrey just let out a sigh. Why did she react like that? She turned away from Basil, putting her hands in her lap.

…She didn’t want to do this anymore. She was finally out of that godforsaken house, so why was she still acting like this? What, just because they didn’t drop everything to come and help her? What were kids this young supposed to do, exactly? It’s like she would’ve even paid attention had they come. Sunny came every day, and not ONCE did she open the door for him. She was too afraid of being abandoned to even show her face to them.

Ironic, huh?

“...I’m sorry, Basil…”

Basil was snapped out of his own thoughts, turning to Aubrey with a surprised expression.

“Huh?”

“I’m sorry for being such a jerk to you! I just…”

Aubrey started sniffling, putting her hands on the side of her head.

“I just couldn’t take it anymore! I didn’t want any of you to see me the way I was, and I just- I just hoped that someone would come save me! And then when I didn’t, I got mad at everyone! What kind of terrible friend am I?!”

Basil moved a bit closer to Aubrey, a sad smile on his face as he tried to comfort his first friend.

“Aubrey… Listen. I know it must’ve been hard for you, being stuck in that house for such a long time… And I’m sorry I didn’t go and check up on you… But I want you to know that I forgive you. All I want is to be friends with you again.”

Aubrey could barely hold back the tears as she flung herself onto Basil, letting out choked noises as Basil softly patted her back.

“I’m sorryyyyyy… hic I’m s-so sorry, Basil…”

After hugging it out for a bit, Basil pulls away and smiles at Aubrey.

“I’m glad that we can be friends again, Aubrey.”

Aubrey smiled, wiping some tears away as she did.

“M-Me too…”

The two of them sat in silence for a bit, but unlike before, it was a comfortable silence. One where the two of them were happy to just be in each other’s presence.

“...Sunny’s been gone for a long time.”

Aubrey decided to break the silence, a bit of annoyance slipping through her tone as she said that. With him being gone for this long… Was this a set up? Basil lightly chuckled.

“I think Sunny did this on purpose… Probably wanted us to make up together, or something…”

Basil sighed and stood up.

“I’ll go and tell him that it’s all settled. I’ll be right back.”

Basil left the room, leaving Aubrey alone with her thoughts. Her mind began to wander, and eventually, her thoughts settled on the various plants scattered around the room. Basil had always had a green thumb, even back when Aubrey was meeting him for the first time. Even still, this place was so much more filled with plants than she remembered it. Clearly Basil had gotten busy in this past half year.

…

Her hand grazed something in her pocket. Aubrey pulled it out.

It was her lighter.

Aubrey pulled it out of her pocket, staring at it for perhaps a bit too long. She flicked it, starting the fire.

It was tantalizing.

Why was it tantalizing? Sunny was so scared of this.

Why was Sunny scared?

Aubrey’s eyes landed on one of Basil’s ceiling plants. It was starting to wither at this point… Perhaps age was getting to it? Maybe Basil had forgotten to take care of it?

…Would Basil miss it if it were gone?

No, he wouldn’t. If he can’t bother to take care of it, then clearly he doesn’t want it.

That didn’t sound like her voice.

Aubrey wanted to listen to it anyways. She stood up, slowly walking over to the ceiling plant. She looked like she was in a trance, the small flame of the lighter guiding her towards the plant.

A small singe never hurt anyone, did it?

“Aubrey? What are you doing?”

Aubrey froze. She turned back to the doorway.

Basil looked concerned. Sunny looked terrified, shaking and standing behind Basil as the flower boy walked into the room.

“A-Aubrey… Y-You weren’t gonna burn one of my plants, were you? That… No, you wouldn’t.”

“I-I…”

Aubrey looked between Basil and Sunny, a panicked expression on her face as she tried to gather her thoughts. What was she about to do?! Was she really going to burn that plant to a crisp? What was she thinking?!

“I-I’m sorry Basil! I didn’t mean to!”

Aubrey put the lighter in her pocket, burying her face in her hands as she rushed out of the room. Basil barely stumbled out of the way, reaching out to her with concern on his face.

“Aubrey, wait!”

Without so much as a word from him, Sunny rushed out of the house to go after her. He wasn’t letting this happen again.

---

Aubrey was sprinting as fast as she could. Tears were pouring out of her eyes, blurring her vision as she just kept running. Her eyes stung, but it didn’t matter. How could she even show her face back there with what she tried to do?

She made her way all the way to the park, leaning against the cat before sobbing her eyes out. Right when things were starting to get better, she had to go and fuck it up again! She really was the worst…

“Hey, you uh… You okay?”

Aubrey was a bit taken aback when she heard someone speak to her. Tears still in her eyes, Aubrey looked up and saw a girl with a comb over and bright red glasses. Wait, hasn’t she seen her around before?

“Uh… Y-Yeah, I’m okay… Aren’t you… Kim?”

Kim nodded her head, sitting down next to Aubrey, shoulder to shoulder. She lightly bucked Aubrey’s side.

“Yeah, I’ve seen you around, Aubrey. Also, you’re not fooling anyone, sister. So just tell me what’s wrong, mmkay?”

Aubrey was a bit taken aback by how forward Kim was being, but… she supposed it would be better to talk to a neutral party about this.

“I… I really messed up today, Kim. I went to Basil’s house to go and make up with him after not even talking to him for half a year, and then…”

Aubrey pulled the lighter out of her pocket, frowning as she looked at it. Kim, on the other hand, merely smirked as she remembered Aubrey’s heist.

“...I tried to burn one of his plants. Sure, it was dying already, but… I don’t know. I don’t want to do that to him! It’s just that when I saw it, and I felt the lighter in my pocket, I just… I just wanted to burn something. Is there something wrong with me?”

Kim shook her head. She wrapped an arm around Aubrey, pulling her a bit closer as she smiled.

“Nah, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with ya. You know what that probably was? That was your natural delinquent instincts kicking in. I saw you at Othermart, y’know? When you got that lighter in the first place.”

Aubrey froze. Someone had seen her steal the lighter? Her blood ran ice cold as she spoke to Kim.

“...You saw me?”

“Hey, relax… I’m no snitch. I wouldn’t tell anyone about that kind of thing. I’d be some kind of hypocrite if I did, huh?”

Kim continued by poking Aubrey in the chest.

“What I’m trying to get at is that you wanna cause some problems for people. Nothing major, but just some little issues, you know? Some stealing here, a little bit of defacing public property there… There’s no harm in that, is there?”

Aubrey frowned, shrinking in on herself a little bit.

“I-I mean, I guess…”

Kim stood up, reaching her hand down to Aubrey to help her up as well.

“Tell ya what. I think you’ve got what it takes to be a part of my gang. Whaddya say? You wanna commit to being a delinquent and join the Scooter Gang?”

Aubrey was a bit apprehensive at first. She never even considered being a delinquent, but… Kim was being awfully nice to her.

…Besides, was a little bit of evil going to kill her?

“...Okay. I’d like that.”

Kim smiled.

“Alright! Welcome to the gang, sister! Now let’s go-”

Kim was interrupted by Sunny walking up, silent as can be, and grabbing onto Aubrey’s sleeve. He tugged it ever so slightly to get her attention.

“Aubrey. Are you okay?”

Aubrey was a bit surprised by Sunny’s sudden appearance, but she nodded her head.

“Y-Yeah, I am. Kim came to check up on me, so I’m feeling better…”

Kim stuck her tongue out at Sunny, causing him to frown a little bit.

“Right… Anyways, we should probably head home. I think we need some rest.”

Aubrey sighed, nodding her head as she waved Kim off.

“Bye Kim!”

Kim waved back as the two of them walked back to Sunny’s house. Kim smiled, crossing her arms as a smug expression crept onto her face.

“Yeah. See ya tomorrow, Aubrey.”

Chapter Text

Sunny and Aubrey were mostly silent as the two began walking back home. To say that the atmosphere was awkward was an understatement. Aubrey would occasionally steal a glance from Sunny as he stared forward, one foot after the other on the ground.

Aubrey hated this. Sunny was a quiet person, but this felt different.

It felt like Sunny was disappointed in her. And honestly, she couldn’t blame him. What did she think she was doing to Basil’s plants? If Basil hadn’t stepped in at that moment…

…She couldn’t do this anymore. She had to talk to him.

“Um… Sunny? I-”

“I’m not mad at you.”

Aubrey was a bit taken aback by Sunny interrupting her. Was she that obvious with her feelings? Sunny had always been pretty good at telling how people felt, but…

“...Huh?”

“I’m not mad. What you did was wrong, but… I’m not mad.”

Aubrey just looked at him with a confused expression. How could he say that so confidently? He-

“We can talk about it more at the house, okay? For now, we just… We need to get home.”

Aubrey frowned, nodding her head as the two continued down the road back to the house. She wasn’t looking forward to this conversation, but she knew it needed to happen at some point.

Once the two of them reached the familiar house, Sunny turned the doorknob and walked in. Mari, who was cleaning up the living room, gave a wide smile.

“Welcome back, you two! How was spending time with Basil? Did you have a good time?”

Aubrey looked a little awkward as Mari asked that question, but Sunny simply nodded his head.

“It was fun. We’re just gonna head back upstairs.”

Sunny took Aubrey’s hand and began leading her up to his room.

…Despite the situation, Aubrey couldn’t help but allow a soft touch of pink to appear on her cheeks. She was hopeless…

As the two childhood friends walked into their shared room, Sunny closed the door behind them and sat down on his air mattress. As Aubrey walked over to her bed, she sat down on the edge and looked over at Sunny. He still had that same stoic look on his face.

She’d been having a harder time reading him as of late. It made her a bit sad.

“...Do you wanna talk about what happened?”

Aubrey flinched at the question. If she was going to be honest, no, she did NOT want to talk it out. Not one bit. But at the same time, when she saw Sunny with that expectant look in his eyes… She couldn’t help but wilt a little bit.

He’s just trying to help…

He’ll hate you if he knows the truth.

Sunny deserves to know!

Aubrey let out a sigh, softly grabbing her arm and looking away from Sunny. A soft breeze was blowing outside, and she could see the trees softly swaying in the wind. Her eyes eventually landed on the treehouse.

It reminded her of simpler times.

“...When I saw Basil’s plant dying, I… I thought about whether he would really miss it.”

Sunny held his neutral expression as Aubrey looked down to the ground. Emotions were swirling through her stomach. She felt like she wanted to throw up, disgusting by her own actions, but she kept going. She needed to talk about this.

“I really wanted to burn it, Sunny. I don’t even know what happened. I just… I saw it and I wanted to burn something!”

Aubrey put a hand on the side of her head. To say she was starting to freak out was a bit of an understatement. Soft, choked breaths began escaping her mouth as she did her best to talk to Sunny.

“I- I know there’s something wrong with me! But it just felt right to do in the moment that I didn’t care about the consequences! Now I ruined any chance I had at repairing things with Basil and I just-”

Aubrey was cut off. Her eyes widened as she felt two soft arms surrounding her.

“S-Sunny?”

“You’re not alone anymore.”

Aubrey couldn’t hold it back anymore. She wrapped her arms around Sunny and started sobbing her heart out, peppered with some “I’m sorry”s. Sunny simply rubbed her back as he allowed her to let it out.

After what felt like an eternity, even though it was most likely only a few minutes, Sunny pulled away from Aubrey. He looked at her in her red, tear stricken eyes and spoke calmly.

“I don’t agree with what you tried to do. And… I won’t lie, it hurts that you still have such a fascination with fire after… what happened.”

Aubrey swallowed. So he hadn’t gotten over it after all. How could she possibly have thought differently? It was obvious that he was terrified of fire, and yet she still insisted on feeding her obsession whenever possible.

How could she be so selfish?

“But.”

Aubrey’s mind stopped talking as soon as she heard Sunny speak again. It was as if his voice had the power to draw her attention with just a single word. Like his voice was intoxicating.

“I know that you didn’t mean it. I know you can’t help it sometimes… And that’s why I forgive you.”

A pause.

“You… You can’t seriously mean that.”

“I do. I’m not going to hold it against you. I want to help you get better, and I’m sure Mari feels the same.”

Aubrey felt like she was about to start sobbing again. Sunny was too kind for his own good…

“Aubrey! Hero’s here for your study session!”

The two childhood friends looked towards the door as they heard Mari yell from downstairs. Looks like the two of them would have to separate for the time being… Sunny turned to Aubrey and smiled.

“You’re a better person than you think you are.”

Aubrey felt her heart get caught in her throat. She swallowed, nodding her head as she silently made her way to the door.

Even before he started talking more, Sunny always knew what to say, didn’t he? That’s just the kind of guy he was.

Aubrey couldn’t hide her smile during her study session with Hero.

---

Another lazy Saturday. Aubrey laid down on the couch, arms crossed across her stomach as she stared up at the ceiling.

It was official. She was bored out of her mind.

Sunny had left to go visit Basil, and Aubrey just didn’t have the guts to go with him. The incident a few days back was still fresh in her mind, and seeing Basil now would just… She felt her chest tighten at the thought of it. There was no way she would be able to do that.

“Aubrey? What’re you up to? Where’s Sunny?”

Mari looked a little confused as she walked into the room. Aubrey supposed it made sense… Mari wasn’t used to not knowing where her precious little brother was. Aubrey supposed she could relate, even if her connection with him wasn’t familiar.

“He’s with Basil. Probably apologizing for me. I didn’t have the heart to go and apologize to him myself.”

Mari frowned. While she didn’t know the full context, she did learn from her little brother that Aubrey had made a serious mistake of some kind. It was strange… Mari had never felt as separated from her little brother as she had in recent days. Was there something going on?

…Who was she kidding? She knew the reason for it. Ever since Sunny was sent to the hospital due to Aubrey’s house burnt down, he had been different. No, it was even before that, wasn’t it?

It was the recital. Nothing was going to be the same after what she did to him.

Mari was thankful that his friends were there to support him, but she could only look back in disgust at what she did to him. She remembered when the doctors told her that Sunny’s hands had some pretty old scars on them. At first she thought it was him getting hurt from rescuing Aubrey, but when she was told how old they were… She knew. They were from the violin.

She was disgusted at herself for not noticing until. She had to talk to him at some point.

“Aubrey… I don’t think it’s healthy to keep yourself cooped up in the house all day. Maybe you should go and visit Basil again? I’m sure whatever happened can be talked out between the two of you.”

Aubrey kept a neutral expression on her face, continuing to stare up at the ceiling. Mari, clearly uncomfortable with the situation, let out a sigh and looked out the window. Someone was walking down the sidewalk towards her house… Someone she knew quite well.

“Well… How about you say hi to Kel? It’s been a while since you’ve talked, hasn’t it? I think it’d be good if we start working to bring the friend group together.”

Aubrey really wanted to just tell Mari to leave her alone, but she knew she couldn’t do that. Deep down, she was perfectly aware that she cared about all of them deeply. Hell, she said as such when she was with Basil. It’s just… how do you get back to talking to someone who you felt abandoned you? It felt impossible. And yet, she knew she had to do it at some point.

“Alright… Whatever you say, Mari.”

And so, with a sigh, Aubrey hauled herself off of the couch and started heading for the front door. She might as well prepare herself for the awkward conversation that was soon to follow. As she opened the front door-

“Huh? Oh, hi Aubrey.”

Hero was a bit taken aback as the door opened right as he appeared. Aubrey silently stepped out of the way, letting him walk in as she headed out, closing the door behind her. She had to get the most awkward moment of her life out of the way.

Hero looked at the door for a moment after it closed, but was quickly snapped out of his reverie by Mari clearing her throat and patting the spot on the couch next to her.

“You’d better not be thinking of anything that would interrupt our afternoon, Hero.”

Hero chuckled as he walked over to the couch, sitting down shoulder to shoulder next to Mari. Even when he was the one initiating it, he couldn’t help but blush as their shoulders touched.

“N-No, of course not, I just… I’m still worried about Aubrey, you know?”

Mari sighed, laying her head on Hero’s shoulder as she did.

“Mm. Sunny too. Ever since the fire, the two of them haven’t been the same… I know that’s obvious, but seeing it for myself just… It hurts, Hero.”

Hero solemnly nodded. His face was still bright red, and as much as he wanted to wrap an arm around Mari and comfort her… Well, even in private, that was still a bit too much for him.

“Mari… I’m sure they’re going to be okay. Sunny and Aubrey are tough kids.”

Mari moved her head to Hero’s lap, looking upward as she pouted. Hero was at a loss for words.

“Hero… They need support. They went through something no kid should have to… We should be there to help them.”

Hero, still taken aback by Mari’s bold action, was fumbling his words so badly that he couldn’t even form a coherent thought.

“I-I, well, that’s… I mean, you-”

Mari giggled. She lifted her head off of Hero’s lap and softly pecked him on the cheek. She really did have him wrapped around her finger.

“You’ve always been cute when you were embarrassed, Hero.”

Hero covered his bright red face. This girl was going to be the death of him…

---

Aubrey didn’t want to do this. Really, she didn’t. An uncomfortable feeling of dread was starting to set in as she looked at the front door of the Rodriguez household.

Come on, Aubrey… Just knock on his door and apologize. It’s just that idiot Kel! What’s the worst that could happen?

And yet, as she reassured herself of that fact, she couldn’t help but get cold feet. Maybe it was the soft breeze of a mid-spring day, causing her hair to softly sway in the wind. She let out a sigh. This wasn’t going to work. Aubrey turned to the right and started heading for the park. Maybe she’d have better luck finding something to do over there.

“Yo. Been a few days, eh?”

It was Kim. Aubrey was a little surprised to see her here, but she had to admit… It was a lot better than nothing. She hadn’t intentionally blown Kim off, but the issue with making a new friend and immediately leaving is that it leaves you with no way to contact them. A bit of an issue if you’re trying to make plans for the future.

“Oh… Hey Kim. Whatcha doin out here?”

Kim lackadaisically blew a bubble with the gum she was chewing. After it popped, she simply shrugged her shoulders as she leaned against the giant yellow cat.

“Meh. Mostly just kinda hanging out. My friends are all busy today so I’m just kinda left by myself. Then, lo and behold, you show up.”

Aubrey was a bit shocked at that. So, Kim was going through the same thing as her… Kim’s comb over softly flapped in the wind as she blew another bubble. Aubrey sort of just… awkwardly shuffled up next to Kim. As much as she wanted to get to know her better, she wasn’t really sure where to start the conversation.

“I was planning on robbing the candy store. Wanna come with?”

Well that certainly shook Aubrey out of her own thoughts. She looked at Kim like she had two heads before some stuttering came out.

“Wh- N-No! I couldn’t-”

Kim rolled her eyes and shushed Aubrey. She wasn’t having ANY of that.

“C’mon, don’t lie to me. I know it wasn’t that long ago that you got that little lighter of yours. Don’t tell me you’ve gone soft already?”

Aubrey didn’t have much of an answer for that. She looked to the side with a guilty expression.

“But…”

Kim put a hand on Aubrey’s shoulder.

“Hey, listen. You don’t have to be involved in the actual stealing, alright? All I need ya to do is distract Ms. Candice, you get me? I’ll do all the actual thievery. Capiche?”

Aubrey let out a sigh. Okay… She could probably do something like that. She softly nodded her head, earning her a soft punch on the arm from Kim.

“Atta girl! I know you and I are gonna get along just fine. C’mon, let’s do this shit.”

Aubrey rubbed her arm as she followed after her new friend. She had a bad feeling about this…

The two of them walked over to the plaza. Aubrey took a quick look at the fountain before reaching the candy store with Kim. Once they were right outside, Kim turned to Aubrey.

“Alright, here’s the plan. You go in and start asking Ms. Candice some questions, and while she’s distracted, I’ll swoop in and take as much as I can get my hands on. Sounds good?”

Aubrey timidly nodded. She turned to the door, opening it up and immediately walking up to the counter.

“Welcome! How can I help you, smiley?”

Ugh. Even after all this time, Aubrey couldn’t help but be put off by Ms Candice’s weird catchphrase. Whatever, she had some stuff she needed to do.

“Oh, um… I was wondering if you guys had any special chocolate bars in the back? Last time I was here they were out of stock, so I was wondering if maybe they were back.”

Come on, Aubrey! What kind of excuse is that?! She’s gonna see right through you! Why do you always-

“Of course! Let me check in the back, smiley!”

...Huh.

Ms. Candice walked into the back to check the stock, and not long after she did, Kim nudged Aubrey. Aubrey could tell from a glance that Kim’s pockets were absolutely stuffed with candy, and the fistfuls she had weren’t far behind.

“C’mon, let’s bounce. I got a serious haul from this.”

As Kim left the store, Aubrey quickly followed behind her. A few minutes later…

“We do have the chocolate bars, smiley! They-”

Ms Candice was met with silence.

“...”

---

“Hahaha! Man, this is an insane haul! Aubs, I couldn’t have done it without ya!”

Kim and Aubrey sat down in the center of the park, splitting up their earnings with wide smiles on their faces. The guilt that Aubrey had once felt was quickly replaced by a feeling of pride and accomplishment. She had to admit… The whole thing was pretty thrilling.

“Heh… That was actually pretty fun.”

Kim gave Aubrey a knowing smirk, softly jabbing her in the side with her elbow.

“See? What’d I tell ya? I knew you had a knack for this kind of thing. All you needed was a little push before you’d go pro in the world of petty thievery.”

Aubrey awkwardly chuckled. She didn’t know if “going pro” was something she wanted to do when it came to stealing… But regardless, that wasn’t gonna get her down. She took her share of candy stolen by Kim and started digging in.

It tasted delicious.

“Mmf… Man, this stuff never gets old. Ms Candice might be a hag, but at least she knows how to bring in the good stuff.”

Aubrey had no arguments.

The two of them ate candy in comfortable silence for a bit, simply enjoying the presence of someone else while they reaped their rewards.

“Hey, Aubs? Thanks for comin out with me today. I know that this probably wasn’t what you had in mind, but I still had a lot of fun.”

Aubrey was a bit surprised to hear that, but she couldn’t help the smile growing onto her face. She smiled and nodded at her new friend.

“Yeah, I had a good time too. We should do this more often.”

Kim smirked at Aubrey’s response.

“That’s what I like to hear. Lemme give you my house phone so we can stay in touch.”

Kim took a used taffy wrapper, quickly writing down a number on it and handing it over to Aubrey.

“Just call me if you ever wanna get into trouble. You know I’m always down.”

Aubrey took the number and stuffed it into her pocket. It was pretty nice to make a new friend, even after all this time.

That all disappeared once she realized who was also at the park.

“...Uh… Everything alright? You’ve been staring off into space for a while.”

Kim, still not getting an answer, turned to where Aubrey was looking. It was the basketball court.

“What, you're afraid of those guys over there?”

Aubrey bit her lip. Her eyes were trained on one person, and one person only.

Kel.

Kel was playing basketball with a bunch of people that she didn’t know. After all this time… There he was, playing basketball as if nothing happened. When was the last time they had met with each other? The recital?

Did he even talk with anyone else since she was gone? That didn’t matter.

Of course it mattered.

“Hey, Aubrey. C’mon, you’re creeping me out.”

Kim started snapping her fingers in front of Aubrey’s face, trying to break her out of the trance that she was caught in. It worked, and Aubrey stood at attention to what Kim was saying.

“O-Oh… Sorry, an old friend was over there and I got caught up in some… old memories.”

Kim tilted her head.

“What, you mean Kel? That nerd? I’ve seen you guys hanging out before. What happened?”

Aubrey grimaced, grabbing her arm and turning away from her new friend. How could she possibly explain this to anyone, much less someone she just became friends with today? There was just so much, and she… She couldn’t.

“I mean… It’s a little complicated. I wouldn’t want to dump all of that on you when we just became friends.”

Kim popped a piece of chocolate into her mouth, chewing on it before responding to Aubrey.

“C’mon, try me. I might not be the best when it comes to all that mushy stuff, but I think I’m a pretty good listener at least. Gimme the deets.”

Aubrey sighed. Well, it looks like Kim wasn’t going to let this go… So Aubrey caved. She started explaining everything… Her relationship with her old friend group, the recital, locking herself away from months, and the eventual house fire that forced her to move in with Sunny. She talked about the tutoring with Hero, her shared dream with Sunny, her… affinity for fire. Most importantly, she talked about her feelings of abandonment and how she felt everyone but Sunny had ditched her when she needed them the most.

Kim was pretty speechless the whole way through. When something was bothering Aubrey, she figured it was just a petty fight or something. She certainly wasn’t expecting… this. She let out a breath and ran her fingers through her hair.

“Wow, that’s… That’s some heavy stuff. I mean, I guess that would certainly explain why you didn’t show up at school at all…”

Kim let out a sigh and shook her head.

“Look, I’m not gonna act like what happened wasn’t insanely fucked up, but… Are you still angry at them?”

Aubrey was a little surprised to hear that from Kim.

“H-Huh? What do you mean?”

“I meant, are you still angry at your friends? Cause honestly, I don’t think you really are. Kel might be a total nerd, but he’s a good guy. I’m sure he had his reasons.”

Aubrey bit her lip. Deep down… She knew. She knew that her friends weren’t at fault for her turning them away. She expected the entire world to stop and start revolving around her, and she lashed out when it didn’t work that way. She knew this, and yet… Something was preventing her from reaching out. She needed Sunny to drag her to meet Basil, an opportunity that she immediately messed up, and she hadn’t even said a word to Hero that wasn’t absolutely necessary for tutoring.

She knew she was being selfish for acting like this. But it was better to push them away herself than to make an attempt to reconnect and be turned away.

“...”

Aubrey softly bit her lip as she came to that realization. It wasn’t even that much of a realization, was it? She knew all along. It was the same fear that had plagued her back then when it came to her home life. The reason that she had shut herself away, in fear that her friends would be disgusted with her.

She didn’t want to be rejected by anyone else that was important to her.

“Uhhh… Earth to Aubrey? You okay? You’ve been silent for quite a while. Geez, how many times are you gonna do this in a single day?”

Aubrey turned to Kim, awkwardly chuckling and shaking her head. Aubrey had to admit, she felt a little bad for spacing out on Kim this often… Was this how Sunny felt back in the day?

“S-Sorry, just… I was thinking. About what I should do, you know?”

“You should go talk to him. Looks like the basketball nerds are just about done playing.”

Sure enough, as Aubrey turned back to the basketball court, all the players were heading in separate directions. She flinched. If she was going to reconnect with Kel, it would have to be now. She didn’t know if she would be able to motivate herself to do it again after this.

“Alright, now’s your chance! Just go up to him and- Huh?”

Kim wasn’t able to finish her thought before Aubrey got up and dashed over to Kel. A million thoughts were rushing through her head as her shoes sank into the grass with every step. She had no idea how this was gonna go… But she had to do it. For her sake. For Sunny’s sake. For the sake of the whole friend group.

“Kel, wait!”

Kel, who was just about to start heading home, jumped a little bit as he heard a familiar voice call out his name. He turned around, slightly shocked as he saw who was calling out to him.

“...Aubrey?”

Chapter Text

Kel was having a good day. Well, any day that he got to hang out with his friends would be a good one, honestly. But something about today felt different. It felt like today was really special.

Why would that be the case? After all, he just hung out with his friends and played basketball. Nothing really out of the ordinary, right? That’s what he thought, anyway.

Then someone he hadn’t seen in a while approached him.

“...Aubrey?”

Kel couldn’t lie, he was NOT expecting Aubrey of all people to call out to him. When was the last time he had seen her? The hospital? She barely even gave him the time of day back then. Hero was tutoring her and she barely even gave him the time of day. What changed? Why would she want to reach out to him now of all times?

…Better question. Why look a gift horse in the mouth? It’s not like Kel wanted to drift apart from Aubrey. Even amongst all of their petty arguments, Kel had always been close with Aubrey. Their petty arguments were just kind of their thing, after all.

It hurt when Aubrey locked herself away. Why turn her away now?

“H-Hi, Kel…”

Kel blinked. That’s right, he was supposed to be having a conversation with Aubrey right now. He coughed and softly scratched the back of his head. What was he even going to say to her?

“Hi Aubrey! I uh… H-How’ve you been?”

“I’ve been okay…”

The conversation stalled. Christ, this was awkward… How do you possibly make up for almost 8 months of separation with a simple conversation? Whether he believed he was at fault or not, Aubrey felt abandoned. Kel wasn’t dumb, he could tell based on her actions and how she was shifty around Hero. After all, the only person from the friend group she would talk to was Sunny, who… was the only person who kept knocking on her door that whole time.

Kel sighed. Well, if he was going to repair their relationship, he should at least start off with an apology.

“I-”

“I’M SORRY KEL!”

Kel was almost blown off of his feet as Aubrey yelled out to him. She had her eyes slammed shut, hands on her head as she grit her teeth.

“I’m sorry, okay?! I’m sorry for leaving you all alone for that long! I’m sorry for brushing you all off at the hospital! And I’m sorry it’s taken me this long to start talking to you again!”

Kel blinked. This was not how he was expecting this conversation to go. Aubrey was… apologizing? He couldn’t believe his ears. And yet, here he was. Time to try and calm her down, he supposed.

“H-Hey, Aubrey… It’s okay! Seriously, it’s fine! If anything, I should be the one apologizing…”

Kel shrunk in on himself a little bit. He turned to the side, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. As much as he was upset that Aubrey left them all without so much as a word… He really didn’t want to cause an argument.

So why not do what he always did?

“I uh… I should’ve been there for you. Like Sunny was. I just… figured you moved on, I guess. So much for that, huh?”

Kel gave a dry chuckle. Aubrey’s expression softened, biting her lip as she turned to the side. Clearly something Kel said struck a chord with her.

“W-Well um… I didn’t. I can’t… really explain why.”

Figures.

Kel just chuckled and shook his head.

“That’s fine! I just… Friends?”

Kel extended a hand to Aubrey. Aubrey looked a little surprised at first, but meekly took his hand and shook it.

“...Friends.”

Kel gave Aubrey a wide smile. He lifted his basketball above his head and let out something akin to a victory cry.

“Alriiiight! Man, that feels like a massive weight off of my shoulders!”

Aubrey couldn’t help but groan and roll her eyes. She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at Kel.

“Ugh, can’t you take this a little more seriously, Kel? This is a serious conversation!”

Despite Aubrey’s tone of voice, Kel could notice shades of a smile creeping up on her face. Looks like she missed this just as much as he did.

“Hey, I’m taking this seriously! Sorry I’m not being a total stick in the mud like you are!”

Aubrey huffed, clenching her fists and indignantly glaring at Kel.

“God, you’re so annoying!”

The phantom of a smile turned into a small smile.

“...I missed this.”

Kel smiled.

“...I did too.”

---

Well, that went about as well as Aubrey could’ve hoped.

As much as she wanted to tear her hair out, tearing into Kel and his stupid antics and how he completely abandoned her… She knew she couldn’t. She just wanted her friends back.

…Well, her friendship with Basil was probably completely severed, but she was hoping that some of the friend group would want to spend time with her, at least…

Aubrey opened the door to the Suzuki household, stepping in and being met with-

“A-Aubrey! H-Hi!”

Mari and Hero were on the couch. Aubrey narrowed her eyes as Hero quickly got up, brushing himself off and clearing his throat.

“I-I didn’t think you’d be back so soon…”

Mari couldn’t help but giggle as she stood up, softly poking Hero’s cheek as Aubrey crossed her arms.

“I don’t think Aubrey’s gonna buy any of your excuses, Hero. You got caaaaaught~”

Hero huffed and turned to Mari with an unamused expression.

“You would be included in ‘getting caught’ too, you know.”

Mari simply gave Hero a smug smile in response.

“The difference is that I don’t particularly care.”

Hero groaned as Mari started heading back upstairs, winking at Aubrey as she did. With a sigh, Hero sat back down and started pulling some textbooks out of his bag. Aubrey took that as a sign that her tutoring was about to begin.

“S-Sorry you had to see that, Aubrey…”

“Hero, we all know you two are dating. It’s not that big of a deal.”

Hero hesitated a little bit at that, softly shaking his head. Best not to think about how transparent he’s been.

Best not to think about what Mari’s Father is gonna do to him.

“R-Right… Either way, let’s pick up where we last left off. U.S. History, correct?”

Aubrey nodded her head, silently pulling her notes out as she started getting to work.

…

It had been about an hour of work. The entire time, Aubrey couldn’t help but think about her conversation with Kel. More importantly, she couldn’t help but think about how she should really have that conversation with Hero, too.

Aubrey turned to her side to see Hero reading a passage from her history textbook. She had never really gotten a chance to actually see Hero. Sure, she looked at him, but she never really gave him the light of day. Now that she was actually paying attention, she could see that he barely looked different from the day of the recital. He was a bit taller, and his face had lost a little bit of baby fat, but overall he still looked like the same handsome Hero that could charm anyone with a smile.

It really felt like no one around her had changed. Kel was… much the same as he’d always been. Basil was still the same soft, timid flower boy that he’d been when they first met. Hero was still the same awkward, somewhat lanky boy that served as an older brother for the whole group.

The only one who’s really changed was her.

“Hey… Hero? Can we take a break? I need to talk to you about something important.”

Hero paused his pseudo lecture about the Civil War when he heard Aubrey speak to him. Even he had a difficult time hiding the shock on his face. When was the last time Aubrey had gone out of her way to initiate a conversation with him?

“Huh? O-Oh, yeah, of course! What is it?”

Aubrey awkwardly shifted in her seat. Even though she had done this exact thing with Kel, that didn’t make this any easier. Aubrey took a deep breath, twiddling her thumbs before speaking again.

“I… wanted to apologize. For how I’ve treated you lately. You’ve been kind enough to take time out of your day to help me get caught up, and all I’ve done is just give you the cold shoulder this entire time. So… I’m sorry.”

Hero held a neutral expression. After a deep breath, he shook his head and softly smiled at Aubrey.

“Aubrey, I appreciate the apology. I’m sure you had your reasons for closing yourself off, and… truthfully, I should’ve been there for you. Truthfully, I don’t really have an excuse…”

Aubrey frowned. That’s…

“So for that, I apologize. I suppose we’re even now.”

Aubrey had a crooked smile on her face. She wasn’t… really sure how to feel about that, but was she really going to complain that Hero accepted her apology?

“Um… Yeah, I guess so.”

Hero let out a deep breath and softly pat Aubrey on the head.

“I’ll still be here for you. I want to make sure to be a better big brother than I was back then, okay?”

Aubrey couldn’t stop a smile from creeping onto her face.

“Thank you, Hero… That really means a lot…”

---

Mari was humming to herself as she softly dragged the scrambled eggs across the pan. Since the last incident with Sunny and fire, Mari had taken upon herself to wake up earlier to prepare breakfast. That way, Aubrey and Sunny would have food and there wouldn’t be any issues with Sunny’s fear.

It worked well, but Mari could definitely feel the loss of sleep catching up to her. Even Hero could notice it when they were having their little snuggle session.

Regardless, she finished cooking the eggs and turned off the stove. She put a decent portion onto her plate, grabbing it and turning around to head to the dining room-

…Only to be met with Aubrey looking right at her. Mari couldn’t lie, she was a little spooked.

“O-Oh! Aubrey, I didn’t see you there. How long have you been there?”

Aubrey, almost as if she was in a trance, jumped a bit at Mari’s words and turned to her. She cleared her throat, brushing herself off a bit as she meekly responded to Mari.

“Oh, um… Sorry, I was just watching you cook. I didn’t wanna bother you, so I just…”

Mari giggled, softly patting Aubrey on the head with her free hand as she did.

“Aw, Aubrey… You’d never bother me! Do you wanna help out next time?”

Aubrey smiled softly, nodding her head as she went to get her own plate of food. She scooped a good amount of eggs before going over to sit next to Mari.

“So, I heard you made up with Kel and Hero yesterday.”

Mari knew she was being a little nosy about Aubrey’s effort to reconnect with the other three, but she couldn’t help it. When it came down to it, Aubrey was like a little sister to her. And as Aubrey’s effective older sister, it was her responsibility to make sure that her life was going smoothly.

Aubrey sighed before giving her response.

“Y-Yeah… I think they were pretty receptive to it, so that’s good…”

Aubrey slowly took a bite of the eggs. From what Mari could tell, she was savoring the flavor quite a bit. Mari couldn’t help but smile at that.

“That’s great, Aubrey! I’m so proud of you. I know it couldn’t have been easy to do that.”

Mari noticed the little smile creep onto Aubrey’s face as she said that. Poor girl was probably desperate for some positive reinforcement after everything.

“Yeah… Though I think Basil’s probably still mad at me. Not that I can blame him…”

Mari, after finishing up her portion of eggs, put her fork on the plate. She had heard that something bad had happened when Aubrey went to reconnect with Basil, though she wasn’t privy to the details. She opened her mouth to ask about it, but then-

knock knock

Mari was cut off by the sound of knocking on the door.

“Hold on, I’ll grab that.”

Mari got up, walking over to the door and opening it to see-

“Basil?”

Mari could almost hear Aubrey tense up when she heard who it was at the door. Basil, the ever so timid flower boy that she grew up with, softly chuckled and fidgeted in place.

“H-Hi Mari… Is Aubrey here right now? I wanted to talk to her.”

Well, it seems like this situation was getting a resolution more quickly than Mari expected. Mari turned back to look at Aubrey. Now, Mari could totally just lie and say Aubrey was out of the house right now. After all, Aubrey had apparently met a new friend not too long ago that she was spending time with. It wouldn’t be unrealistic.

But would Mari be herself if she didn’t try to cause a little mischief?

“She’s in the dining hall right now. Speaking of which, I made more eggs than I needed. Would you like to join us for breakfast?”

Mari couldn’t see it, but she could tell the look she was getting from Aubrey was one that could kill.

She regrets nothing.

“Oh, um… Sure.”

Mari smiled and practically dragged Basil into the dining room, much to the chagrin of the flower boy. Once she got Basil seated, Mari headed out.

“I’ve got some errands I need to do! You two have a good time now!”

Before either of them could protest, the door was already closed.

…

Aubrey couldn’t believe this.

What started out as a normal morning was quickly turning into a nightmare scenario. After all, what was scarier than having to confront the person you almost severely wronged? Someone that you almost gave into your impulses around and potentially ruined a friendship with?

…Aubrey couldn’t even begin to greet Basil. All she could do was silently shovel eggs into her mouth, praying that Basil would just decide to leave and save them both from the awkward conversation that they were about to face.

“I’m not mad at you.”

Aubrey almost choked on her food as she heard that. The fork landed on the plate with a clank, with Aubrey covering her mouth and slowly swallowing before she could manage to get her bearings. She turned to Basil.

“...Why not?”

Basil frowned, looking to the side with… a guilty expression?

“I’m not mad, I’m just… confused. I don’t know why you would do something like that… But I know you, Aubrey. I know you’re not a bad person. So I just want to know why.”

Aubrey bit her lip. Basil was… really too kind for his own good. Ever since she had known him, he had always been this kind and generous flower boy that she loved to be around. Which is why her having to tell him the truth killed her.

“I… I couldn’t help it, Basil. I just couldn’t.”

“But why? I just… I don’t understand.”

Aubrey frowned, softly thumbing the lighter in her pocket. As much as she wanted to take it out and start playing with it, she knew better than to do that in front of someone who was almost on the receiving end of that. So instead of using that to calm herself down, she knew she just had to face this head on.

“Because… Ever since that day at the hospital, fire has just been… comforting? Like, when I watch it, I just feel better. I don’t know how to explain it, but… But it makes me want to burn things.”

Aubrey could feel Basil’s grimace to her side. She frowned and turned to him, small tears forming in her eyes as she continued her explanation.

“But I don’t want to hurt people! Sometimes it just… It just happens! And I can’t stop it!”

Aubrey put her hands on her head.

“Does… Does that make me a bad person?”

Basil was shocked. Aubrey could tell as much from his facial expressions. With a small sigh, he stood up from his seat and put his hand on Aubrey’s shoulder. He was… smiling?

“Aubrey… I understand what you mean. I know how hard it is to stop those kinds of impulses… And I want you to know to forgive you. I just want to be friends again.”

Aubrey couldn’t accept that. It was one thing getting that from Kel, but Basil… she almost burnt one of his plants! Hell, she could’ve burnt his house down! How can he just be okay with that?!

…

It was hard to protest Basil’s decision when he wrapped his arms around her. With a choked sob, she wrapped her arms around him as well.

“I’m s-so sorry…”

They stayed like that for a while. Aubrey had to admit, it felt really nice. When was the last time she had this kind of physical affirmation before? She couldn’t even remember.

It wasn’t long after the hug that Sunny, tired and wiping his eyes, walked into the dining room. He looked up and waved at Basil.

“G’morning Basil…”

Basil smiled and waved at his friend, with Aubrey also waving. Sunny went into the kitchen, grabbing the eggs and sitting down next to Basil.

“...Wait.”

Sunny turned to Basil with a questioning expression.

“Why’re you here so early?”

Aubrey and Basil both just giggled at that, giving each other a look before Basil told Sunny about how the two of them made up over what happened at his house. Sunny simply just nodded and ate his eggs.

“Mm. Does that mean you two are friends?”

Blunt and to the point. Aubrey almost let out an exasperated sigh at that, but decided against it. Classic Sunny…

“Yeah, um… So long as Basil wants to.”

Basil smiled and nodded his head.

“Of course! I’d love to be friends again, Aubrey. Just like the old times!”

Aubrey simply smiled. That… would be nice. Sunny, on the other hand, nodded his head and cleared his plate before heading to the front door.

“Sunny? Where are you going?”

“I’m gonna go invite Kel. Just like the old times.”

Aubrey and Basil were stunned for a moment before the two scrambled out of the room to go follow after him.

The three childhood friends walked right up to the next house on the street, with Sunny knocking on the door to get their attention. The door opened, and-

“Hm? Oh, hey you three! Have you finished up your talk?”

It was Mari. Aubrey made sure Mari was aware of the look this time around.

Mari’s smug smile spoke volumes, and it didn’t disappear even as Kel and Hero walked up behind her.

“Mari… What did you do?”

Mari simply turned back to Hero and winked at him.

“Just some Mari Magic!”

Hero just gave Aubrey a pitying look. Looks like he knew what that was like all too well.

“W-Well, anyways… Do you all want to head to Gino’s? I’m sure you all just ate, but… I was thinking we could spend some time together.”

Sunny nodded his head, turning away from the door as he began walking towards the town square. Mari couldn’t help but giggle.

“Looks like my little brother is taking charge today, huh? Alright everyone, let’s go!”

“WOOHOO!”

Kel dashed out the door and ran up to Sunny, wrapping his arm around his friend. Aubrey just sighed.

She missed this.

---

The group of 6 were all walking down the street together, talking amongst each other as they all caught up. While Kel was talking with Sunny and Mari about everything he’s been up to for the past 8 months, Basil was talking with Hero and Aubrey about everything that’s been going on.

“Apparently my parents are bringing in another caretaker… Her name is Polly, I think? They don’t think my grandma is well enough to take care of me all the time anymore, so… Polly is going to be doing a lot of that.”

Hero nodded his head.

“I see… Is everything okay with your grandma? I haven’t seen her in a while.”

Basil smiled and nodded his head.

“Yeah, she’s okay! Just… she’s getting older, and it’s a bit harder for her to take care of me by herself, you know? But s-she’s still okay.”

Basil looked out of the corner of his eye and saw Aubrey give him a sad look.

He hated that.

“Well, I’m glad she’s doing alright. If either of you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to ask, alright?”

Basil smiled and nodded his head. Seems like Hero was still that kind older brother he was back then…

“I’ll keep that in mind… Thanks, Hero.”

Basil enjoyed the silence of being with his friends as they walked the rest of his way. To some, it might have been awkward to not say anything, but he always felt comfortable around his friends. With Hero on his left and Aubrey on his right, watching Kel talk on and on about all the crazy things he’s been doing to the Suzuki siblings?

Yeah, this is what he’s been missing all this time.

“We’re here!”

Kel exclaimed as the group made it to the square. As Basil looked around, he couldn’t help but realize how familiar it all was. Sure, Faraway wasn’t typically a place that changed very much, but it was moreso just… the feeling of being here that he was surprised stayed the same. Was that a weird thing to think about?

“Oooo, wait! Hero, we gotta go to Hobbeez! C’mon, let’s go!”

“Kel, wa-”

Before Hero could even get that basic sentence out, Kel was already off the races toward the store. Hero just let out a sigh as the rest of the group giggled and followed after the hyperactive boy. Basil himself smiled the whole time.

Inside the shop, they could already tell that the shopkeep was exasperated from watching Kel running around. Poor Pedro couldn’t catch a break, huh? As he watched the rest of the friend group walk in, he simply sighed.

“...Just don’t trash the place, please.”

A bit of a tall task with Kel running around, but Basil was sure that Hero and Mari would keep him somewhat under control.

A few hours passed as the group browsed what was new. Aubrey especially seemed to be entranced with everything new on the shelves. Actually, that begged the question… When was the last time she had even come here?

Hero took a look at the clock. It was just about noon by this point, and he seemed surprised at that fact. He gathered everyone together.

“Hey, how about we all go get some Gino’s? After all, that was our original idea before…”

Kel just chuckled with a smile as Hero sent him a withering gaze. Regardless of that, the group all agreed to get some pizza. Basil was getting pretty hungry, anyways…

---

This was so awkward.

Remember what he said earlier about being fine with friendly silence? Yeah, this was nothing like that. Everyone was slightly fidgeting in their seats, looking anywhere but at their friends at the table as they waited for their pizza to arrive. What changed since they were openly chatting with each other?

…Did they feel like, now that they were at the table, they needed to discuss everything that had happened? Even all the heavy stuff?

It made some sort of sense. Now that they couldn’t separate into their little groups, and were confronted with full group communication, everyone was at a bit of a loss for words.

“Pizza for Hero!”

Hero almost let out a sigh of relief as he went up to the counter to grab the pizza, thanking the cashier before returning with a smile.

“Alright guys, eat up!”

Some light conversation began as they started eating their food. Mari started talking about all of her college preparations and how she was going to lose her mind if her parents signed her up for another. Hero looked like he could empathize, and Kel took this opportunity to start complaining about his own school work. It was getting close to the end of the school year, after all… Sunny listened intently.

Aubrey, however, still seemed to be completely distracted. Every time Basil stole a glance at her, she seemed to be lost in her own little world. She seemed to be fiddling with something in her pocket…

“Hey, uh… I’m just gonna step out and get some fresh air.”

Aubrey stood up and walked out the door, turning the corner and walking out of sight. Mari and Hero were a bit confused.

“Uh… Is everything okay?”

Sunny simply frowned, nodding his head at the two older siblings. Without so much as a word, he pushed himself out of his seat and began walking to the door. Most likely to go check on her?

…Basil couldn’t help but be worried.

---

Sunny knew exactly where she was going. If he knew anything about Aubrey, it’s that she would go to the park whenever she was stressed about something. And based on her body language, it was safe to assume she was incredibly anxious about talking with everyone again.

Sure enough, as he arrived at the park, he saw Aubrey walking into the forest. To the secret hideout spot, perhaps? Regardless of the answer to that, Sunny silently followed after her. It was admittedly a little strange that she wasn’t at the swings like normal, but Sunny didn’t question it. Instead, he continued following her trail until-

He stopped.

His pupils shrunk as he saw what was going on.

“...Aubrey?”

Aubrey, panic clear in her expression, turned back to Sunny.

The bush next to her was on fire.

There was a lighter in her hands.

Sunny was frozen in place as he watched Aubrey slowly approach him.

“S-Sunny, wait… Please, it’s… It’s not what it looks like…”

Sunny instinctively took a step backwards as Aubrey approached him. Despite that, he could only look at the fire. The smell, the vicious way the fire spread, the sounds... He could hear the screaming. He covered his ears.

“Sunny, I’m so sorry… Please, help me…”

Sunny could barely hear Aubrey, taking deep breaths as panic started to set in. The smoke was starting to fill his lungs. The fire was beginning to spread and he could do nothing but try to breathe.

“Sunny, I can’t help it! Please, I just… I see the fire and it- it makes me feel safe.”

Safe.

That’s right. The fire is spreading. Sunny looked up and saw that a tree next to the bush was starting to catch fire.

He needed to save Aubrey.

Sunny, without so much as a word, grabbed onto Aubrey’s wrist and started running away from the fire. As far as he could possibly run. He just needed to GET THEM OUT OF THERE.

As the two exited the clearing, they looked back at what was happening in the forest…

…The fire was massive. It was spreading incredibly quickly. Sunny looked like he was about to cry.

He turned to his side.

Aubrey was smiling.

Chapter Text

Aubrey really didn’t want to do that. Of all things, she didn’t want to do that.

Especially not in front of Sunny.

The trees were burning quite a bit by the time the firefighters and police arrived. Stuff like this typically didn’t happen in such a sleepy neighborhood, so needless to say everyone was riled up. The rest of the friend group came over from Gino’s to see what was happening.

Mari, of course, made sure to wrap her arms around Sunny and make sure he was okay. She was a good sister like that. Sunny, for what it was worth, seemed to be doing okay. Better than he did the last few times he was put into a fire situation. He was still shaking, and some light tears could be seen… But he seemed okay.

Kel and Hero both just looked confused as they came over to comfort Aubrey and Sunny. Aubrey couldn’t blame them; after all, when did something like this ever happen around here? A random forest fire starting out of nowhere? It just didn’t happen.

Even still, she appreciated the company of the brothers.

But none of that was taking up Aubrey’s brainspace when she saw Basil.

Basil’s expression… It was hard to describe. He looked concerned, of course…

But that look also held fear. Regret. It was an expression that Aubrey preferred not to look at. It made her feel guilty for what she did.

Thankfully for her, her distraction was about to come. Not long after the friend group had reunited, a police officer walked over to them. He had a notepad, and upon closer inspection, he seemed more like a detective than a typical police officer.

“Are you two Sunny and Aubrey? The ones who called the police?”

Aubrey nodded her head, while Sunny started emerging from Mari’s hug.

“I see. I apologize for having to do this, but do you mind if I ask you some questions? I want to get as much information as possible.”

Mari huffed and put her hands on her hips.

“You could at least introduce yourself before you start bombarding us with questions.”

The detective blinked, his mouth agape as he recomposed himself. Seems he wasn’t expecting that kind of response.

“R-Right… Well, my name is Wojciech Zielinski, and I’m a detective at the Nearby Police Department.”

The friend group all looked at each other before Hero decided to quip.

“Polish, I assume?”

“...Yes. How’d you know?”

Hero had a bit of a blank stare on his face.

“...No reason.”

Wojciech sighed and pulled up his notepad and pen, ready to begin the questioning.

“Regardless… Sunny and Aubrey. Can you explain what happened when you arrived here?”

Aubrey twiddled her thumbs. She had to admit… Lying to the police made her feel even more guilty than she already did. Her mom had always taught her to be honest…

…But she couldn’t exactly admit that she was the one who started the fire, could she?

“W-Well… I was coming here to take a breather, and all of a sudden I saw that the trees were on fire. As soon as I saw that, I called the cops…”

Wojciech nodded his head and started jotting that down.

“I see… Did you see anyone suspicious while you were here? Any information at all would be important.”

“N-No… I saw no one.”

Aubrey looked back at Sunny. Was he not going to rat her out?

“We were… pretty afraid of the fire, so we got as far away as we could…”

Wojciech let out a “hmmm” and scribbled that down.

“I see… Well, I’m afraid that doesn’t give us much to work with… Regardless, thank you for your time.”

Wojciech bowed to the friend group before walking off to meet with the other police officers.

Aubrey let out a sigh as she turned back to everyone else. Talk about stressful… The friend group all exchanged some strange glances, unsure as to what to do. Who else but Mari would be the one to end the awkward silence.

“So… This didn’t exactly go as planned, huh?”

Hero chuckled, scratching the back of his head with an awkward grin.

“I-I guess not… But I still had a good time! Did the rest of you?”

Mari smiled, while the younger members of the friend group exchanged hesitant looks. Hero sighed before putting on a smile.

“...How about we all head to my house and bake some cookies?”

That certainly flipped the mood. As everyone marched back home…

Aubrey felt happy.

---

One Week Later…

Aubrey lazily tossed a baseball up and down as she lay flat on the couch. It had been a week since she had reunited with her friends, as well as a week since the forest had caught fire. Frankly, she was just glad the police stopped messing around near the hangout spot. Not being able to go there with anybody was pretty annoying.

It was the summer, after all. She should be able to go swimming in the lake, gosh dang it!

Aubrey let out a wistful sigh as she sat up on the couch. As much as she wanted to just lounge around and do nothing all day, she had work to do. Just because it was summer break didn’t mean she didn’t have schoolwork to do. After all, she missed a large majority of the year… If they were going to let her graduate and go to college, she was gonna need to dig deep.

…Didn’t mean she had to like it, though.

“Aubrey?”

Aubrey looked up from her math textbook to see Sunny walking down the stairs. He was holding a pretty large box as he started approaching her with that same neutral expression he wore everywhere.

“Oh, hi Sunny. What’s up?”

Sunny looked at the baseball in Aubrey’s hand for a moment before turning his attention back to her. Sunny reached out into his pocket and pulled out a little box, handing it to her.

“...Happy late birthday. Sorry I didn’t get this to you the day of.”

Aubrey looked a little surprised. That’s right… With everything that’s been going on, she had completely forgotten that her thirteenth birthday happened not too long ago. Was that concerning? Eh, maybe… Regardless, she took the box from Sunny and popped it open.

Aubrey gasped. It was… a softball glove. How could Sunny have afforded something so expensive?

“S-Sunny… This is…”

Sunny softly smiled, scratching the back of his head as he did.

“...I know how much you loved softball, and I just thought, y’know… You’d wanna take it up after everything that happened, you know? I-”

Before Sunny could even finish, Aubrey launched herself from the couch and wrapped her arms around Sunny.

“Thank you so much!”

Sunny could barely keep his composure as he hugged her back, face burning red from the sudden hug.

…He could almost feel Mari’s smug smile as she walked down the stairs behind them.

“Sorry, am I interrupting something?~”

Aubrey, now suddenly aware of the position they were in, pulled away from Sunny and brushed herself off.

“N-Nothing! Just… Well…”

Aubrey smiled, scooping the softball glove out of the box, messing around with it a bit before putting it on her hand.

“Sunny got me a late birthday present!”

Mari looked a bit surprised as she heard that. She gave a look of realization to Sunny before sighing and turning back to Aubrey.

“...That’s right… I’m sorry Aubrey, I didn’t know if you even wanted to celebrate your birthday!”

Aubrey knew that was an excuse, but she decided to brush it off. Mari tapped her chin before an idea came to her.

“Actually, I have the perfect idea for you! How about we make good on our promise and dye our hair?”

Aubrey’s heart almost stopped on the spot. The sparkles in her eyes made her emotions incredibly clear, even with Aubrey unable to form any actual words. Mari giggled, walking back up to the bathroom as she beckoned Aubrey to follow.

“What are we waiting for? I’ve got some hair dye from when we first planned to do it. C’mon!”

Aubrey put the glove down on the table and sprinted up the stairs, barely not tripping as she followed Mari into the bathroom.

…

Mari couldn’t help but smile as she watched Aubrey excitedly skip up the stairs. How long had it been since she saw Aubrey this explicitly happy? Too long, in her opinion. Mari had no doubt in her mind that Aubrey was happy when Sunny got her Mr. Plantegg back at the store, but now… It really did feel like things were going back to normal, even if just a little bit.

As the two of them entered the bathroom, Mari pulled out the bottles of dye before coming to a sudden realization.

“...Aubrey, I just remembered. I don’t know how to dye hair.”

The two girls stared at each other for a brief moment before busting out into giggles. Of course… What was Mari thinking? With a sigh, she tapped her chin to come up with an idea. What were they gonna do now? Mari didn’t exactly have the money to shell out on a proper hair stylist.

All of a sudden, Aubrey seemed like she had an idea.

“I know! How about I ask my friend Kim? She told me that she knows all about that kind of stuff!”

Mari was hesitant at first. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Aubrey, but… If this Kim girl was Aubrey’s friend, then she’d most likely be around 13, right? Was she really going to trust a 13 year old to help dye her hair?

…Did she have any other options? She was certain that her parents wouldn’t move a finger to get her hair done. Her father would make sure of that.

…Well, looks like she was out of options. With a sigh, she relented.

“Alright… If you’re sure she knows what she’s doing, you can call her. Do you have her home phone number?”

Aubrey nodded her head, scampering back downstairs before dialing the phone number. After a bit of ringing, she got a response.

“Hey Kim, it’s Aubrey! Hey, remember that offer for helping us dye our hair from before? I was wondering if I was able to cash that in now.”

A bit of a pause while Aubrey listened to Kim’s response.

“Mhm… Yeah… Yup, we already have the hair dye and the bleach… Yeah, I think Mari has some old clothes… Alright, sounds good. See ya!”

After a short conversation, Aubrey hung up the phone and smiled at Mari.

“Okay, she’ll be over in a bit. She told us to get some old clothes and towels that we don’t really care about anymore.”

Mari sighed. Mom and Dad weren’t going to like any of the clothes being ruined… but she was already being rebellious by getting her hair dyed without her parents’ permission. What was one more act of rebellion? She was probably already screwed as soon as they got home anyways.

It took about 10 minutes for Kim to show up at their house. Sunny was the one who let her in, to which she promptly called him a nerd and went up the stairs. When she met up with Mari and Aubrey in the bathroom, she put down the supplies on the table.

“Alright. You two wanna get your hair dyed? Let’s do it. I assume these are the colors you two are goin with?”

The two girls nodded their heads, with Aubrey leaning against the sinks. Seems like she was incredibly eager to go first. Kim smirked and pulled out a comb, starting to brush it through Aubrey’s hair.

“So, first thing’s first, we gotta make sure your hair is even. Don’t want the dye to be all blotchy.”

While Kim was combing, she turned her attention to Mari and pointed towards the stack of newspapers.

“Mari, was it? You mind putting down those newspapers? We gotta make sure we don’t trash this place.”

Mari nodded her head, taking the newspapers and laying them flat on the ground. In the meantime, she stole some glances towards Aubrey and Kim.

“So you made up with your friends, huh? Good for you. You always seemed like the type to have a can-do attitude.”

Aubrey giggled.

“Aw… Thanks Kim! I dunno, I just… I missed them a lot.”

“Damn straight. The moment you saw that Kel nerd, you had a thousand yard stare. Clearly they mean a lot to ya.”

Mari couldn’t help but smile at the exchange. Despite everything that Aubrey’s been going through… all the crap that the world has given her… She’s still smiling through it all. She’s been out making friends. As Aubrey’s somewhat kind of older sister, Mari couldn’t help but be proud of her.

“Alright, hair’s all done. Let’s see…”

Kim took a look at the two colors. She frowned a little bit, deep in thought as she considered her next move.

“Alright, so… Based on our talks, I’m gonna assume you want the hot pink color, Aubs.”

Aubrey nodded her head, causing Kim to nod and put both of the dyes down.

“Alright… Well, cause of that, we’re gonna need to bleach your hair first. Since Mari’s going with a darker color, we can just apply that right away, but your hair is gonna need to be lightened before we can get this color to work.”

Aubrey frowned a little bit. Did that mean this was gonna take longer than she thought? She thought dying her hair was gonna be a simple process…

Ugh. Well, there goes her day.

Mari, seeing that Aubrey was pouting a little bit, decided to softly pat her on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Aubrey. I’m sure it won’t take that long!”

Kim grabbed one of the old towels and wrapped it around Aubrey. She pulled out some bleach and started getting to work.

“Mari, do you mind stepping out? I’ll call you in once I’m done.”

Mari nodded her head, stepping out of the bathroom-

…Just in time to catch Sunny before he started to make a break for it.

“Little brother… Pray tell, why were you waiting outside the bathroom?”

Sunny fidgeted in his spot, clearly embarrassed.

“...I wanted to see Aubrey’s dyed hair.”

Mari’s heart skipped a beat. Oh, that was just adorable.

---

Knock knock knock

Kel, with a wide smile on his face, knocked on the door to Basil’s house. As Basil opened the door, he saw that Kel was holding a box of cookies.

“Kel?”

Kel smiled and waved.

“Hi Basil! Here, I brought you some cookies!”

Basil took the cookies out of Kel’s hands. Happy, yes… but also confused. Were these spare cookies that Hero had made? If it was, why didn’t they go to Sunny like they usually do?

“Th-Thanks, Kel, but… What’s the occasion?”

Kel scratched the back of his head.

“Well, funny story! See, we were going to give these to the Suzukis like we usually do, but apparently Sunny said he was busy? Something about Aubrey dying her hair? I dunno, it was weird! So, my next thought was to come over and bring them to you!”

Basil visibly hesitated at the mention of Aubrey, but quickly shoved that down. He couldn’t help but be flattered that Kel thought of him next, even after all this time.

“Thanks, Kel… Do you wanna come in?”

Kel nodded his head, almost sprinting into the house as he started looking around.

“Wow… This place hasn’t changed a bit! Look at all these plants!”

Kel started to mess around with a fern, much to Basil’s amusement. He couldn’t lie, it always made Basil feel great whenever Kel appreciated his plants. Made him all warm inside. It was nice.

“Well, I suppose I’ve still been growing plants, even while you guys were gone… It gave me comfort.”

Kel’s excitement died down a bit at that. He turned to Basil with an apologetic look.

“Right… Sorry. I guess I haven’t been too great of a friend, huh? While all of this was going on, I kinda just left you and everyone else…”

Basil, quick to diffuse the situation, quickly shook his head.

“N-No! It’s not like that! I… I know you had your reasons! Besides, it’s not like I was much better… I mostly just stayed holed up in my house the entire time…”

An awkward silence mired itself over the two. Oh god, did he say something wrong? Of course he did… Why did-

“Well, all the more reason to make up for lost time! You still have the photo album, right? C’mon, let’s go take a look!”

Basil was caught off guard by Kel’s sudden burst of enthusiasm, especially when the athletic boy grabbed onto his hand and dragged him into his own bedroom.

Needless to say, the poor flower boy’s face was bright red.

“K-Kel, slow down! I-”

Kel ground to a halt, with Basil skidding to a stop as Kel grabbed the photo album.

“Alright, here it is! C’mon, let’s take a look!”

Before Basil could even react to what was going on, Kel was seated right next to him, shoulder to shoulder as he opened up the photo album.

…

Basil was really hoping that these feelings would’ve faded by now. When he was this close to Kel, he couldn’t help but let his heart start thumping.

He had felt this way with all of his friends at one point. When you’ve been alone for most of your life, it’s hard not to get extremely attached to the first friends you have. He felt this way about Aubrey, and then about Sunny and Kel.

But while the feelings for Aubrey and Sunny eventually faded, especially when he figured out about Sunny’s crush on her, the feelings for Kel were different. Whenever Basil was with him, he just… he felt safer. He felt a true sense of belonging that he didn’t really feel with anyone else. It wasn’t that Sunny and Aubrey were bad friends, or that Hero and Mari were doing a bad job of being there for them. Really, that wasn’t it! It’s just… something about Kel was different.

Maybe it was his relentless enthusiasm. Maybe it was the fact that he wore a bright and toothy smile wherever he went. Maybe it was just the fact that he was always there whenever Basil needed help. Frankly, he didn’t know.

What he did know is that Kel was way too close and it wasn’t helping at all.

So, there he was. A flower boy, sitting shoulder to shoulder with a boy he possibly maybe liked while unsure if he (or Kel for that matter) was actually gay, sweating bullets while trying to make sure Kel didn’t notice. Surely nothing would go wrong, right?

“Haha, remember this? I wore so many party hats! I was the party hat king!”

Thank goodness Kel was so oblivious. Basil awkwardly chuckled, wearing a timid smile as he responded.

“You’re so silly, Kel… Didn’t you try and convince Hero to give you another one to put over your nose?”

Kel huffed, crossing his arms as he puffed his cheeks out.

“I totally would’ve been able to! Hero was just jealous that he would never be able to get that many party hats on.”

Basil giggled, looking down at the photo album himself. Sure enough, there were so many memories here… cherished memories that he would never forget. His birthday party, getting Sunny that violin, the beach…

He really missed it. Even if things were getting better… He didn’t know if they could ever truly go back to how they were.

“Oh hey, wait a minute…”

Basil was snapped out of his reminiscing by Kel pointing at a picture.

“That’s right, the treehouse! Aw man, when was the last time we went there? We gotta do it again!”

Basil smiled. Yeah… That’d be nice. All of them together in the treehouse again…

The two of them continued looking through the photo album for a while, but as the day went on, Kel got up from his seat.

“Geez, it’s getting late… I should probably head home. I don’t want Mom to get mad at me for missing dinner again.”

Basil smiled, closing the photo album and putting it under his arm. The two of them walked to the front door, with Basil opening it for Kel.

“Alright. Thanks for hanging out with me, Kel. It really means a lot.”

Kel, with the widest smile he could muster, gave Basil a quick hug.

“It’s no problem! If you ever wanna hang out, just let me know! I always have time for you!”

Before Basil could even get a word in, Kel was sprinting off, waving back at Basil as he went back home.

…

And of course, Grandma took this opportunity to finally get back home.

“Oh dear… I forgot just how energetic Kel could be. Did he come to visit you, Basil? I-”

Basil’s grandma stopped when she realized what was happening. A smirk formed on her face. Basil, bright red and stunned, looked up at his grandma.

“Well now… I take it you two had fun?~”

“G-Grandma!”

---

Sunny was lounging on the couch, much like Aubrey was earlier that day. How much time had it been since then? He’s been sitting around, waiting for the whole hair dye thing to finish. Mari’s had finished a few hours back, but for some reason, Aubrey’s was taking longer. What was up with that? When he went in to go check, all he saw was Aubrey with blond hair as the other girl promptly shooed him out.

”S-Sunny?!”

”Oi, nerd! Get out! Never interrupt a girl while she’s getting her hair bleached!”

So that went well. Sunny sighed and rolled over on the couch, turning to the main area to see Mewo walking up to him.

“Meow?”

Sunny smiled and softly pet Mewo. The cat always knew when to come, even when it was because of something trivial like this.

…

He couldn’t help but imagine what Aubrey was going to look like. She said she was going to dye her hair pink, but what shade? Was it going to be a light shade of pink? Was it going to be a heavier shade?

Sunny flushed as the images of Aubrey with pink hair flashed through his head. He buried his face in his hands, groaning as he tried to get them out. Why was he like this?

“Meow?”

Sunny turned back over to Mewo. That’s right, he could use Mewo to get his mind off of this! He petted the cat, and while he did, he started imagining if Mewo’s fur was different colors. Cats could be dyed too, right? He imagined Mewo if she was red, or blue, or green… or pi-

…

This wasn’t helping at all. Sunny let out a sigh and got up from the couch. Maybe he was just hungry. He started walking over to the kitchen, an annoyed look on his face all the while…

…Until the door to the bathroom opened.

“Alright, you’re all set, Aubrey!”

Sunny froze. He turned to Kim, rushing up the stairs to come take a look at Aubrey’s new hair color. Kim couldn’t help but snort at this.

“Sheesh, be a little patient, will ya?”

Sunny just bashfully turned to the side. Kim rolled her eyes as Aubrey finally emerged from the bathroom.

Sunny’s heart stopped.

Aubrey had a bright hot pink hair style. All the way up and down, her hair was bright pink. Her hair was perfectly straight, and she was even wearing one of Mari’s spare bows on her head. Frankly, she looked stunning.

“H-Hi Sunny… How do I look?”

Sunny had trouble formulating words, with Aubrey blushing in response. Kim had a knowing smile on her face as she headed for the stairs.

“Well, don’t let me stop you two from having a good time~ I’ll see you later, Aubs.”

With that, Kim had left the house. It was just the two of them staring each other down.

“...I think it looks really pretty…”

Aubrey couldn’t help but smile when she heard that. Even if Sunny wasn’t the best with words, she knew he meant every word. So, to hear that from him made her heart flutter. She played with a strand of her brand new pink hair.

“Th-Thanks, Sunny…”

Mari, who was never one to miss out on a chance to snoop, popped out of the bedroom and smiled.

“Aubrey, you look great! I knew that hair color would look great on you!”

Aubrey bashfully fidgeted in place, her smile even wider as she got Mari’s compliment. In the meantime, Mari turned to Sunny with a smirk.

“But little brother, how come you complimented Aubrey’s new hair and not mine? Surely you love my hair just as much, right?”

Sunny put a deadpan look on his face as he turned to Mari.

“...Your hair barely looks different.”

Mari softly pinched Sunny’s cheeks while he and Aubrey started laughing.

“You little brat!”