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Chapter Text

It was raining on the night of Sunny and Mari's recital, but it wasn't that bad to call it off. From the window, Mari could see the rustling of the trees as she played the piano. She frowned at the idea of it becoming a storm. Yet what she didn't know was at that moment a different storm was already brewing, and she would be the first one to experience it .

Mari abruptly stopped and played an out of tune note, when Sunny almost kicked one of the legs of the grand piano. With wide eyes, she looked at her brother. "Sunny? What?"

Sunny swatted his bangs away from his eyes and let out a frustrated groan.

"I can't take this! I can't take this anymore Mari! No matter what I do, I always get that part wrong!"
They were very close to the end and Sunny always fumbled on the second to the last measure. Mari sighed and reached out to him to pat his shoulder. Though she was getting annoyed of Sunny's behavior; she didn't want to disrupt her own concentration from the piano.

'Maybe he just needs a little pep talk?' she thought to herself naively, pep talks always worked on Sunny. She forced a small smile and looked at him. "Come on Sunny! just one last push! You can do it!"

"That's not the point!"

Sunny stormed out of the room, leaving a confused Mari to follow in pursuit. "Hey Sunny, wait!" she called out. Sunny hated it. Sunny hated it so much. No matter what he did to make him play better, no matter how many rounds- his hands would simply not cooperate with him. And what made things worse was Mari's guts to give him words of encouragement. He swung open the door to his room and opened his violin case. Before he could shove the accursed thing inside, Mari had already entered the room.

"Sunny, now's not the time to place back your violin! This is our last practice, I promise!"

"You said that hours ago!" Sunny muttered. "I can't do it Mari, I just can't do it. It's better if you play without me."
Mari's frown deepened and turned into a scowl the moment Sunny dropped the violin. "You're kidding right?" She stopped him from closing the container. "You're not serious... you can't throw this away Sunny. We've been practicing for months!”

"Well I already have. I could've used those months doing something else but I ended up using it on that stupid violin."

Mari looked at him hurt from what he said. "Take that back." When Sunny shook his head she repeated it louder. "I said, take that back!"

"No!" he shouted, his grip on the violin tightening as he unknowingly took it from the case. "You want this piece to be perfect- No... you want me to be perfect! But guess what? I'm not perfect, and I never will be!" He rushed out of the door and ignored her scoff from inside the room. He felt mad. No, enraged. Mari wanted him to be perfect, but he was far from it. The violin quivered violently from his hand and he found an urge to break something.

Unable to control the whirlwind of his emotions; he threw the violin down the stairs in a fit of rage. Mari gasped when she exited the door.

"Sunny!"

She ran towards the stairs and looked below. To her disbelief, there on the ground lay Sunny's broken violin.

"S-Sunny how could you?! That violin was from our friends! I can't believe you-"

Sunny clenched his fists and looked at his feet, unable to say anything. Even he was taken aback by what he had just done, but it was already too late.

He needed out.

"Sunny, look at me."

He could now hear Mari shout at him. She was shouting at him. But he couldn't bear to face her.

"SUNNY LOOK AT ME!"

Sunny darted away from her and approached the stairs, he knew to himself that things wouldn't end well if he stayed in the house.

"We're not done here Sunny! You're not running away from this." she snapped, blocking his path.
He shook his head and roughly grabbed her wrist, with the strength of a 12 year old, he yanked her away from the top of the staircase causing her to land with a thud behind him. Sunny then ran for the door and avoided the bits and fragments of his former violin. He didn't want to look at it- not after what he had done. Before Mari could shout another word, the boy took his shoes from the shoe rack and ran inside the pouring rain.

Mari, now alone in the quiet house, sat there shocked from what had just happened. 'Sunny... how could he do this? after all we've worked hard on..' Tears started brimming from her eyes as her anger slowly dissipated. She looked down the stairs once again and took to heart the sight of Sunny's shattered violin. Never in her life had she felt this betrayed by her own brother.

Not knowing what else to respond to, and knowing Sunny was already gone, she hugged her knees and silently wept on top of the staircase.

Sunny ran as far as his feet could carry him, anywhere, as long as it was far away from the house. He couldn't face Mari after what he did, and there was no longer any use to go to the recital. He thought of his friends waiting for them inside that mini auditorium, now they would never hear him and Mari play. But that didn't change the way he felt about the violin and the pressure he forced unto himself just to play it.

The rain thickened as he made his way through the streets. He didn't even get the chance to take an umbrella.

Panting, he stopped in the middle of the road to catch his breath, but he was met with loud honking and the screeching of tire wheels. Afraid, he rushed to the other side and entered the park. It was empty, but he didn't bother looking for anyone. Sunny jogged towards their secret hangout spot with despair etched on his face.

The soil was moist below his feet, and the wind was getting stronger.

When he reached his final destination, Sunny noticed that he had run through the streets without putting his shoes on. With a sigh, he dumped it next to the dock and sat down on the edge. Knowing that no one would hear him, he let out a loud cry.

He looked at the murky water and saw his reflection through the rippling rain. 'This is your fault.' he muttered to himself angrily and kicked it. 'This is all your fault.' Unbeknownst to him the water was already reaching the tip of his toes. He stayed there wishing there was a way for him to escape.

A few minutes passed into hours and Sunny had slowly calmed down. The recital didn't happen, and the rain had grown heavier. He was genuinely too tired to care about the water reaching his knees.

Letting out a heavy sigh, he wiped out the remnants of his tears and tried to get up. He knew that Mari wouldn't care to look for him after what he had done. But for some reason when he tried lifting his legs up from the water, his one leg was stuck. His heart started pounding when he tried to shake it loose.

His sock had gotten caught on a large nail. He shouted for help but no one came for him.
He was alone.

It was hard to see what he was working on, so instead, Sunny inched a little closer towards the edge and tried removing his sock. With the last of his strength, Sunny tried to pull himself free. But to his misfortune he miscalculated his weight and ended up falling face first into the water.

Sunny screamed. The raging water was dragging him down and his arms felt heavy. He couldn't swim, he didn't know how to swim- he was afraid, and he didn't want to die. Mari wasn't there for him to save him, so there was nothing he could do. As he sunk deeper into the lake, he found himself staring at the dark sky. Even as it was raining, he could see the stars twinkle above him.

I'm sorry Mari.. I hope you forgive me…

He then closed his eyes and was met with pure darkness.

Chapter Text

Mari woke up with a cold sweat when she heard someone call out to her. It felt surreal, and though she didn’t know who it was, she could clearly remember what they said.
“I’m sorry Mari. I hope you forgive me.”

She sat up from her bed and looked at the mirror next to her. Her face was pale and her eyes had a slight tint of pink. Instead of her recital dress, she was instead wearing her nightgown. She could recall falling asleep on the stairs after crying for God knows how long, but other than that, everything was a blur. Mari’s watch beeped and she found herself frowning when she realized it was already half past 8.

The recital didn't happen after all.

Her brows furrowed as she looked towards her little brother's bed. She wanted to scold him and shove her pillow hard on his face after what he did. If it was possible, she wanted to throw him out of the window and- Mari, get a grip on yourself! To her surprise, the bed next to her was empty, and Sunny was nowhere to be found.

The sound of pouring rain and distant sobbing was eminent from outside the bedroom.

She sighed in disbelief. The talk could wait later, now she needed to know what was going on outside of her room. If she was lucky, Sunny would be there eating a snack. Fixing her gaze on the doorknob, she shook her head in disappointment as she opened the door.

Her heart dropped when she was met with a different scene instead.

Downstairs, she saw men in blue entering in and out of her house. The person she could hear from her room was her mother, who was crying hysterically below the stairs. Mari's father was next to her holding her tight.

What happened? Had they been robbed while she was asleep? Why were there police officers everywhere?

Bewildered, she came down the stairs and was met with the cold gaze of her father. She was used to it as the man had given her similar gazes in the past, but it wasn't the same icy gaze she got when she played a wrong note on the piano, in fact, it was way darker. Her mother pulled her close and wept on her shoulder when her father moved away.
"Mom.. what's going on?" she said. Her concern grew when she noticed that Sunny wasn’t in the picture.

"Where's Sunny?"

Her mother didn’t respond to her question for a few minutes, and continued to cry on her shoulder. When she had calmed down, she mustered a few words.

"Mari.. my only daughter... I'm so- I'm so sorry..." her mother hiccupped, as she tightened the hug.

Mari couldn't comprehend what was happening, she was confused from the chatter around her, and she felt as if everyone was watching her. An officer walked towards her with a sad smile on their face. “Hi… you must be Mari, am I correct?” She nodded her head. The officer hung his head low. “I see… I’m really sorry for your loss. I hope you know that it’s not your fault and-”

“Cut the crap officer, the vixen doesn’t deserve any comfort.”

She looked at her father wide-eyed from his response. The officer saw this and rebuked him, “Sir, this is not the time for-”

“She deserves it! She deserves all of it! Do you think I give a living shit about the name I called her?!”

“Charles!”

The older man scowled, dismayed from his wife’s disapproval.

Shaking their head, the officer left the room after giving her a pat on the shoulder. When they came back, another man was following them. The man looked older than the officer who called him, was taller by a few inches, and his brown hair was greying on the side. His brown trench coat was slightly worn from from the poor weather. He looked like one of those friendly uncles Mari usually saw on television, but his deep frown was masquerading his friendly face. He was carrying something damning- and from the looks of things, Mari already knew where it was leading. Her eyes darkened as she watched the man place them in front of her, as if it was judgement for her sins.

It was the shoes Sunny was wearing a while ago. The very same shoes he took after their fight.

"Detective Dolion Baxter. I'm assigned the detective assigned to this case." he said calmly, shaking her limp hand as a sign of civility.

Mari ignored him and looked at the shoes below her despondently, as her mother continued to weep. The man's frown deepened when she didn't respond to him nor look at him, so he took off his hat and squatted down next to her on the stairs.

"Mam.. I know that it is hard to deal with, but for the past couple hours your brother has been missing." he explained."We found his shoes by the lake two hours ago, and the water was overflowing so we couldn’t search for him... We're finding for him now that the lake has stopped overflowing."

Mari didn't want him to finish their sentence, but her words ran dry before she could say anything.

"He committed suicide. If not suicide, he might have drowned in the lake. We saw a sock stuck to a nail which indicated him falling in. I’m truly sorry…"

Mari felt bile rise up to her mouth, and from her darkened gaze, tears flowed from her eyes.

"Such a young boy... he didn't deserve this." The man muttered to himself as he stood up from where he was squatting. "Once you are done processing this, if it is okay with you of course, I would like to take you in for questioning at the station." With that the detective left with the officer after being called outside.

"This is all your fault Mari.” Her father muttered. “If only you did something, anything- this would have never happened." Mari's eyes shot up to her father who was now pointing at her accusingly.

What?..

"But no! you incompetent child. You didn't even bother to look for your brother! You didn’t stop him from jumping in that lake! Not only did you not perform the recital, now your brother's blood is on your hands. Look what you’ve done..."

Her mother came to her defense. “Charles, Mari didn’t know what was happening, we found her unconscious on the staircase. You have no right to treat her as a monster!” her mother shouted.

“But she is a monster! Look at her!”

As her parents fought, Mari found herself covering her ears. In her head, she could hear distant voices murmuring to her.

Murderer.

Monster.

Murderer.

Monster.

Murderer.

Monster.

MurDERER.

“I will not tolerate this! I will not tolerate a murderer in my household. Not even my own daughter!"

Mari felt her chest feel heavy as her father dropped the final blow. Guilty. She was guilty.
Has she really killed her brother, whom she loved so dearly?

No she couldn't…

But she knew her negligence had caused her hands to be sullied.

"You are not my daughter." Her father sneered, tears spilling from his eyes as he exited the house. "Not anymore."

And as if to rub insult, her friends entered the moment he left. They were covered in rain, and their shoes were muddy. The expression on their faces said it all.
They had heard everything, and now they were seeing Mari’s undoing.

"Mari..."

Mari looked at Hero, the person who she held a keen interest in, panting from running. Basil, Kel, and Aubrey were trailing behind him looking at her worryingly.
She stood up from the stairs and looked away from them. She couldn't deal with them at the moment, in fact, she couldn't deal with all of this.

Not now.

Right now she wanted to puke.

Leaving her mother behind, she paced quickly up the stairs and walked inside the bathroom, locking the door behind her before opening the lid of the toilet.
She wanted to scream, to believe it wasn't true, but the thought of Sunny's drowned body haunted her.

She had killed Sunny. She was a murderer. Her father was right.

She was a terrible sister.

Pulling away from the toilet bowl, she wiped her mouth and softly sobbed to herself.

Their fight played over her head like a broken record, and she found herself stopping and looking for any time she did something wrong. Maybe if things played out differently, or something had changed, she wouldn’t be in the position she was in.

Deep in her heart she knew her little brother was struggling, but she was so far into her playing that she didn’t even notice the violinist leave before curtain call.
It should have been her.

When she looked at the mirror her face dropped and she felt a cold sensation, when she saw something staring at her from behind her.
Unable to keep herself steady any longer, she fell towards the floor.

Chapter Text

Basil wore black that day. Just like everyone else.

He looked at the somber atmosphere around him, unsure of how he should feel.

Going to church has always been a somber experience to him, yes, but it has never been this somber. Listening attentively to the pastor as he spoke his Sunday gospel was ordinary, but this was a completely different occasion.

They were holding a funeral. A funeral for Sunny's death.

It has been 2 weeks since Sunny's untimely 'passing,’ and his parents, tired of waiting, decided to hold a funeral for him. Of course it wasn't weird at all, to tell you the truth, Basil was fine with it. Sunny deserved a proper funeral and commemoration, and his best friend deserved so much more than that. But burying an empty casket?

That didn't sit well with him.

Not even a single bit.

Everyone was quick to believe Sunny's death even if the police didn't find his body. But he knew Sunny like the back of his mind, and he could tell if something was bothering him, he was his best friend after all. So why was everyone dismissive of it?

"Sunny isn't dead you guys, you can't believe what the police are saying!" Basil exclaimed. "He's out there, somewhere- I just know it. Maybe he ran inside the woods and got lost..." He recalled telling something in that manner to both Hero and Kel, two nights before gathering next to Sunny's former house.

Kel pursed his lips and attempted to give Basil a side hug from where he sat. He was obviously holding it all in, but it hurt more seeing his friend in complete denial. Basil moved away from him before he could, and stood up. Hero ran a hand through his hair and looked away.

"Look, Basil.. I know this might be hard-"

"But it is! They didn't find a body, there is no proof of Sunny jumping in the lake that night, and there's no proof of him committing suicide!"

"But they found his shoes next to the lake when he went missing, remember?" Kel added. "You saw one of the policemen carry them inside when we trailed after them that night. You were there! There is nothing we can do about it..."

" 'Nothing' to do about it?" Basil cutted him off with a scoff. "'Nothing' to do about it?! Kel, you're ASSUMING he committed suicide over a pair of stupid shoes! How can you not see your flawed logic?! What, let me guess, now you're going to say bodies 'magically' disappear into thin air?"

"I.." Kel looked at his brother next to him. He nudged him when Hero said nothing. "Help me out here man! don't just sit there."

Hero looked at the darkened house meters away from them. The streetlight next to them flickered for a second.

"Basil look, no matter how much I hate to say this, that still doesn't change the fact that Sunny's gone..." Hero said. "I get you guys are close, but the police can't keep searching the woods forever. It's too vast even for them."

Basil's eyes widened with despair. Even Hero believed Sunny was gone for good.

"Fine, don't count me in the equation then, forget for a moment that I'm Sunny's best friend." He said to him firmly. "What about Mari?"

Hero's gaze from Basil wavered, he was caught off guard from it, at the worst possible time. Suddenly, he was so unsure of himself.

"Maybe…" he sighed. "The date has been set and we can't change their minds to postpone it. We can't do anything about it, it's their family grieving."

"But we're grieving as well!"

"Basil."

Hero stood up from the sidewalk and put his hands on Basil's shoulders. Basil shivered from the contact because Hero's hands were cold.

"I know it's really hard for you knowing you've been the closest one to Sunny out of all of us, but please for our sake.. for your sake.. for Sunny's sake.. please... you have to move on."

Hero's face seemed convoluted in the dimness of the streetlight, but all Basil could do was hold his tongue.

"two days from now with or without Sunny, all of us are requested to do a eulogy for the family."

Basil's eyes widened as he let go.

A eulogy... for Sunny?

"We have to do it for Sunny, Basil. We have to."

Something whirred inside of Basil when Hero said that. The image of him standing next to the lectern, talking about the life of his best friend and how it ended so soon, scared him.

This is wrong.

This is very wrong.

But...

with a sigh he let out a small fake smile.

"...fine. If it's for Sunny."

Hero gave him a faint smile and pulled him into an embrace. Kel joined in and they stayed like that for a minute before breaking apart. But Basil didn't feel any comfort whatsoever from the words the brothers had said to him that night.

The only thing that came across his mind was that he was alone.

And that no one else understood other than him.

Basil stood in front of the crowd and felt his chest start to seize. It felt as if he were drowning, drowning in the words he couldn't say. He had started to regret agreeing to do the eulogy in the first place. His hands were clammy and his frail body was starting to shake.

He needed to say something. Even a single sentence at least. Even if the empty casket in front of him was the thing that was dragging him down.
The once supportive hopeful glances of his friends had turned into concern and he could hear murmurs from the crowd.

He felt his breath turn raggy and his vision start to blur.

'Everything's fine. Everything's fine.' Basil murmured to himself to keep him under control. But he couldn't muster a single word from his mouth.

He needed Sunny- He needed to find-

The moment he caught a glance of the empty coffin again, all hell went loose.

"I-- I'm so sorry I can't do this!" He exclaimed. With a cracky voice, Basil ran through the aisle and out of the church.

Aubrey was first to stand up from her seat, before Kel and Hero followed after her. Mari on the other hand, seeing the commotion, decided to stay behind.
Basil kept running until he was able to lose them. When he disappeared into their secret hangout spot, he fell on his knees and called out to Sunny from the murky waters below, even if it was nothing but a helpless plea.

Everything is not fine.

Everything is not fine.

Chapter Text

“Basil? Basil! guys, we lost him!" Aubrey cried, bending down to catch her breath.

"Damn that guy.. running off just like that!" Kel gritted through his teeth, He gave him a stern look.

"Come on Kel, no need to be harsh." Hero reprimanded as they stopped running.
Kel didn't understand.

He didn't understand why Basil ran off; he said he was fine with doing the eulogy- he said he'd do it for Sunny! He said he'd move on for him!

Yet anger wasn't the emotion he was feeling when they ran out of the church in pursuit of the blonde boy. It was disappointment and disbelief that his friend had lied to him in front of his face that led him to cursing Basil.

Hero shook his head.

"Let's split up." Hero declared, and directed them both towards the direction of the park. "You both find Basil in the park, I'll check his house."

"But Polly's in the chapel with Mari!" Aubrey pointed out before he could run the opposite direction. "Maybe his grandmother knows where he went, someone still has to check. Just go- go! If he isn't there, we'll check Fix-it as well. Let's meet back at the church afterwards!"

After watching Hero disappear towards the other side of the road, Kel and Aubrey ran towards the direction of the park.

Kel sighed to himself. This wasn't fair of Basil. This wasn't fair at all.

When they arrived at the park, they made their way towards the entrance of their secret hangout spot and heard someone crying.

"Basil…" Kel muttered, he knew who it was immediately. He had never openly seen Basil cry before, but there were some instances he heard him cry when he used to vent to Sunny. It used to sadden him; no matter how much he told Basil he was there if he needed to vent, he would only take the offer seldomly.

With a huff, Kel marched towards the clearing, his dissapointment overgulfing his pity.

"Basil, man! What the heck was that?!" he said, approaching closer to the dock. "You can't run off just like that, that's very rude! especially during Sunny's funeral!"

Basil knew they were there of course, after all, who else would be responsible for the rustling of the fallen leaves behind him? Yet he continued to call out to Sunny, now hoping for a miracle that he would answer. When Kel had finally reached the docks, Basil sighed in frustration.

"Kel you really don't understand do you? for the last time, Sunny isn't dead!"

"He's gone Basil, he's gone! How hard is that to understand? I thought we went over this!" he pulled on Basil's arm and yanked it. "Now come on, stop acting like a baby! we have to get back to church-"

Basil pounded his fist on the hard wood of the dock, hard enough to cause the whole thing to shake. Kel stepped back to keep his balance. "I can do it myself…" Basil gritted. He stood up and dusted his black slacks.

"You- y-you think it's so easy to move on from this?!" Basil shouted and clenched his fists.

"You four have it so easy, like Sunny's just some object you can replace and shrug off as if it's nothing!"

Aubrey gasped and stepped closer. "And what made you assume that, Basil?! You're not the only one mourning here! Sunny was also our friend too!"

"You didn't even bother to think twice when the police didn't find his body! What kind of friend wouldn't question that?!"

"I-"

Aubrey stood there stunned, her curled up fists loosened and she was unable to say anything. Basil scoffed and looked at her pitifully. "See what I mean?"

"But that doesn't change the fact you ran off like that!" Kel interrupted, shielding Aubrey. "That's still so insensitive of you, Basil! What will Sunny's family think of you now?"

"Insensitive?" Basil laughed sourly, he struck his chest. "I'm insensitive? Kel, I'd rather be insensitive than live a lie and mourn over a stupid empty casket. You can call me a traitor- a 'traitor' to Sunny's family, but if you think I'm betraying Sunny that easily you're very wrong."

"But you already did-" Kel groaned. "You already- I just- I don't understand Basil. I just don’t-"

"Then don’t understand me. That’s how simple it is." he gripped his sleeve. “Don’t understand me.”

“Basil-”

“And if it makes you feel better, don’t talk to me either.”

The three friends were left in silence as Basil wiped the tears from his face. Aubrey was on the verge of tears, deeply hurt from what Basil had said, Kel meanwhile was left dumbfounded.

"Kel, if you were truly Sunny's friend you should’ve given it a second thought. But who am I to blame you? You want to move on, I can’t."

Basil then shot a glare at Aubrey.

"And you.. Sunny liked you. A lot."

Aubrey stiffened.

"And you just gave up on him."

Basil turned away from them, completely winded from the conversation.

"Just leave me alone.. If it isn’t obvious, w-we aren’t friends anymore."

He looked back at the lake and sat down on the dock, ignoring the shocked faces of his former friends.

"Please leave me alone."

"But-"

Before Kel could say anything else, Aubrey stopped him by tugging on his hand. She shook her head.

Kel looked at Basil dejectedly one last time and pulled the sobbing Aubrey closer to him.
Basil sat there in silence staring at the water. That lake, that very same lake, took his best friend from him, and robbed him of his happiness.

“Let the water stand as the only witness…” he muttered, hugging his knees. “Let it be the only witness.”

He then decided that from that point forward he would visit the lake everyday to look for Sunny.

Even if it meant he was alone in looking for him.

"Where's Basil?" Hero asked when Aubrey and Kel came to meet him outside the church. He flashed them a worried look when they didn't answer immediately.

Kel shook his head and escorted Aubrey to the entrance.

“Kel?”

"We didn’t find him.” he replied flatly.

"Oh…"

"He needs space, probably." Kel muttered, flashing Hero a pained smile. "It’s fine, let’s just go back to the funeral."

Kel and Aubrey entered the church leaving Hero to watch the door close in front of him. He'd never seen Kel and Aubrey so down, especially when it was about Basil.

As he was about to enter, he happened to spot Mari walking on the pathway. She looked conflicted, no, terrified. It was obvious from her dilated pupils.

“Mari...”

Mari looked at him as if she had seen a ghost at first, but soon it was exchanged with sudden fatigue.

She opened the door and ignored him.

Wondering what had happened to Kel and Aubrey and pained from Mari’s reaction to him, he sighed and entered the somber atmosphere.

The whole procession was then spent in silence between the 4 friends, and they watched the empty casket get buried in the cemetery.

Mari watched the two of them leave the lake from behind a tree, and stared at Basil blankly as he sat there alone. She had followed them when the 3 of them rushed out of the church, and overheard their argument.

She didn’t want to be there, knowing full well it was the place where Sunny was last spotted, but she wound up following Kel and Aubrey. Though she wasn’t able to hear everything, her guilt chewed on her as she watched Basil cry to himself.

Things weren't working out.

When the coast was finally clear she made her way through the bushes to leave, but she was stopped when she felt a hand gripping on her sleeve.

It was moist and cold yet it didn't affect her physically, but it did send a chill running down her spine. Slowly, she looked towards the source of the hand and attempted not to scream.

It was Sunny, dripping wet with cold water and hair half-covered with seaweed. The same Sunny she saw in the mirror the day of the recital . He was as pale as a corpse and his features were disoriented, yet she could see anger evident in his eyes.

Mari …

the creature spoke in a low hoarse voice . His calloused hand gripping through her sleeve as if it wasn't willing to let her go so easily.

filled with fear she pulled away from his grasp and ran out of the park without turning back.

Chapter Text

When Sunny was alive, everything was fine. Perfect even.

After class, the group would walk together and eat at their usual lunch spot. Kel and Aubrey would be the first to rush to the table, because they always fought over this one spot close to the window. Basil and Sunny would lag behind them because Basil wanted to share this new book he had borrowed from the library. And Mari- Mari would be by his side discussing his daily duties and their former lessons.

It may seem trivial- honestly it is trivial, but to Hero, these small moments were special to him. He knew that the others would slowly outgrow these habits, and as they grew up things were likely to change in the future. Mari and him were soon going to college, and highschool doesn’t exactly last forever; but he didn’t expect this to be the ‘future’ he was long awaiting for.

Hero sighed as he made his way through the bustling cafeteria. Even amidst the chaotic atmosphere, his mind couldn't help but think it was empty. After taking a cup of water from the dispenser, he walked towards the desolate table, lonely from its lack of occupants.

A hand stopped him as he sat down at the table. “Yo.”

He smiled and scooted away from the corner. “Hey Kel.” His younger brother smiled back at him and dumped his tray smack in the middle, causing Hero to wince as he watched Kel's food jump from the tray. From their population of 6, their group had dwindled into 2, and the brothers had been trying their best to occupy the empty space they couldn’t fill.

Mari was shutting herself away from them, well mostly him. After the funeral she stopped attending school and stayed at home. He heard from Kel that Aubrey was skipping classes, and Basil refused to talk to any of them. His brother meanwhile prioritized his basketball more than before.

He was worried. But just being worried would be an understatement.

He never got the chance to learn what really happened after Basil’s failed eulogy. Kel wouldn't give him all the details, and whenever he tried to push the topic further he would just shrug it off.

But he recalled his brother asking him something strange the night they came home from the funeral, which got him thinking whether or not it was a piece of the puzzle he was desperately trying to solve.

"Hero.. am I insensitive?"

"Dude hey, you're dozing off again." Kel said and snapped his fingers in front of Hero's face, taking a bite from his tuna sandwich. "Oh.. sorry about that." Hero chuckled. "It's been a month now, but it feels like 4 years."

Kel gave him a sad hum. "Your girlfriend's still not answering the door for you?"

"What? K-Kel, now's not the time! I meant it has been a month since we last ate together, that's all." Hero sputtered, and smacked him lightly on the shoulder. "Besides, it's not like that! me and Mari haven't officially labelled our relationship yet…” Something about the way Hero said it made his heart swell. “But yeah, she still hasn't answered me ever since her father left." He put a hand through his hair and looked at the empty seat in front of him.

'She doesn't deserve this... she's lost so much...'

"So.. assuming that, you're going to visit her house again after school?"

"I have to Kel, she's been going through all of this alone and she's been stuck inside practicing her piano. She doesn't even go to school anymore! It's incredibly worrying..."

Kel nodded and took another bite from his sandwich.

He has been trying. God knows he has been trying. But Mari felt so… distant.

He wanted to be there for her. He missed the smug look on her face whenever they had their picnics, and the smile she gave him whenever they were alone cleaning up in the treehouse. He just missed her in general.

But after Sunny committed suicide she felt like a stranger.

He wondered constantly if she talked to anyone other than her piano, because even her piano playing has slowly decreased.
While he was busy thinking about Mari, Kel took the opportunity to take a bite out of his PB and J sandwich and nab it all to himself.

"Hey! I was about to eat that, you know."

"Well you weren't eating it and it was getting soiled by the air- I had to save it!"

"Soiled by the air?” he chuckled. “What on earth is that?"

"I don't know man, but all I can say is shame on you bro. I can’t believe I’m brothers with someone who's willing to waste a good sandwich. "

Hero sighed and took another sandwich from his lunch bag.

"You're lucky mom made me bring extra."

"And you're lucky that mom made you a pickle sandwich because that's gross as heck dude, why would you eat that?"

Hero rolled his eyes and took a bite of his sandwich.

Duly noted. Kel hates pickle sandwiches.

"Hey.. in speaking of this place being emptier than usual, have you seen Aubrey anywhere?" Kel asked as he finally finished his sandwiches.

"No? I haven't seen her since yesterday. Why'd you ask?"

Kel frowned and closed his lunch box. "That's the point, I've been looking for her everywhere and I can’t seem to find her. I know she's been skipping classes, but it's usually after some of our classes; not the entire day."

"Have you tried asking Basil?"

Kel shook his head. "You know that firsthand Hero. He doesn’t even look at me anymore whenever I try to talk to him."

Hero watched his brother stand up from his seat and pack his things while he packed his own. They weren’t exactly in a hurry since they had a few minutes to spare. "You know it wouldn't hurt to try though, maybe you might catch him in a good mood today."

Kel bit his lip and waited for Hero to stand up before looking at the door. He paused for a moment to think to himself.

"You know what, maybe you're right. I’ll try checking with Basil."

Hero smiled. "Well there you go."

With a pat on his shoulder, Kel and Hero walked out of the cafeteria like soldiers entering into a battlefield, a sense of determination ran through them as the school bell rang.

Hero looked back at their empty table and promised himself that one day they'd one day sit there together again, laughing and cheering with smiles on their faces, just the way things used to be.

With that in mind he walked on, knowing what he had to do afterwards.

Somewhere outside of the cafeteria, someone was watching both brothers from underneath a tree. They were talking to themself, surely, but no one knew for sure.

“Looks like I have to crash the president’s date.” the person sighed, a small smile etching on their face.

Chapter Text

“Alright Kel… you can do this!”

Kel gave himself a little pep talk and peered from his biology book. The determination he shared with his brother was still evident in his eyes, and ever since recess he didn’t stop thinking about what Hero said.

He was just a class away from getting his sweet taste of freedom, (he and Hero were quite the polar opposites; he hated school, while his brother loved school to the point that he’d even ask it to adopt him.) and a few minutes from asking Basil about Aubrey.

Basil wasn’t kidding when he said it was best that they’d ignore him, but honestly, who’s ignoring who? They’re classmates and they meet each other on a daily basis! It was wounding for Kel to see his friend keep everything to himself, but he understood his friends position. Or at least he tried to, for Basil’s sake.

Sunny was also Kel’s friend and other than Hero he also thought of him as a brother. His death was.. No, is not something to be ‘shrugged off’. In fact, when the news broke out he was the first to rush out of the auditorium with the keys to his parents car. But then he remembered that Hero couldn’t drive so they ended up running back to the gates of Faraway.

The feeling of racing down the sidewalk to Mari’s house always caused shivers to course through his spine; the loud blaring sirens and pouring rain haunted him everytime that scenario played like a broken record player inside his head. He could remember that terrible day as if it was yesterday, and no matter how much he tried to forget it happened it stayed that way.

But even if Sunny’s death left a gaping hole in their hearts, he knew Sunny would’ve wanted them to move on. Even though Sunny wasn’t expressive, Kel knew that seeing his friends down in the dumps was the last thing Sunny wanted to see. So that’s why even amidst everything, and even if the idea of Sunny being in the better place was the only thing he had, Kel tried smiling.

Smiling for his friends and smiling even if nobody wanted to. It was his only way of paying his old friend a final favor.

Kel clicked his tongue and looked towards the middle row of the class. Their teacher was muttering gibberish again and he could barely understand any of the terms. Biology has never been his strong suit, but in contrast to his sulky demeanor, Basil was having a field day.

‘He practically loves the subject just as much as he loves taking care of his plants..’ Kel remarked to himself as he watched his friend; Basil was the second most active in the subject, and this made him glad. Basil has this bad habit of holding back even if he didn’t need to, so it was good to see that Biology brought out another side of him.

Yet even with pride Kel felt for Basil, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy.

Soon enough the bell rang and signaled the end of Biology class. It was finally his time to ask Basil and push aside the invisible boundary that separated them both. All he had to do was hope that Basil was willing to cooperate, which nowadays proved to be quite a challenge for him.

He scribbled the assignment onto his notebook sloppily and stood up after shoving his textbook inside of his bag. The 15 seconds walk for him felt very long, but he finally managed to approach Basil without turning back.

Basil was sitting on the floor answering his biology book, unknowingly blocking the path. He was so invested in it that he didn’t seem to notice Kel inch closer to him, and overall seemed to be in his own different world.

Kel took another step closer and waited for Basil to notice, but the blonde didn't even budge.

The time was ticking and the next subject was coming close, so Kel knew he didn't have time to stall. Taking a deep breath, he ignored every possible bad outcome that could happen in his mind and tapped the blonde on the shoulder.

Basil flinched a little from the sudden contact.

“O-oh! Sorry about that.. I must be in your way huh? I’ll go back to my seat so you can--”

The small ghost of a reassuring smile turned quickly into a frown for Basil once he noticed the person was Kel.

“Oh.”

With a curt glare he closed his biology book (a little too roughly) and stood up to sit back on his chair. Kel sighed when Basil started ignoring him.

“Basil, come on now, man. It’s already been a month. You can’t avoid me forever y’know.”

Basil said nothing and took a piece of pad paper from his bag.

“Basil.” Kel said sternly. He recalled asking Hero for help regarding his debate once and Hero advised him that the way he sounded also helped people differentiate whether he was serious or not. When he saw that his advice had no effect on Basil he started to become a little annoyed.

“Ok fine, ignore me all you want, but please would it kill you to actually look at me for once?”

It took him a while to get an answer from Basil, but it seemed that today was his lucky day. Basil looked at him unamused.

“Thank you.”

Kel put his hands in his pockets and slumped on Aubrey’s empty desk separate to him.

“Look man, I’m not going to bring up what you did last month. It sucked, yes, but I don’t have time for that. I’m just here to ask you if you know where Aubrey has been for the past few days. She hasn’t been in school since yesterday and I’m worried about her.”

He could see Basil’s icy gaze slowly chip off as he talked. Talking about Aubrey worked! Kel mentally fist bumped himself. He found it weird of him to be glad to talk about Aubrey, but he decided to ignore it.

Feeling a little more confident he finally asked the question. “So… I was wondering if you could tell me where she went?”
And that’s when he knew, he shouldn't have been too cocky.

Basil’s expression changed back to it’s usual stone demeanor, and wiped away all the progress Kel was able to achieve.
To add insult to injury, the bell rang before Kel could press the question even further.

‘Great.’ frustrated, he muttered to himself and stopped leaning on the desk. “Nice talk to you, I guess.” After being met with disappointment, Kel walked away from Basil defeated.

Basil was his only hope and he didn’t know anyone else who knew about Aubrey’s whereabouts.

As he was walking to his seat, he felt something light hit his right shoulder. It didn’t help his growing bad mood of course, so he didn’t exactly appreciate whoever did that. When he looked on the ground he found a crumpled sheet of pad paper and noticed something written in it. Curious, he decided to pick it up and open it.

His eyes widened and he found himself looking towards Basil.

‘Ask the hooligans. They might know.’

With a lopsided grin he put the paper in his pocket and mouthed Basil a ‘thank you.’ Wondering what the hooligans had to do with Aubrey’s disappearance and glad that he had finally gotten a new lead, he took a seat and waited for the next teacher to come.

----
Aubrey has had way worse days in her life, but this day in particular was worser than the rest.

She wasn’t fond of escapism, she hated the idea of escaping her problems and she thought it was cowardly, but this time she wanted to entertain the idea. They won’t be mad at her for being cowardly right? To embrace her weakness and be vulnerable for once. But who was she kidding, there was no one to get mad at her and she was free to cry whenever she wanted. The only person who could get mad at her was herself.

Her family life has never been what you call ‘ideal,’ and from the moment she turned 8 she knew that it was bound to crumble one day. Day after day her parents would fight, and day after day Aubrey found that naive part of her that believed in her family’s redemption disintegrate into fine ash.

Her mother’s drinking addiction has worsened and her father, tired of reasoning with the woman, decided to pick up his suitcases and leave for the door. Permanently.

But her father’s now ‘permanent’ absence in her life didn’t sting just as much as the other reason did. The true reason why it pained her so much was because he didn’t even think twice about bringing her with him.

Why did she have to live like this? She thought to herself countless times.

Why couldn’t she have a normal family just like any other?

Tears started pouring down her cheeks again and this time she didn’t bother herself to wipe them. She couldn’t count how many times she has cried over the past 2 days, but she couldn’t find the strength to get out of her room. Now that she’s noticed it, Aubrey has been a coward all along. She’s been escaping this very moment through the warmth of her friends, but even her ‘friends’ couldn’t help her now.

Hugging herself closer, she huddled to the other side of the wood wall and tried to go back to sleep.

Creak creak creak

Aubrey’s eyes darted open and she immediately sat up defensively. She didn't want to see anyone at the moment, especially her mom since she knew she was drunk. She scooted towards the corner of her room and held on tightly to her pillow.

The creaking suddenly stopped and a head popped up from the hole on the floor, Aubrey’s grip on her pillow loosened when she noticed who it was.

Aubrey sniffled and quickly wiped her tears away. “Kel! W-what the heck-”

“Yo!”

Kel climbed his way into the room and looked at the stupefied Aubrey after examining the attic-like (no, actually it was their attic-) room. He then sat next to her on her bed and let out a small awkward smile.

“Nice room?”

Aubrey buried her face in her pillow and groaned.

"Go away Kel. I don't want to talk to you."

"But you seem like you need a friend right now."

“Psh, you?" she croaked. "I’d rather talk to mr. Plantegg."

Kel looked at her hurt for a moment but decided to stay in the room. When Aubrey noticed that he wasn’t going anywhere, she let out a sigh and closed the hatch on the floor.

"How did you get past my mom that easily?”

Kel shrugged. “I merely walked in and she didn’t bother saying anything. Your door was unlocked this whole time.”

He noticed her inch away further towards the corner, so he found himself hesitating. Kel then decided to take a deep breath and get straight to the point.

“I’ve noticed you’ve been skipping school a lot recently, so I came here to check on you.”

Aubrey peeped through the side of her pillow and examined Kel’s face. She was surprised when the boy looked genuinely concerned for her, knowing the fact that they’re usually fighting a lot and Kel was usually mean to her.

She let out a downcast laugh and dropped the pillow. “I’m actually thanking god that you didn’t bring Hero into this. If he saw me like this he’d probably lecture me.”

“Seriously Aubrey, are you okay?”

Aubrey rolled her eyes. Though Kel still hasn’t noticed and flat out denies it, he’s honestly denser than a sponge. Using this information she tried to pry his attention away from her situation.

“Yeah, I thought it was obvious. I’m fine. Now can you please get out of my room?” She pointed towards the ‘door.’

Kel frowned.

“No, you're not fine. You look like you were just crying minutes ago.”

Aubrey gave him a pained smile. No shit, blockhead.

“Nah I wasn’t.”

“You were.”

“I don’t see how this is-”

“Aubrey, look I love you but you should really stop lying to yourself.”

He kicked his shoes off and joined Aubrey to the corner of the wall, causing Aubrey to flush and hit him on the head.

“Hey! What was that for?!”

“I- You- What are you doing?!”

“Joining you!”

“I said, I’m fine Kel!”

Kel looked at her surprised when he saw her begin to tear up. He came closer to her and patted her on the back.

“Hey… don’t cry Aubrey, come on. You know I’m here for you.”

She said nothing and pulled her pale blue dress on her knees. Kel waited for her to calm down before pressing on the topic.

"Now tell me. What's going on."

She bit her lip. "I'll tell you once you tell me who said I was here."

Kel sighed. “I asked the Hooligans when I found them loitering in the park. It took me quite a while to get an answer from those guys, but they seemed pretty worried about you as well.”

Aubrey wiped her tears.

"Really?"

He nodded. "Especially Kim."

Aubrey let out a small smile when she heard that. She looked at Kel questioningly when he didn't say anything else.

“And you're ok with that?”

Kel felt something turn inside him. When he found out that Aubrey was hanging out with another group he couldn’t really grasp what he was feeling. He was both glad that Aubrey found a new group of friends and sad that she's already moved on without telling. But Aubrey was still his friend no matter what, and that wouldn’t change no matter what dispute they have.

“I don’t mind you having a new group of friends and hey, you can join whoever you want. But skipping school is a completely different thing! You can’t just dip on school because they’re dipping school-”

“I’m not dipping!” Aubrey exclaimed, pulling her pillow closer. “They just… hang out during school hours, I do my tasks earlier than you guys anyway.”

Kel gave her a look that outright said ‘I’m not buying it.’

“Hero still cares about you, Mari still cares about you, I still care about you, Basil still-”

“Basil?… I thought he said we aren’t friends anymore.”

She hugged her knees as Kel leaned his back on the wooden wall.

“Oh come on Aubrey, don’t say that! Of course Basil still considers you as a friend! We just have to understand that he’s…”
Kel couldn’t find the words to finish his last sentence.

"Anyway, now that I’ve told you how I found you, can you please tell me what's going on?"

Aubrey looked at him.

"Do you really want to know?"

He nodded, naively thinking it wasn't that bad.

"My.. family. Yeah, whatever that word is, it's broken now."

Kel's eyes widened.

"Aubrey I'm--"

"You don't have to apologize for that, we were goners anyway." she chuckled grimly. "You saw my mom, she doesn't even notice I'm here which is the best part of-"

Aubrey shook her head at Kel when he attempted to stand up. "It's no use Kel. Don't even bother."

Kel chewed on his inner cheek before sitting next to her again.

"I’m sorry…” he ran his fingers through his hair and looked up at the ceiling. “ I didn’t know I thought you were just- Is there anything I could do?” He looked at Aubrey pleadingly.

Aubrey gave him a withered smile and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "There's nothing you can do, but it's alright I’ll manage... I guess. You guys were like my second family so it might take a while knowing that Sunny’s gone already."

Aubrey leaned closer to Kel and closed her eyes when she put her head on his shoulder. Kel got taken aback for a moment by Aubrey but decided to ignore his ‘cooties alarm’ because Aubrey needed it at the moment.

"God, how did we end up so broken?" she said, a sad chuckle erupting from her mouth.

"We’re not broken, we’re just recovering." Kel said with small hope in his voice. “Or at least… I hope we are.”

“I’m tired Kel, is it okay if I rest for a while?” Aubrey asked, burying her head inside her pillow.

Kel nodded and put an arm around her shoulder. “Take your time Aubrey, take your time.”

Minutes passed without them saying anything and Kel was sure she had dozed off.

“You know about what Basil said that day... Sunny… I liked him too, you know.” she murmured, the grip on her pillow loosening. With a yawn she found herself asleep on Kel’s shoulder, finally accepting the comfort Kel was giving.

Kel gave her a small smile and once again looked at the crack in the ceiling. "I know Aubrey. I know."

The two friends stayed in that attic-like room in companionable silence; and Kel stayed there for as long as Aubrey needed it to be.

Chapter Text

Hero walked towards the white suburban house armed with books in hand, looking to himself like a man on a mission.

When Mari stopped going to school, he found himself constantly waiting on Mari’s doorstep. They had made a deal that put him there, and being Hero he wasn’t one to protest against it.

After all, that deal wasn’t his only reason for visiting Mari. He wanted to reach out to her and talk about what happened: he wanted to know what caused Sunny to storm off to the lake. He didn’t blame her for it, but he was sure she was blaming herself. If it had happened to him and Kel he was sure he’d blame himself as well.
But every time he tried to reach out he was always met with a closed door.

Whenever Hero tried to see her, Mari would lock herself inside their music room. He could still hear her play, but ever since the funeral she’s been playing the same song over and over again. She’s been playing the piece she and Sunny were supposed to play at the recital, and it enveloped Hero in unexplained sadness whenever he heard it.

There was the girl who used to practice lively at 5 in the morning; now nothing but the embodiment of melancholy.

For the past 9 years Hero had known Mari, Hero had grown to love the music she played. Music was the thing that brought them together in the first place. They had first met in their school’s music room where he caught her playing ‘A doll’s dream’ on the piano, and something about her playing drew him in. The music room was off-limits so he wanted to tell her off, but the moment she looked at him he found himself frozen to the door. So in the end, he found himself being her only audience, and that was the first time and the last time he was caught by the faculty.

After hearing her play, Hero would often dream about a world where he could listen to her play everyday; just him and her alone in that music room together. He thought love at first sight was just a cheesy thing his friends would joke about, but when it came to Mari a part of him did start to believe.

Yet even the liveliest of melodies turn cold, and he noticed even her piano playing slowly dying.

And that had him worried.

What if the girl he knew was suffering all alone inside that room?

What if the girl he knew back then who played so beautifully to the point it haunted him stopped playing forever?

He shook those thoughts away from his head and reprimanded himself for being pessimistic. No.. he couldn’t bear to live in a world where he can no longer hear her play her music, not Mari.

Pulling the books closer to him, he made his move and knocked on the door. The lights were off so he wasn’t sure if anyone was home.

Mari’s mother was a nurse, and her father was… absent for further notice. So most of the time it was just Mari and her mother inside the household. Yet thinking about Mari’s father made his blood boil every time. He couldn’t forgive the man no matter how many times he’s forgiven him in the past, not after what he said.

“I will not tolerate this! I will not tolerate a murderer in my household. Not even my own daughter!"

Hero couldn’t help but grit his teeth. Mari wasn’t a murderer, she didn’t deserve such a vulgar title. She couldn’t have killed Sunny, she just couldn’t! She didn’t even know Sunny ran off too far and she didn’t know-

She just couldn’t.

Because of this, Hero's harbored hate for Mari's father gradually got worse. Not for the times he forced Mari away from him or the nasty looks he gave whenever they were close. It was because he had the audacity, the pure audacity to call his own daughter a murderer and leave when his family is at their lowest point.
The Mari he knew- the sweet, gentle, high-spirited Mari he knew is not a murderer.

The only murderer in that room that night was him.

Walking towards the window, he checked if anyone was inside. He would usually wait for Mari’s mother if there was no one home, but the woman reassured him that she trusted her neighborhood.

After knocking for the sixth time he came to the conclusion nobody was home.

Well there goes his chance of talking to Mari.

Crestfallen, he placed the books on their porch and took out a sticky note from inside his bag. Thankfully porch pirates weren’t common around this area so he didn’t have to worry about Mari’s belongings getting stolen.

He took a step away and closed his bag. Maybe he’ll try again next time.

As he turned his back to leave he suddenly heard a light, although faint sound from inside. And after hearing it, he could immediately recognize that it was from their grand piano.
Mari was inside.

Hero took the books from the floor and walked back to the door.

“Mari? Are you in there?” he shouted, hoping he’d get a response. But to his dismay he was met with dead silence.

He didn’t notice until later that his hand was dangerously clasped onto the door handle ready to open their front door. He gulped when he finally noticed it.

Was he seriously going to try to open a potentially locked door just to see Mari? He’s never been the kind of person to just walk inside someone's house uninvited. And if he did, he would technically be breaking in right? Mari’s mother might even call him a ‘creep’ and no longer allow him to bring Mari’s things.

But on another note, he recalled seeing his brother Kel do the same thing in the past, and unlike him, Kel would barely even think about it. He would just casually waltz into their neighbors houses, take food from their fridge, call it a day, and march around as if he owned the place. Same goes with Sunny back in the days he supposed. The two of them shared that very same habit back then and everyone was fine with it.

He suddenly remembered that one time Mari pulled the same stunt on him for a prank. It was in the middle of the night and he was doing his homework, when suddenly he felt someone give him a back hug and rest their chin on his shoulder.

“Whatcha doin’ handsome?” the voice said, making him yelp in surprise and stand from his chair. When he looked back he was met with a giggling Mari who was pointing at his flushed face.

Apparently Mari and Sunny were staying over for a two night sleepover that time and Hero was unaware of it because Kel forgot to tell him. When they were already sleeping he couldn’t help but stay awake and watch Mari sleeping next to him on the floor.

Getting over it, he came up with a 50 50 scenario in his head and tried the doorknob. To his surprise it was open the whole time.

No wonder why Kel and Sunny found it so easy-

With little hesitation, he looked around him and hoped no one would see him enter the house.
.
Mari’s mother was indeed not inside when he entered, and other than the music room, the whole house was dim. He placed the books on the small coffee table inside the living room and headed towards her direction.

He stopped before the door and heard Mari shuffle from behind the door. He whispered to her.

“Mari…?”

Hero tried the door of the room but it was locked from the inside.

Not again, he grimaced. Not after all the opportunities he missed to talk to her privately.

He had a lot of things he wanted to say to her, but he never found the time when he was in the presence of her mother. But now when it seemed fate was finally in his favor-
He sighed and took a seat on the floor, leaning on the door.

“Mari, look I know you’re in there. It’s me, Hero. I hope you don’t mind me talking to you this way.”

There was no response from the other side.

How was he going to put all the things he was feeling into sentences?

After a while he decided to take it all slowly and not rush into things. He didn’t want to frighten Mari with his onslaught of questions.

“You’ve been pretty distant from everyone after the funeral and.. everyone’s been worried about you. You don’t even go to school anymore and the last time I’ve actually seen you come out of that door feels like ages ago. Are you alright?”

He could hear Mari shift from her seat from the small squeaking sound that came from it.

“I’ve always wanted to ask you that since the funeral but I’ve never gotten the chance to tell you. Sunny’s death really shocked everyone, and honestly, I’m scared it affected you the most.”

Hero paused and tried to think of something that wouldn’t bring Mari into a worser situation. This was his only shot and he couldn’t mess it all up.
“But.. even after all that happened, I just want to say to you that this is not your fault and I hope you don’t blame yourself.”
He looked at the door behind him.

“It isn’t your fault that Sunny’s dead Mari. And I know for a fact that you loved him with all your heart. I know it’s pretty hard losing someone you’ve known for so long in your life, but you shouldn’t bear all this weight alone. You have us whenever you need a shoulder to cry on, Sunny was our friend too and we’re all in this together.

It’s fine if you don’t talk to me right now, it’s fine if you want space- but if you think I’m willing to give up on you and forfeit everything we’ve been through together then you’re terribly mistaken.”

“I care about you Mari and I’d do anything to see you smile once again. Even if things can never be the same again I still want to- I still l--”
Hero bit his tongue.

It was selfish of him to say that; To tell her his true feelings not bound to playing father and mother in a game of house. What she needed right now was comfort and someone by her side.

Sunny’s death has robbed her of a brother and a father and he has no say in the decisions she makes.

“I’m still here for you and I promise you I’m never leaving your side no matter what.”

The grandfather clock upstairs struck 4 and chimed 4 times. Hero let out a sigh and stood up from the floor.

I love you, Mari. And I hope one day, you’ll love yourself too.
----

When Hero stopped talking, Mari couldn’t help but let her tears run on her face as she stifled the sobs from her mouth. Inside her, she has always wanted to come out and talk to him, yet she knew she didn’t deserve Hero.

But… the words he said to her made her feel something, something other than grief and anguish, something other than pain.

For once she felt hope.

Wiping the tears from her face, she stood up from the piano stool and approached the door.

But when she finally found the courage to open it, Hero was already gone.

Chapter Text

Mari could see him.

Sunny.

The little brother she knew and loved.

She could see him all the time.

The day he committed suicide she saw him staring at her in the mirror. His face was pale and his eyes were full of anger. It was the same on the day she followed Kel and Aubrey to the lake, but this time she was caught off guard when he was able to physically grab onto her.

Wherever she went she would always find Sunny trailing behind her. Whenever she was alone in her room, she would constantly hear his footsteps from outside her door. But amidst all of that, all he did was watch and stare at her; he didn’t hurt her. It was as if he just wanted to use his form as a way to torment her instead of moving on to the afterlife.

After the news spread about Sunny’s death, for the first three days Mari found herself waking up breathless in the middle of the night. Whenever she opened her eyes and tried to breathe she felt like something or someone was suffocating her. She felt like she was drowning but her body was too numb to move.

From the corner of her room she could see her little brother watching her in pain. And she bet her life that he would’ve been smiling at the ordeal if he wasn’t dead.

To make matters worse, even before the funeral she could already hear her parents argue about her. Her father wouldn’t talk to her, and if he were to, he would sneer about how she was a ‘bloody murderer.’

Her mother, god bless the woman, saw this and wasn’t putting up with it. Mari was now their only child and she couldn’t afford to lose another. Mari would hear her father retaliate and tell her she was aiding a murderer but her mother ignored him. He justified his actions by telling her that murderers shouldn’t be shown any sympathy.

The day before the funeral though she couldn’t help but eavesdrop on her parents one last time.

“Charles, that's enough!” She recalled her mother shouting. “You’ve traumatized Mari for too long with your- your putrid-”

“You're the one to talk Helen!” Her father cut her off. “The dimwit couldn’t even find the time to look for her brother. If she was a responsible sister, Sunny would still be alive at this moment! She should be detained.”

“We’re over this, she’s 16 years old!”

“That’s my point!”

Her father stomped on the floor loudly, causing Mari to get startled.

“That.. that monster you call your child is no child of mine. I don’t recall raising anyone to be a monster.”

She hung her head low when she heard what her father said. She didn’t notice Sunny watching their parents fight with her from behind. There was no trace of comfort to be seen on his face when tears were starting to form in her eyes.

It was as if his silence spoke a 1000 words about how and why she actually deserved it.

In a fit of rage, her father took the portrait from the living room wall and smashed it with his bare hands. He broke the frame as if it was nothing but a twig. A disbelieved gasp elicited from her mother’s mouth as she heard her father drop it on the ground.

"Get out." she said in a murmur before shouting.

"GET OUT."

After the funeral her father decided to leave their home, he moved to some apartment far away in the city. He saw their household ‘unfit’ for him due to a murderer being let loose inside and didn’t want to live there anymore. She didn’t know where his exact location was, but she knew that her father offered her mother to leave with him before leaving for good. His name became estranged to both her and her mother, and they haven’t talked about him ever since.

She never felt the presence of her dead brother endearing, and overall she found his presence frightening. Now that her father wasn’t home and her mother’s back to working night shifts, she was constantly alone at the house.

There was Hero who would visit her weekly to give her her requirements for school, but she felt that a monster like her didn’t deserve his comfort. She also knew that the old group would have slowly broken apart by now because of their fight, and a part of her regrets following them. She could have spared herself from the event, but she didn’t know what went over her.

Maybe she just wanted a reason to get out of Sunny’s funeral, maybe she had no reason at all.

But seeing Basil lash out for the first time made her heart sink.

He truly cared about Sunny, and now he’ll never be able to see him again because of her.

And because of that, she couldn’t help but feel even more responsible for everything that happened.

Mari knew the Sunny she saw on a daily basis wasn’t real. This wasn’t her silent little brother who’d watch her practice day and night on the piano. Her brother was dead, and she was the one who murdered him.

Yet the way he reeked of lake water and seaweed felt real to her- the smell of his pungent, decomposing body felt real.

She knew that she’d be called delusional by everyone so she said nothing about it.

Ghost or demon, Sunny was a reminder of the terrible thing she’s done, and she kept him with her to remind her that she was a terrible person.

But even monsters like her also have their breaking points.

Thump.

Thump.

ThuMP THUMP THUMP

Mari smashed her fists on the grand piano and let out a frustrated groan.

No matter what note she played, the chords sounded wrong to her, and no matter how much she tried to correct it, her head wouldn’t process a single thing.

Playing the piano was the closest thing she had for comfort, but as days passed it has also turned against her. Standing up abruptly, she pushed herself off of her chair and left the wretched thing behind her. It was a Friday night and she was alone in the house at that time.

She walked up the stairs and didn’t notice the ghostly silhouette of Sunny standing on the second step.

When she finally noticed him all the anger from her face was drained.

She’s been living with Sunny for 6 weeks now, but at this point she was already used to the entity's presence.

But on that night Mari was feeling bolder than before.

“Sunny move.”

Mari instructed the ghost. She didn’t know what was giving her the strength to even look him directly in the eye, but she was too tired to give a damn about his presence. Her hands were still shaking as she held onto the railing.

Sunny said nothing and stood there motionless.

“Move Sunny. I don’t have time for this.”

Moving up the stairs she tried to move past him, but he barely moved an inch.

Unlike any other ghosts, Sunny actually bore the physical compositions of a human and felt human; although, his irate expression never changed and he was constantly on the brink of deteriorating.

He resembled more of a corpse than a ghost.

She wondered if she was the only one who could see him, for her mother never seems to notice his presence.

Something inside the tense filled atmosphere made Mari snap, and she did something even she didn’t expect. Having enough of her brother's behavior, she felt her hands suddenly have a mind of their own and pushed his corpse-like body to the side roughly, enough to rush up her room.

But when she was about to reach the doorknob-

CRASH

Mari’s eyes widened and she looked back at the stairs.

Sunny was no longer there.

Cautiously, she made her way towards the railing.

Her face paled when she saw her brother on the first floor, limbs bent and a pool of brownish-grey spreading across the wooden floor. His neck was snapped and his face was now blank.

She screamed.

“Sunny?! Please.. No- Sunny-”

She raced down the stairs and pulled him close. His white skin was deteriorating and pieces of it were chipping off.

“No- nonononono Sunny! Please- you can’t leave me! Not again- Don’t do this to me Sunny!”

Mari tried holding him together but none of it could stop the damage. He was turning into dust quickly, and there was nothing she could do.

“Sunny… please wake up.”

She found herself crying as Sunny crumbled into dust before her eyes.

Why.. Why did this have to happen to her?

Hugging the remaining figure of her brother’s body, she sat there sobbing until Sunny was no more than dust.

Mari opened her eyelids and adjusted her eyes inside her dark room. After Sunny disappeared, she used the last of her sane mind to go back to her room and lock herself in there. When she woke up she saw Sunny standing next to her bedside as if nothing happened, staring at her emptily like the look he had when he fell off the railing.

Looking at him blankly, she closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

Chapter Text

Rain. Something that brought both a mix of pain and joy into Aubrey's life.

One moment it rained was the day she first met the group, her father and mother were arguing again so she decided to run away from home. She found herself running towards the open road, and the group coincidentally found her sitting on the sidewalk. When they asked her why she was crying, she told them that the reason was because her parents had forgotten her birthday again. By then it had started to drizzle so Mari insisted for her to join them and celebrate at her place.

The second memorable time it rained for her was the day she and Kel were waiting for Sunny and Basil. She was wearing her favorite pink raincoat, and she was eagerly giving Kel a taste of karma by splashing puddles on him. But that wasn't the only reason she was eager, at that time Aubrey had already grown a liking to Sunny. She wasn't sure how he felt about her but that didn't stop her from wanting his attention.

Mari and her had decided to dye both their hair pink and purple, so she wanted to know what Sunny thought about it. When he agreed that she should go for it, she couldn't help but wish that her father would one day be okay with it.

Those were some of the happiest memories she had with all of them together, and she wished that she could relive it over and over again. The recital was supposed to be no different and in fact, she was very excited to see both of her friends perform in front of a huge crowd with her in it.

But the rain that day wasn’t the kind of memorable she was expecting to have with her friends. That rain brought her the worst of news, Sunny’s suicide.

Sunny’s funeral had just finished and once again she was alone. After their confrontation with Basil, she didn’t feel like tagging along Kel and Hero. She just wanted to be somewhere else, away from the church and away from the lake.

So, she found herself back to the place she had met them and decided to sit on the pavement.

Pit. Pat. Pit. Pat.

She looked at the sky as it started to rain, not in annoyance but grief. Aubrey couldn't help but think about what Basil said earlier.

“And you… Sunny liked you.”

Tears started swelling in her eyes.

“And you just gave up on him.”

She should be glad. She should be glad to hear that Sunny felt the same about her. She should be ecstatic that it wasn’t unrequited after all the years she’s harbored it.
But it was already too late, Sunny was gone and now her friends were gone too.

She wiped her tears and hugged her knees.

Pit. Pat. Pit. Pat.

The sky was dark for 4 pm, and Aubrey could have sworn it was getting darker. The slight drizzle had grown into a medium downpour and she soon started shivering because of it.

Usually cars would pass in front of her from where she sat, but surprisingly there were no more than 2. Until now it was still a mystery to her, she always wondered why there were fewer cars passing by whenever it rained, did it have something to do with her living in the suburbs? But now, it doesn't really matter.

Pit. Pat. Pit. Pat.

Aubrey looked at her watch and grimaced when she noticed she had been sitting under the rain for two hours.

She could hear someone walking on the other side of the road. Whatever it was, or whoever it was, stunk like a skunk. She found herself looking at the source and saw a man in front of her, his hands were in his pockets.

He was old and had crooked teeth, he also smelled as if he didn’t shower for weeks. She didn't know him, and she was sure he didn't know her, but he just stood there and smiled at her. It was off-putting and Aubrey didn't like it.

When they made eye contact she felt as if he was planning something, and she knew it wasn't good.

She backed off from the sidewalk when he slowly started to walk towards her until she heard a familiar voice close to her.

“Aubrey?”

Aubrey looked to her left and saw Kim approaching her with an umbrella. The man in front of her stopped in his tracks and looked at Kim, seemingly unfazed.
She directed her attention back to the man and he gave her a wink, he then headed into the opposite direction of Kim before she could even notice him.

“Aubrey! What the heck are you doing sitting under the rain like that?!” Kim asked, running towards her and hovering the umbrella over her head.

Aubrey was still looking at the direction of the man so Kim grumbled when she didn’t answer.

"Did you see... him?" Aubrey asked, earning a huh? from Kim. Kim looked around. "No?"

Aubrey sulked.

Kim used to be Aubrey's friend from grade school, but they split after she became the leader of the Hooligans. She had once heard from her classmates that they turned out to be a band of delinquents, so it was quite a surprise that Kim was being nice to her.

Seeing that Aubrey was looking downcast, the delinquent sat down next to her with no second thought, even if the sidewalk was damp. “Aubrey come on, talk to me. Why are you all alone like this?” She insisted. “Don’t you hang out with those weirdos Kel, Basil and Sunny? Where are those guys?”

Aubrey winced when she heard Sunny’s name.

“They’re gone…” she replied. “They’re all gone.”

“Eesh.. what a bunch of jerks.” Kim muttered, getting the umbrella on both of them.

“Sunny’s moved on.” Aubrey said. “And the other’s-”

“What do you mean by Sunny moving on?” Kim butted in. “He’s not moving away is he?”

Aubrey bit her lip. Right. Sunny's parents hasn't told the school board yet about his suicide.

“He’s gone Kim.” she answered grimly. “He’s dead.”

Kim’s eyes widened. “You mean the actual Sunny? The Sunny from school?” Aubrey nodded. “Oh god I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s fine.” Aubrey sighed. “I’ll just have to get used to it.”

She put her palm away from the shade and used it to catch some of the raindrops falling from Kim’s umbrella.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Kim consoled her.

The trees behind them swayed in the wind, and the rain wouldn’t stop pouring. She would have cried again right there and then, but she didn’t want to show how weak she was to Kim.

“Then you should be with them then.” Kim said. “Your friends, I mean. They shouldn’t just leave you in the rain like this.”

“Are we friends?” she asked. “Honestly, it didn’t feel like we were friends after a while ago.”

Kim flashed her a concerned look. “Why so? Did something happen?”

She stayed silent.

“I see… Maybe another time.”

They were quiet for a moment before Kim stood up from the wet sidewalk.

“You know what, this is just plain shit man.”

Aubrey looked at her taken aback.

“Sorry. Just- It’s just that you’ve known them for years now, and all they can do now is leave you on the sidewalk. What kind of friends do that?”

She adjusted her red glasses and looked at Aubrey softly.

“You know what, hey. I’m not always this nice- Don’t get used to it!” she grumbled. “But do you want to join us instead?”

“What?”

“I mean my group, the Hooligans. Please don’t make me say it again.” she muttered to herself as she looked around her. “We aren’t typically your ‘ideal’ kind of friend group but hey, those nerds have your back no matter what.”

Kim stuck out her hand for Aubrey to reach. “But in the end it’s your decision. Just an offer.”

Aubrey looked at her hand intently, wondering what would happen if she were to take it. The Hooligans wasn’t a group she ever thought of joining considering the reputation they had. But a part of her was curious what the future would hold if she ever were to take her hand. She thought about it.

Her family life was crumbling, her friendship with the others was depleting, Sunny was dead, so what else did she have to lose?

She had lost everything, but she knew that at some point she had to start anew.

Looking back at Kim, Aubrey gave her a small smile and took her hand. Kim gave her a pat on the back.

"Welcome home Aubrey, welcome home. Now come on, let me introduce you to them at Gino's."

she nodded.

The both of them then headed to the plaza, and as they walked Aubrey had only one thing left in her mind.

Maybe the rain that day wasn't so bad after all.

Chapter Text

Well everything’s probably going to be fine by now.

He thought to himself as he took a dunk on the hoop.

Aubrey’s back from her leave and the hooligans being her new friends, welcomed her with open arms, (“Alright! Alright! I’ll stop skipping school jeez!” She pouted, irritated after Kel’s constant nagging. “But don’t bring this up to the Hooligans, I can’t get kicked out just because of some doofus like you.” Kel rolled his eyes and gave her an unbelieving grin. “Sure sure, whatever you say princess.”) and Basil’s… fine. Well he hopes he’s fine. He’s not acting strange at least.

Other than the occasional glances or nods though, the three of them didn’t really talk to each other.

The dunk he landed attracted a lot of woahs and aahs from the small crowd. He could also hear a bunch of aww mans and dangits in kahoots with it from his teammates.

“Yooooo dude! Those are some sick moves you got there Kel.”

Their team captain complimented him, approaching him with two towels in hand. He was in the same year as Hero, which meant that he was older than Kel by 3 years. Some people would call him “Cap Parmesan Cheese” as a joke because of his straw coloured hair but he didn’t seem to mind it. His name was Stephen and his younger brother Jonathan was also in the team.

Kel grinned triumphantly, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. “Thanks man, gotta say you did pretty fine as well.”
He smirked. “For a novice though, you have a really long way to go.”

He sat down satisfied with his roast and chugged on his water jug as if he was in the Sahara desert.

The jock scoffed and threw him a towel. “Watch your words, junior. I’m still your team captain.”

“Yeah! Team captain, you heard that right Kel! Better run now or my brother’ll make you run another lap!” Jonathan hollered from the other side of the gym, his sneakers were suspended on one of the bleachers ramps.

Jonathan meanwhile was two years below him, but even with age he was the fastest on the team. You could say he was one of those 'tryhards' trying to get his brother's attention. They got along pretty well. (For some reason the both of them reminded Kel of him and Hero. Go figure.)

The senior saw this and sighed as he crossed his arms.
“You’ll be the one running a lap if you don’t put on those sneakers, Jonathan. And that’s a threat coming from your team captain as well.”

The younger boy pouted and stuck out his tongue. “Yeah, yeah privileged s-”

“Finish that sentence and I’m telling mom.”

The two of them beadily stared at each other before Jonathan gave up and took it off. Kel saw this and chuckled, murmuring to himself a “busted.” before dodging Jonathan's flying sneaker. His other teammates snickered behind him.

Their school’s basketball team was the most fun he’s ever had in a month he had to admit. His teammates were great and their practices were fun. He started out because of Hero's referral even if he was still too young to join the regionals. But even with that, he finally felt like he belonged in some part of his school.

He wasn’t an outcast, sure. In fact, he was super friendly and approachable (not a brag), and people seemed to like him. But his standing on the “academic part” was not something he was proud of.

And besides, it’s not as if there was anywhere he could go.
He capped his water jug and dropped it before pulling the basketball towards his chest, passing it to Jonathan as he huddled his way through the court.

Jonathan received it proudly and beamed. “Hey Stephen, look at this!” He yelled, waving at his brother.

He turned around in a 360 and walked backwards towards the 3 point line. Stephen raised a brow at his brother's actions, but obliged by looking at what he had in store.
“10 bucks if I land this one without looking!” He exclaimed triumphantly.

“Deal.” His brother said, a smug grin on his face. “But if you miss it, you’ll stop leaving your shoes on the ramp for a year.”

He grumbled. “Come on man, a ‘year’? Can’t it be a month?”

“7 months.”

“2.”

“5.”

“3.”

“What about 9 months?” Kel jokingly interjected.

“Kel.”

“4.”

“That’s more like it, 4 and a half.” Jonathan added. “I know you, Stephen.”

Stephen tilted his head from side to side earning an earnest grin from Jonathan.

“Deal.”

Shwooop!

Jonathan threw the ball towards the basket, and watched it hit the backboard. Everyone watched it spin around the hoop before it sloppily fell off to the side.

Stephen smiled. “Nice try, but better luck next time.”

“Redo redo!” he grumbled.

“Nope, that wasn’t part of the deal.”

Jonathan looked at Kel pleading. “Kellllll my friend, my buddy, my amigo-”

“Sorry man can’t help you there.”

“Man.”

Kel smiled coyly and patted him on the back when he approached the bleachers. “You’ll get it next time, don’t worry.”

“Eh… one day. Hopefully.”

“That’s 4 and a half months John!”

“I know, Stephen. I know.”

“4 and a half!”

“I KNOW!” he shouted. Stephen laughed.

After that awkward throw, Stephen decided to call it a day for the whole team.

“See you all again next week! Don’t forget to be here by 2. Looking at you, Kel.”

Kel chuckled nervously. “Right at ya, captain parmesan.”
“Dismissed!”

Everyone started packing their bags and leaving the gym.
“What a day.” Kel said, zipping his bag.

“You said it, I have a 4 and a half month ban on using the ramps.”

“You added the half part y'know.”

“Well!”

Jonathan huffed at him causing Kel to grin. “I’m just messing with you.”

Kel looked out of the entrance, looking for a glimpse of Hero.

He sighed.

“Looking for your brother again, Kel?” Jonathan asked. Kel
just shrugged, Hero must have forgotten again.

“Nah, he probably left early. It’s fine.”

“This is the 5th time.”

“I know, you don’t have to add insult alright?” He muttered to himself, knowing Jonathan wouldn’t hear.

“In speaking of brothers, isn't Stephen looking for you right now?”

Jonathan looked at Jonathan and blew a raspberry. “No.”
“He’s literally calling you right now.” Kel pointed.

He groaned. “Fine. Wait here.”

He ran towards the other side of the court and approached his brother, he then returned a few seconds later.

“He says it’s alright if I join you. Now come on, let's find your brother!”

The young boy invited, leaving for the entrance.

Kel looked back at Stephen who gave him a nod of approval.

“Well don’t keep me hanging man! Come on.” He slung his bag on his shoulder and joined him.

“You know you don’t have to, right?”

Jonathan looked at him discontented. “It’s not cool seeing you sulk around because of your brother. Plus, my brother knows where your brother is. So take it or leave it.”

He skidded through the bustling hallways, passing the grey lockers nearby. They were in a separate building from Hero but thankfully it wasn’t too far.

“Right…” Kel followed him dodging the crowd, the reason he got into the team was because Hero was a friend of Stephen’s. They were also classmates like Mari which explained how he knew.

“He’s pretty worried about your brother as well. The guy's been pretty off recently.”

Kel looked at him confused. “'Pretty off’? What do you mean by that?”

Jonathan shrugged. “I dunno what kind of ‘off’ Stephen means but I hope it isn’t bad,” he said. “Hey why are you asking me, he’s your brother! Doesn’t he tell you about this stuff?”

Kel stopped in his tracks.

“Kel?”

‘Does he?’ Kel pondered as the last sentence hit him.

For the past month the only conversation he had with Hero was about Mari. He never told Kel anything else other than that. He started to worry, what if Hero was hiding something from him?

Hiding the worry he felt, he smiled.

“Let’s just go find Hero.”

Jonathan took the hint and the both of them exited the school building towards the linking path.

When they got to the linking path, coincidentally Basil was heading the opposite way. His head was down and he looked disoriented.

He was looking frantically from side to side as if he were avoiding something or someone, behind him Vance and Angel trailing his path, their intentions veiled and unclear.
“Hey, isn’t that Basil?” Jonathan asked, pointing at him.
Basil, who was on high alert, heard Jonathan and swiftly moved away from them, not even bothering to look Kel in the face. Kel frowned. He looked back at Basil who had already hurriedly entered the building behind them with Vance and Angel.

“That was weird…” Jonathan said innocently. “Now come on Hero’s waiting.”

Kel looked at the building in front of him and back to the door they had just come in from, wondering who he should see first.

“Kel!”

Brother it is.

With a last glance of Basil’s path, he followed Jonathan into the other building.

The whole inside of the building was just the same, it still had the same grey lockers and crowded hallways. It was cleaner than the building they had though, he had to admit. And it wasn’t sweltering because the air conditioning reached the hallways.

“Man our brothers’ really have it gooddddd~” Jonathan pouted. “Free air conditioning plus proper ventilation? This is the equivalent of heaven!”

“I’ve seen better.” Kel joked. “That being the hospital. This place is below average.”

The younger child scoffed. “Smart ass are we now Kel?”
“Hey!”

“It’s not swearing if you don’t tell my brother. You won’t tell him right?”

Jonathan looked at him devilishly.

“Kel my friend, my buddy, my pal-”

“Alright, alright. Let's just get this over with man.”

They climbed up the stairs to the second floor and finally found themselves in front of Hero’s classroom.

When they peeped through the glass, Hero was there talking to his adviser. Kel knew something was wrong when he saw Hero's resigned expression. The adviser seemed to be comforting him.

He gulped. ‘ Something’s wrong… what’s going on?’

Jonathan, unaware of the situation, gave Kel a toothy grin. “See! I told you he’d be there. My brother’s always right.”
He watched Hero apologize? To his adviser before walking out the door solemnly.

Hero didn't seem to notice Kel and Jonathan when he closed the door behind him. His expression suddenly shifted into disbelief when he finally noticed the two of them behind him.

“Well that’s my signal to go. See ya, Kel.”

Jonathan murmured awkwardly, patting him on the back before quickly walking off. Traitor.

“Oh, hey Kel.” Hero greeted, watching Jonathan walk down the stairs. “Did Stephen send you?”

“No, I… Dude are you okay?”

Hero looked back at the glass and nodded his head. “ Yeah. Probably.” he walked towards the staircase and gave him a dejected smile. “Let’s just go home.”

Hero didn’t wait for him to say anything and left him by the door. Kel frowned and raced after him.

The two of them were silent on their walk home, and no matter what question Kel asked him about it, Hero shrugged it off.

Yeah, everything’s probably going to be fine by now. He said to himself with a pained satirical sigh.

Chapter Text

It was 4 pm and Hero wanted to go home. Usually they would've been dismissed by 3:30, but their adviser decided to call them in for a sudden meeting. Hero, being their class representative, was the second to receive the order when Stephen caught up to him in the hallway. Their adviser didn't give them too much information regarding the meeting, so neither of them knew what to say. The others weren't too hard to find, after all, it was a club day, so all they had to do was wait in the classroom.

"Wait for me," said their teacher, who wasn't even there.

As Hero and Stephen waited, Stephen couldn't help himself but doodle on the blackboard. Hero had been reading a book at that time so he didn't notice the cute drawing he had made until a few minutes later. When he noticed it, he studied it curiously and realized it was a drawing of one of their classmates.

"You've got the proportions wrong. '' he noted. The arms were shorter than they should be, and the head was bigger than its body. This remark caused Stephen to quickly grab the eraser next to him. "Huh? proportions what?" Stephen gave him a sheepish reply and erased the drawing on the board. Caught red-handed, he sat down next to Hero after he cleaned the chalk off his hands.

"Why'd you erase it?" Hero asked him.

When Stephen didn't answer him, Hero smirked.

This classmate of theirs was none other than Charlotte Geneva; basically every boy's dream highschool sweetheart. She was sweet and bubbly, and some would even claim that she was a literal angel. Everyone wanted to be with her, but Hero already had someone else in mind. Stephen groaned when he noticed Hero staring. "Whatever you're thinking, shut up."

"I'm not thinking about anything."

"Really? your smirk says otherwise."

"I'm really not."

As Stephen began his lengthy explanation to defend himself, the last of them entered through the door. A girl wearing a beige sweater and thickly rimmed glasses walked in, mumbling to herself about her dad killing her for being late again. She was fiddling with one of her french braids, and she walked quickly. When she saw Hero she quickly stopped her mumbling and gave him a friendly wave. Her eyes turned beady when she saw Stephen right next to him.

Stephen huffed when the girl sat behind him without a word, and Hero, sensing the change of atmosphere, scanned both their reactions.

“Have you two been fighting again?”

“Don’t mention it.”

“He started it.”

Hero shook his head in disbelief as silence once again settled in the classroom.

A few minutes passed and their adviser arrived. Mrs. Naismith usually looked peppy during the morning, but seeing how it was already afternoon she greatly contrasted how she looked hours earlier. After exchanging greetings with her students, she took a seat on her desk and let out quite a heavy sigh. Hero could tell that she just wanted to get things over with when she forced a tired smile on her face.

“So shall we begin?” she asked, prompting everyone's attention. Hero gave Stephen a light kick to his shin when he suddenly blanked out. “Yes ma'am,” he responded. “Uh… Hero?”

Both he and Lizzie looked at Hero, except for Mrs. Naismith who was cleaning her glasses.

He cleared his throat. “The report?”

Hero glanced from side to side, wondering what Stephen was talking about. Stephen looked at him pleadingly. “The report?”

“Ah yes.” he rubbed his neck sheepishly, remembering what he meant. “Other than a few deadlines there is nothing to report.”

Stephen ducked his head under his hands. “What?”

“You forgot about Mr. Simeon’s lecture to us a while ago, about how some students aren’t passing their assignments.”

“They aren’t?”

Hero didn’t have a clue about this, he recalled going to the restroom before the start of Mr. Simeon’s class and returning during his discussion.

“We’ll talk about Mr. Simeon’s issue later.” Mrs. Naismith said, putting on her glasses. “We’ve got other matters to attend to, that being the 3 of you. How are you all? Have any of you been struggling with any of your duties in class as of late?”

When each of them shied away from the question, Mrs. Naismith clicked her tongue.

“This must be because of our lack of a secretary, isn’t it?”

Before Hero could interject, Stephen quickly butted in the conversation.

“It’s kind of true but…” he looked at Hero nervously. “We’re managing.”

Hero’s glance waived when Stephen gave him a peace sign underneath the table.

“I see, but what do you mean by ‘managing,’ Stephen? ”

Stephen’s face suddenly turned conflicted and he couldn’t help but gulp. It looks like he flashed out that peace sign a tad too early. “Ma’am, I think Hero should be the one to answer that.”

Hero forced a smile. “I think I’m doing fine Stephen, thank you very much.”

“Really?” Stephen muttered under his breath.

The adviser eyed both of them. “Is there something I should know?”

“Yes ma’a-”

“No ma’am.”

As Hero and Stephen disagreed with each other, Lizzie decided to come out with the truth. “Ma’am, Hero’s burning himself out.” Hero looked behind him disappointingly, and was met by the sympathetic gaze of Lizzie. “I’m sorry I had to.”

“Hero, is this true?” She asked him. Hero, seeing that he was cornered, sighed and restated his case. “I’m not burning myself out.”

He wasn’t exactly mad at them for assuming he was burning himself out, but he also didn’t like the fact that they hit the mark unintentionally. To be completely honest, he was burned out, and he was trying to keep it under a wrap. He had asked his adviser to allow him to cover for Mari, but he didn’t realize how hard her job truly was. Not only that, but he’s been leaving Mari notes in her workbooks all in the name of- he didn’t know. He couldn’t reach her physically so he thought it was a good idea to strike a deal to also take over her requirements.

Mrs. Naismith, being the keen observer that she is, didn’t fall for it. “From what I recall, you’ve been taking over Mari’s role as secretary in her absence. Though I do trust you because you never fail to deliver as vice president, you can’t deny that it’s hard to juggle 2 roles at the same time.” she sighed. “If this is the case, I’ll be forced to find a replacement for Mari.”

“Ma’am with all due respect,” Hero countered. “Mari’s coming back.”

“It’s been a month and a half, Hero.”

He shook his head. “Even if it takes her 3 months, I’m sure she’ll be back.”

“Hero…”

“Her brother died, Stephen.”

“I know but-”

“I’m fine.” he gritted. When Mari comes back, she will be devastated to see that she’s been replaced. She’s worked hard to become secretary, and she was dedicated to serving her role in class. If only the others saw that in her.

“Mari was a good officer.” Mrs. Naismith remarked. “But I can’t allow you to be burned out Hero, you also have another role to play. If I allow you to continue this on and turn a blind eye to it, then I have been neglecting you as your teacher.”

A wave of silence filled the empty classroom. Neither Hero nor his other officers had anything to say.

After a few seconds, she broke the silence. “My decision is final, we’ll be holding another election for the role of secretary a few days from now.”

For the rest of the meeting, Hero said nothing and allowed Stephen to do the rest of the talking.

—

A week passed, and the class was briefed about the sudden election. Former candidates running for the role emerged to redeem themselves, and so did new ones.

But one person in their class stood out from the crowd; and that person was none other than Charlotte Geneva.

Some could already tell that the election was going to be rigged, while some others thought she was better than Mari.

Hero put up with all the comparisons but none of them sat well with him. He needed to stay unbiased and keep his mouth shut as an officer.

—

“So Geneva’s running, huh?” Lizzie said, fiddling with her fingers.

Stephen, who was spacing out, answered in a daze. “Yeah, she is.”

“Yeah, Romeo here’s going to be biased. Why’d she run anyway? She hasn’t run for any position in years.”

She looked at Hero searchingly. Somehow, Hero always found himself in the position of ‘guru’ in their little group.

Hero shrugged when he couldn’t think of an answer. “I don’t know Lizzie. I don’t know.”

—

The election was going to happen in 4 days to Hero’s dismay. For the past few days all he’s been hearing is “Geneva this,” and “Geneva that.”

The election was a special case for them, but he didn’t understand why it had to cause an uproar. If he wanted to go to a convention he’d go to Geneva, but this? This was a whole new type of convention.

But amidst her ever so growing popularity, what puzzled Hero the most was the way she responded to it. Yes, she was her usual peppy self and wherever she went people set their eyes on her, but somehow she didn’t care about this. Kel caught him in a bad time yesterday when Mrs. Naismith decided to talk to him about it.

“Yo, Hero. This whole election is democratic right? You know, with anonymous votes and everything.”

Hero let out a heavy sigh. It was the 2nd time he heard of that this day.

“No Stephen, for the last time the officers aren’t voting.”

“Really?” Stephen grumbled. Behind him, Lizzie was indulging herself in her crossword puzzle.

They were early as usual, which meant that they had an hour and a half to themselves. Hero had gone to Mari’s house that morning to get her requirements, and though it was tempting for him to tell her about Geneva, he didn’t want to bother her.

Meanwhile, Stephen has been a hopeless case. From drawing doodles on the board to longing stares, Hero could say that he was officially worse than him. The girl was practically the only subject he knew and his denial only calls for more attention. He and Lizzie were left to deal with the mess of their president before he ended up screaming “Vote Geneva!” and further rigging the election.

As the 3 of them minded their own business, a familiar ‘angel’ poked her head through the door. Her dark brown hair was tied into a half-ponytail, and her appearance was casual yet modest. Stephen was obviously the first one to notice her between him and Lizzie. He immediately fixed his posture and greeted the ‘angel’ as she walked inside of the room. With just one signature smile from Geneva, Hero was already sure that he could see cartoon hearts floating above his head.

Geneva made a stop to her desk to drop her books, and walked towards them gaily. She studied Hero curiously when he flipped another page from his book. “Whatcha reading, Hero?”

‘“Neruda.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Really? I never pinned you as the romantic type.”

Lizzie let out a loud cough. “Yeah, Hero. Never pinned you as the romantic type.” She smirked at Stephen when she was made aware of his jealousy. “Aren’t you usually the romantic type around here, Stephen?”

“I uh-” Stephen short circuited, causing Lizzie’s smirk to widen. “A-anyway, why are you early today Charlotte? Usually you come around 7.”

Geneva yawned. “Well yes, but I woke up early this time.” She looked at Hero once again and waited to see a reaction; she frowned when he didn’t move his eyes away from his book.

She smiled and poked him on the shoulder. “Hey Hero, it’s cold in here. Why don’t you come with me outside and take a walk.”

Hero’s grip on his neruda book tightened for a moment. He looked at Geneva and the wide-mouthed Stephen next to him whose head was being used as a support beam by Lizzie. He shrugged. “Sure, why not I guess.”

“Great!” Geneva cheered, linking her arm on Hero after he had gotten up. “We’ll be back in a second!”

Once they were gone Stephen let out a heavy sigh as Lizzie laughed on top of him.

With that, Hero and Geneva walked out of the door. “Well there goes Hero and Geneva.” Lizzie teased.

“Shut up, Lizzie. And stop messing up my hair!”

“Aww, he’s jealous!”

When Lizzie pulled herself away from Stephen, Stephen found himself looking out of the door wearily.

What were they going to do anyway?

—

Hero could practically feel Stephens’ icy cold daggers pierce through his skin the moment he left with Geneva. As the door closed with a satisfying click he could hear a yawn coming from his right shoulder. She might have needed that walk after all.

They walked through the empty corridors at a steady snail's pace; the airconditioning was turned off but the cold breeze didn’t change a thing. Hero also noticed that Geneva was oddly silent. Her tiredness had left with her yawn but she didn’t exactly have a pep in her step. It was awkward, maybe not for Geneva, but it was awkward for him. He did have a social life but he never expected ‘Charlotte Geneva’ out of all people to ask him out for a walk. People like Stephen would probably kill for a chance to walk with her; Hero seemed to be the only one who felt indifferent.

“Hero, do I annoy you?” As they turned a right towards the stairs, Geneva caught him off guard with the sudden out of the blue question. “No, I don’t think so.” he replied sheepishly. She gave him a sad hum knowing full well that it isn’t true. “Good to know.”

They climbed up the staircase and watched students enter inside the building from the window. A few of their batchmates were already seated at their classrooms so Geneva's presence was recognized more than once. She flashed her signature smile and waved at the girls who happened to pass along the corridors. “Popular as ever.” Hero sighed. “What?” “Nothing.”

When the corridors were coming to a close, Geneva took a sharp turn left towards the corner.

“The school rooftop’s off limits, Geneva.” Hero said cooly as she tried to push the door open. Geneva was able to push it without sounding the alarm, leaving a gap to fit herself into. “Geneva?-”

“Just shut up and follow me.”

She sneakily slid into the gap and left the door half open to Hero. Hero looked at her wide eyed before checking behind him. Geneva, THE Charlotte Geneva, had just broken a school rule right in front of him. “Hero!” Hero gulped when he heard his name behind the door.

“Coming, coming.” With one last glance he slid through the gap.

“Finally.” Geneva huffed. She walked towards the roof's edge with her arms outstretched. Hero shouted and ran towards her. “Geneva no!”

“Calm down, I’m always up here.” Geneva said calmly. She sat on the edge and looked at the view below her. Isn’t it beautiful up here? You can see the whole neighborhood.”

“You-you’re-”

“Insane? Hero come on, do you think I’m that stupid?”

Hero frowned. “I’m not jumping!”

Charlotte scooted from her seat, laughing at Hero’s drained face. “Oh my god, what, are you frightened Hero?”

“Are you frightened, Hero?”

“No…” Hero said, heat rushing to his face. He was embarrassed, but who wouldn’t have the same reaction? He approached her cautiously even amidst her reassurance. “But you should really sit away from the ledge. What if you fall over?”

“What if you fall over Mari? You just injured your leg from practice yesterday!”

Mari for god knows what reason, climbed up the tallest tree close to the treehouse. She had been injured from her softball practice prior to her climbing, but somehow she managed to get up.

“I’m not catching you if you fall down.” Hero huffed.

“Awww come on Hero, just admit it, you want to join me up here.” she grinned.

“I’m not going to fall Hero, I’ve been here many times before, sat on the same ledge anN-”

“GENEVA!”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding! It was just a joke!”

“Well it WASN’T funny!”

Hero quickly reached out for Geneva’s shoulders and pulled her to safety. She had been leaning too far on her stomach that she was about to dive headfirst to the ground. Geneva clutched her beating heart as she pushed herself away from the ledge. “I-Im– I’m fine…”

“For the love of god…”

Hero combed his hair with his hands. Geneva was actually going to plummet to her death if he didn’t save her. His stomach wrenched. What if he hadn’t gone through the door? Would Geneva still have sat on that ledge by herself?

“I… Thank you.” Geneva looked away, pulling herself off the ground.

“Why are we here anyway?” Exasperated, Hero tried to pry the conversation away by addressing the elephant in the room.

The roof was desolate, as it should be, they weren’t supposed to be there. But Geneva had claimed that she had been there many times before.

“I wanted to talk to you in private and this is the only place in school nobody comes to. And… yeah this is where I go whenever I need a break.”

The sun was rising and he could see Geneva’s hair glow from the soft light. It was as if her hair had become one with the sun itself, warm, picturesque, and vibrant. Hero tried not to stare at Geneva but he couldn’t stop staring at her.

Geneva let out a sly grin. “What? Something in my hair?”

“No.”

“Alright, if you say so.”

She fixed her long hair and tucked some loose strands on her ear as if she was rubbing it in. Hero resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

“Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that you shouldn’t listen to what the others are saying. Mari’s a good secretary and no one can replace her.”

Hero blinked. “I could tell, you know, I’ve been trying to strike a conversation with you for days now but you always seem to ignore me.”

“I was ignoring you?”

Now that he thought about it, he did seem to ignore her whenever he was given the opportunity. He had grown sour over the constant ‘Charlotte Geneva’s’ that he heard from the mouth of his classmates; it was as if Mari was expendable after all and nobody appreciated her work.

Geneva nodded her head and crossed her arms in a pout. “Not that I’m offended or anything, I just hoped that we could… I don’t know, get along?”

Hero pursed his lips as Geneva grew impatient. “Please don’t make me say it again, you know I’m bad with words.”

“Look, Geneva, I have nothing against you honestly. It’s just… I’m kind of biased am I?” He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m trying not to be biased but Mari’s my friend. So I’m really sorry if you felt like I was ignoring you.”

“Oh don’t worry, I get it. No hard feelings there.” The girl sighed with relief. “I thought I did something to you that made you mad at me, but are you really sure there is nothing?”

‘Well you ran for secretary.’ “Nope, it's all cool.”

“Cool.”

The awkwardness of the situation dissipated then and there, Geneva was back to her usual peppy self and Hero? Well he didn’t really know. His indifference for Geneva slightly changed after she said that Mari was irreplaceable, but that still didn’t change the fact that she was running for that position.It’s funny how there were other competitors running for secretary but he was fixated on her instead. Something inside him nagged him to tell Geneva not to run for Mari’s position, but he buried it inside him knowing that he also played a role in the student board.

He put a hand on her shoulder and finally resigned his pride. “Good luck on the elections Geneva, and thanks for checking on me.”

The girl was surprised by Hero’s sudden gesture but gave him a bright smile and a thumbs up.

“I’ll try my best.”

—--

4 days passed and the elections did happen. Hero was no longer surprised to see that Geneva’s name was the majority vote of the classroom.

Geneva was looking at him the entirety of the voting process. Though he felt bitter, he gave her a nod and resumed his business.

Chapter Text

Basil couldn’t help but shake the feeling that he was being followed.

He had taken a detour on the way back from school, and he’d sworn that he could hear footsteps trailing behind him. It wasn’t unusual for someone to pass the same direction as him, after all, they weren’t the only children in the suburban neighborhood who attended that school, but to follow him by every move he made was a different story.

Quickening his pace on the sidewalk, he held unto his photo book tightly and dashed towards the park hoping they would stop following him.

It was already turning dark so he was more wary of his surroundings.

When he finally got to the clearing that was only there he finally felt he was safe.

When he made that promise to himself… no, when he made that promise to Sunny, he was true to his promise of looking for his best friend.

He knew to himself that the evidence clearly dictates the possibility of Sunny getting lost inside the storm that night which was better than thinking he was dead.

Because of this he was labelled by a lot of people (which was too many to count) ‘Basil of the lake’, ‘Basil in denial’, ‘Basil the lake dweller’ or if they were kinder enough ‘Basil the freak’ but he couldn’t care about the names they fling at him as a way of insult.

He’d rather be named all those terrible things than give up on Sunny.

Hiding his backpack next to a tree, he made his daily rounds across the lake to spot a sign of his best friend.

He didn’t get it. He didn’t get why Sunny hadn’t gone back yet. What caused him to leave so abruptly that night.

Why would his best friend commit ‘suicide’? If that side of the story the police showed them to Basil’s dismay ever were true.

He looked at the lake next to him and kicked the dirt below him.

Sunny.. Where in the world are you?

“Hey freak! Whatcha doing there all alone in the middle of the evening?”

Basil sighed and anchored his attention on whoever called him that name.

Of course.

“What do you want Kim? What is it now?”

The girl drilled his eyes on the boy while the other 4 boys behind her made her look more menacing.

“We just wanted to know how our local freak’s been doing. You know, ask him to kindly leave our turf.”

Basil scoffed. “Since when was this your turf?”

“Hah, cocky are we now? Nerd. Didn’t Aubrey tell you?” She honeyed and fixed her eyes on his album. “Oh rightttt… the sissy cut ties with her all because he wouldn’t get over his ‘denial stage’ on his dead boyfriend.”

“S-Sunny and I were never like that!” he stammered to the hooligans' pleasure. Mikhael snickered something about how if he had a camera he would frame it.

“Look man, Sunny’s as good as dead. Just give up and frolic in some field of flowers or something. Now can you please kindly leave our hangout spot? This is now Hooligan's property.”

Basil’s blood boiled when he heard about the lake being the hooligans ‘hangout’ spot. This used to be their hangout spot. But it seems Aubrey really betrayed them by telling her new friends about it. And it had to be the hooligans, of all groups.

“This lake is nobody’s property Kim. Anyone can come to the lake.”

“Says the one who marked it dead-boy’s lake-”

“Ok Angel, that's a little too far.”

“Sorry Kim-- b-but he won’t leave us alone!”

“Oh he’ll leave us alone alright.” she sneered, spitting on the ground. “You’ve had your little ‘patrol’ now flower boy. Now it’s our turn.”

“I just got here-”

“Well times up. Now scram.”

He clenched his fist.

Basil was not the type to fight back. He was weak in fighting and he could never truly land a punch. He was taught by his grandma that fighting should be a last resort and because of this he was easily picked on.

He was used to this kind of treatment. And usually he would keep silent about it. But Sunny… Basil couldn’t help but think about Sunny.

This was for Sunny. He was doing this for Sunny.

What kind of friend would he be to give up on him so easily?
What would he feel if he found out everyone gave up on him and moved on as if he were not a special person in their lives?

He would do anything for Sunny. Even if it were to get him called names for it.

He prayed for Sunny to give him strength.

After fighting against hesitation, Basil shook his head.
Kim looked at him threateningly. “Oh?”

She adjusted her glasses as if to show she was ready to aim with deadly precision.

“So this is how it is… huh?”

She swung her left leg and spun around to face her ‘goons’.

“You know.. I hate to do this to you since you were Aubrey’s friend but technically you’re also one of the reasons why she’s been acting weird these past days.”

Basil’s stance wavered a little hearing about Aubrey. He remembered Kel looking for her awhile ago and he’d also noticed her absence in school.

“And that’s why kids like you should be taught a lesson.”

He could hear some of them cracking their knuckles. He gulped.

The last time he had a fight with the hooligans they asked him to do their biology homework.
When he said he could teach them instead of answering he ended up coming home with a bruise.

Thankfully he was good at hiding it and Polly and his grandmother didn’t notice it. But judging from their expressions he’d end up bearing a black eye.

“Psh.. whatever. Angel, Vance, Mikhael-”

“I AM KNOWN AS THE MAVERI-”

“The Maverick.” Kim corrected, earning a huff from the maverick. She then motioned to Charlene to follow her.

“You teach our good friend Basil here a little.. lesson alright?”

Kim walked away with Charlene trailing behind her leaving Basil to the mercy of her members.

“Fufufufufufufuuu~ we won’t let you down Kim! Isn’t that right master?”

The Maverick grinned from ear to ear and walked towards the now shaking Basil. “That’s right my student. You shall learn from me, your master, the way of beating punks into a pulp!”

“Now, now we can’t go way too overboard guys. My sister merely said, ``Teach him a lesson.”

Vance reprimanded and looked at Basil. “Sorry Basil, no hard feelings.”

“Yeah yeah whatever Vance, come on master you show him!” Angel cheered as if it was something to be cheered about.

“Now now.. Basil, Basil. Whatcha have over there?”

Chapter Text

A record of the weeks Basil tried to rely on the Faraway town’s police district, and a day where he finally decided to say “Screw the police, I can do this on my own.”

Monday

The police district was crowded, too crowded for Basil’s good. It was swarming with adults, and he easily stood out as the only kid loitering the premises. He’s been to the police district before, but that was a long time ago. He and Polly caught someone trying to steal 4 of their flower reserves and his grandmother asked them to report the twerp before they could get away. It was a dull day in their household once they came back empty handed.

He’s been doing some digging about Sunny’s case and he was able to overhear something about a detective Dolion Baxter retiring after his 20 years in service. He recalled hearing about the man from the police officers in the scene and more about him in the sob-filled house. He was a decorated detective, most famously known for his cases in the city. He wondered why a detective such as Baxter would move to the suburbs but he decided to ignore it until it was necessary.

He walked towards the station and grasped on tightly to his backpacks shoulder straps in the process. It made him nervous, he’s never dealt with adults from the PD before and he’s sworn that he could see some of the police officers he’s encountered on the back of the front desk. There were streamers and banners carefully placed on one side of the room, but he could see it no matter how hard they tried to hide it. He couldn’t see what was on the banners but he was sure that they were celebrating; it was either Dolion’s retirement or some random officer's birthday.

He walked towards the front desk and awkwardly tried to strike a conversation with the woman behind it. The woman didn’t seem to notice him because she was busy typing away with her computer.

“Hey kid, if you don’t have anything to report I suggest you move it. I need to report vandalism.” An older man grumbled behind him; Basil gulped, he didn’t know he was holding a line. His mind told him to scatter and let the man go in front of him, but then he would have to wait for his turn again.

With a shrug he cleared his throat and ignored his palms which were starting to sweat.

The woman sighed. “Theft or robbery?”

“Theft.” Basil squeaked. “Wait no- I meant, is Detective Baxter here right now? It’s kind of urgent.” He said, tapping his right foot on a hurried motion. Social interactions, Basil. You know they exist, right?

After blinking once or twice to inspect the boy in front of her, she turned around from her swivel chair and called out to her colleague.

“Oh Baxter? He’s out for lunch right now. Who’s asking?” A man wearing a bowl cut leaned from his seat. His eyes widened when he saw Basil. “You-”

Basil took a sharp inhale and moved away from the vision of the man. He was one of the officers on the scene that day. The woman turned to face him and put on a sympathetic smile.

“Sorry hun, he’s out on his break right now. Maybe try again later?”

Basil gave her a nod and moved out of the line downcast. He was hoping that the man could help him when it came to finding Sunny. He also wanted to know why they didn’t find a body and forced out the narrative that finding him was useless.

He walked out of the police station and made his way back home. Detective Baxter didn’t come back from his lunch break.

Tuesday

Basil woke up early that day and sneaked out of the house after watering his plants. His grandma and Polly had gone out to pick up their groceries, and they left him a note saying that he should wait for them to make breakfast.

Don’t get him wrong, the police station was far from his house, and he did have to walk a long distance to get there; but something urged him to skip breakfast that day. Taking his backpack with him, he jogged out the door and made his way to the police station. He might get reprimanded by Polly for pulling that stunt again, but if he was quick enough, he was sure that she wouldn’t notice.

After 30 minutes he was back at their doorstep; heck, too early to be at their doorstep. His stomach was growling and the police district was deserted, the doors of the PD were even locked. He walked towards the parking lot wall; it was knee-level to him so he decided to sit on it. Regretting his decision, he moped over the breakfast Polly and his grandma made for him.

An hour later a man on a bike speeded past him towards the parking lot. His speed immediately came to a halt after he saw Basil- in fact, he almost fell off. He was wearing a blue uniform but Basil could see that the man’s hat was slightly tilted. The man got off his bike and chained it a meter away from Basil. Basil tried to pay him no mind since he wasn’t the detective, but his bowl cut hair stood out to him.

“You…” he huffed, pointing a finger at Basil once he reached him. “You’re that kid from yesterday, the kid we had to pull away from the lake a month ago.”

Basil flushed in embarrassment as he recalled that day. Hero and Aubrey had already rushed off to Mari’s house while he was at the lake with Kel trying to snap sense into him. He knew he couldn’t swim, but he was willing to jump in the lake to find Sunny.

“Yes… that would be me.” He muttered, looking past the officer.

The officer let out a disbelieved sigh and looked around him. He gave Basil an inquisitive look after he took a look at his watch. “It’s 6 in the morning,” he said, fumbling for something in his right pocket. “The PD doesn’t even open until 8.”

“I need to speak to Detective Dolion- Baxter- sir. It is very urgent.” He didn’t know who or what force helped him refrain from stuttering through his sentence, but whatever it was, he was extremely grateful.

“Detective Baxter comes here around 11, I think you should-” Basil’s stomach growled. “Hey, have you eaten yet? I’m pretty sure that wasn’t me.”

Basil cursed his stomach's bad timing and shook his head. The officer frowned. “Kid, don’t tell me you came all this way without eating.”

After finding the thing he was looking for, he pulled out a key and walked towards the main door. He unlocked it with a click and pushed the glass open. “Wait there.”

He entered the dark station and opened the lights. Basil peered from where he sat and tried to make out what the officer was doing inside. When the officer came back, he was holding a tuna sandwich and a bottle of water. No scratch that, 2 tuna sandwiches and a bottle of water.

The man sat next to him and offered a sandwich. “Raymond only keeps tuna sandwiches in the fridge. I hope you don’t mind.”

Basil found it hard to accept it at first, but his hunger got the best of him. Cautiously, he took the sandwich from the man and took a bite. The tuna was cold but it wasn’t stale. For a moment, he thought he was suddenly possessed by Kel.

“Eesh… you should have eaten breakfast before you got here.” The man muttered, eating his tuna sandwich.

When Basil looked at him, he suddenly went on the defensive.

“Don’t look at me! I eat here because I’m the one opening the PD. It’s not like I have time to eat breakfast at home.”

He shrugged.

There was a formidable silence between the two of them. Basil took the time to study the man next to him while he was busy indulging his sandwich. He was one of the police officers on the scene, and he was unsure if he could afford to be friendly to him. But the man did offer him a sandwich and if it had any sinister intent in it he would’ve been poisoned right now.

When the officer finished his sandwich, he took Basil’s empty water bottle and threw it inside a nearby garbage can. It was already 7 when Basil checked his watch.

“So, are you planning on waiting for Baxter until he comes?”

“Yes, sir.”

The officer nodded. “Well good luck with that kid, Detective Baxter is hard to crack. Even if he’s retiring next week it’s like he’s still planning to work here.”

Basil’s eyes dilated when he heard ‘next week.’

“Next week?” he asked, shifting from his seat. “You mean he’s leaving next monday?”

“Thursday, exactly. He’s planning to move back to the city after retiring.”

9 days, Basil grimaced. It wasn’t as short as 3 days, but he couldn’t afford to hang around the police department during school hours. Not only that, he also had to deal with them on a daily basis. Why couldn’t invisibility powers coexist in their universe?

The officer noticed his conflicted face and gave him a pat on the back. “I wish I could tell you more about your friend, but I was only in charge of keeping people away from the scene. I don’t know much about him other than…” he paused. “Sorry bud.”

Basil gave him a small reassuring smile and shook his head. “It’s all good officer, thank you again.”

When the officer turned to leave for the entrance, Basil let out a sigh. He was about to say ‘suicide.’ He knew where that pause was about to lead.

In the end, he learned that Detective Baxter took a leave of absence for the rest of that day; Basil waited for nothing after all.

7 DAYS LEFT. Thursday

—--

“I’m just here to ask you if you know where Aubrey has been for the past few days. She hasn’t been in school since yesterday and I’m worried about her. So… I was wondering if you could tell me where she went?” Kel said, trying to make it quick.

The school bell rang and internally, Basil let out a heavy sigh. Thank God.

He’s been ignoring the 2 after what happened at the lake, but somehow, this time, he actually felt worried. Aubrey’s hanging out with that group again, he knew it, but a part of him still didn’t want to talk to Kel.

As he pondered over his decisions, he watched Kel walk towards his seat in a sullen manner. ‘You know what, fine.’ With his internal battle over he quickly wrote on a piece of paper, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it at the brunette.

Before the brunette could see it was him, he innocently looked at the board and fixed his study space. ‘He probably won’t say thank you.’ Basil thought to himself, letting out a crestfallen smile.

—-
‘7 Days left..’ he muttered to himself. Surely by the end of next week he would have already talked to Detective Baxter. Wednesday was a bust. The detective had been summoned to the city for some reason he didn’t know and he came out once again empty handed. After school he decided to give it another shot but the man was busy.

‘Something about a robbery at Gino’s.’ the woman at the counter explained. ‘If you’re looking for him, you should try looking for him there.’

Well guess what, Basil did go to Gino’s that day and the establishment had been robbed. But for some reason, the detective was nowhere to be seen. Although, he did see the police officer he met two days ago who was very enthusiastically watching the door.

Even though it has only been 3 days, he felt like the detective was ignoring him.

“Sunny, what am I supposed to do?” he asked, looking at the lake.

It was weird, he knew that Sunny was surely not at the bottom of it, but everytime he went to vent his frustrations he always talked to the lake. They were at the park again, to his dismay, but he easily evaded them to enter their secret hangout spot.

If Sunny was the wind, Basil could feel his presence. Ever since the storm the area surrounding the lakeside has been colder than ever. He’ll probably head out to Gino’s again after this, but for now he’s allowed himself to loiter the parameter. He wondered if next time he should bring Polly with him to deal with the detective, but knowing Polly, she would outright refuse to enter a crime scene.

He groaned in frustration and threw a pebble into the lake. The pebble skipped at least thrice before sinking to the bottom of the water.

He might as well become a detective instead of a biologist just so that he could meet him.

5 DAYS LEFT. Saturday

“Is the Detective here?”

Once again he found himself complaining to the front desk. He wasn’t mad during his previous visits, but this time he was getting a tad annoyed.

“For the last time kid, the detective isn’t here.” The woman said sternly. If Basil wasn’t scared of the police he would’ve cursed quite openly in front of her. And you must think, what? Basil cursing in front of people? This must be the end of the world! But no, he was genuinely fed up already.

He wasted 5 days. It was already a Saturday and he still didn’t have information about Sunny. Maybe he could’ve chanced on Baxter last friday, but he had to stay home due to an errand. He tried other options such as the bowl cut officer, but he didn’t have a clue. (“Also, stop calling me ‘bowl cut’ you know I have a name.” The officer huffed. “It’s Steve. S- T- E- V- E Steve. Get it right.”)

Steve was the only officer willing to talk to him; the other officers on the scene didn’t even notice him- or they were avoiding him. Maybe they found his presence weird seeing that he was now making visiting the PD a habit.

“I tried asking the others if they knew about your friend.” Steve said to him, quite casually during his lunch break. “I’m new here but I’m sure half of them gave me the stink eye.” He sighed. He then stood up from his seat on the wall and raised his fists up. “So what if all I do is hold doors?! They don’t know me! Next thing they know I’ll be the one giving them the stink eye, mark my worddddsssssssssss!!!!!!” he cried.

This cry was then heard by a passing detective and Steve was called in.

“What’s going on here, Dina?”

Suddenly, from behind Basil, he heard a man's voice.

“Oh! Raymond, right on time.” The woman, or Dina said wearily. “This boy over here is looking for Dolion. Can’t you do something about it?”

He turned around to face the man and saw a tall young man wearing a curious look on his face. He looked like one of those water commercials he saw on tv, ‘refreshing, and cool like the autumn breeze.’

“Dad? He went back to the city to get some work done. He’ll be back next wednesday.”

Basil was laughing in his head when he said that. Of course, of course he had to go back to the city and return next wednesday- Wait, dad?

“Why are you looking for my father?” he asked him.

It took Basil quite a while to process the fact that his son was working inside the PD this entire time. The Raymond who kept tuna sandwiches inside their fridge was him all along.

He was surprised when the detective didn’t recognize him unlike Steve.

“Detective Raymond.” he shook the boy's hand. “And you are?”

“ Basil. And I uh… I need to talk to Detective Baxter about something urgent.” Basil said, his voice low. “Well if you want, I could call my father to respond to you immediately once he comes back. Though if it’s that urgent, you can also tell me.”

“Yes!” Basil exclaimed, loud enough for the whole PD to hear. “I mean uh… Thank you. I’d- I’d like to do both actually.”

Raymond smiled. “No problem, you should’ve gone to me sooner if you wanted to see my father. Didn’t anybody tell you?”

As soon as he said that, Steve walked out of one of their offices, pride beaten and bruised.

Basil smiled. “I don’t think so.”

Steve noticed his stare and the person he was talking to. He quickly flashed him a sheepish smile and walked back into the office he came from.

“I’m kind of in a time crunch right now but I think I’m available next monday if you want to talk.” The detective said, looking at his watch.

2 days, but at this point Basil was happy that he made progress. He nodded and thanked him before he left.

4 DAYS LEFT Sunday

“Find me.”

Basil woke up in the midst of a storm.

The lake stood in front of him, but the rain was fogging his vision. Yet he could see a boy standing on top of the dock.

“Find me.”

“Sunny?” he asked, pushing his way through the rain. “Sunny is that you?!” he shouted.

Basil could see his silhouette clearly even if he was facing the lake; he was wearing the same clothes he was wearing during the recital. But the rain didn’t affect him at all and when thunder struck behind him, he didn’t even produce a shadow. Yet the boy trudged on and tried to reach for his best friend, desperately pleading to him to make the rain stop.

He was supposed to be there when they fought. He had planned to cheer on Sunny and Mari that night, but the seats to the recital were quickly filling in. Polly told him to join Hero instead, and they ended up meeting Kel and Aubrey at the auditorium. After finding his seat, he rushed off immediately to make up for his plan with Sunny and Mari. He was stopped by Hero’s mom at the entrance when the news broke out.

Ever since that night Basil wondered, what if he had been there? Would things turn out differently? Maybe if he was there to calm down his friend, Sunny would’ve not run off.

But the rain didn’t stop and Sunny stood there motionless. Tears started to well in his eyes. “Sunny please… Why won’t you look at me? Why did you run off that night? You know I was going to come for you no matter what.”

His body was starting to tremble from the cold but he ignored it. “Why… Why would you leave me? I thought we were best friends! Why would you leave me now?…”

When Sunny didn’t say anything he stopped in his tracks. Ah… he’s mad.

Collecting his thoughts, he wiped away his tears and looked at him. “I- I’ll find you Sunny! I promise you… even if it takes me years to find you, I’ll find you. But no one would listen to me...”

The boy turned to him and gave him a soft smile, it was as if that was the answer he was waiting for.

“You’ll find a way, Basil. You always do.”

Before he could say anything back to him, he woke up lying down on the dock of the lake. He had fallen asleep, and could feel light drizzle pattering on his face.

3 DAYS LEFT. Monday

“I was able to convince my father to come back this tuesday. He’ll be arriving early in the morning.” Raymond said, getting straight to the point as Basil took a seat. “But honestly, I really need to ask, what is your relation to my father?”

Basil noted from the quirk of his eyebrow that he looked genuinely interested.

“I.. My friend, Sunny. People think he’s dead but he’s really missing.” he started, clearing his thoughts. He was all stuttery the first time he came to the PD, but time has passed and he’s already accustomed himself to it; it didn’t mean that he was comfortable being there, but now that he’s been given the chance he’s willing to take it.
“Your father was the detective assigned to the case, and I wanted to know why he came up with that conclusion.”

Raymond’s brows furrowed. “Did he show any evidence?”

Basil nodded and took out two polaroids. Though it was blurry, the objects could still be made out. “Two shoes and a sock, sir. I took these the day he went missing and these were the only things the police could find.”

The man took the two polaroids and studied them intently. “Please sir, they didn’t even find a body and his family buried an empty casket. You have to believe me, my friend is alive!”

For a moment, Basil thought he saw Raymond’s mouth quiver.

“My father has been assigned to this PD for 10 years now. I’ve only been transferred here a week ago to take his place after he retires. I’m sorry but I am not aware of this.”

Basil frowned when he gave him back the polaroids.

“But the fact that you say that a body was never found does make the cause of death unusual to say the least. Are you sure that they did not find a body?”

Basil nodded vigorously as Raymond pursed his lips. “I’ll see if I can get some information from my father once he comes back. Thank you for informing me.”

After his talk with Raymond, Raymond told him that his father was willing to meet him at the train station tomorrow morning. For the first time in a month, Basil felt relieved.

2 DAYS LEFT. Tuesday

Raymond had lied to him. Detective Baxter was not at the train station like he said he would be. He waited for hours in that dingy, underground subway station and he hasn’t seen anyone like him exit from one of the train carts.

When he got back to the PD to ask where Raymond was, Steve wouldn’t disclose any information about his whereabouts. Even he couldn’t look him in the eye.
Basil felt confused. Just yesterday he thought he had someone on his side, but now even the person who actually found Sunny’s suicide unusual has also left him in the dust.

He laughed to himself bitterly the moment he came back to the lake. Tears couldn’t form in his eyes but inside, he felt like he was dying. He walked towards the dock and forced a sardonic smile as he looked at the water.

“Looks like it’s just you and me against everyone else, Sunny. As usual.”

1 DAY LEFT. Wednesday

When he woke up that morning he wanted to immediately lie back down and fall asleep. No, Sunny didn’t visit his dreams that day to express his disappointment, but he did sleep past his bedtime thinking about it.

If yesterday didn’t happen he was sure that he would’ve been out and about waiting for Detective Baxter at the train station. But now, he doesn't know if going there will ultimately waste his time just like the other times he tried reaching out to him. The day was sullen for him, but thankfully neither his grandmother nor Polly were quick enough to notice it before he was out the door.

He’s never skipped school before but now he knew what it felt like.

As he slowly walked his way to school, he came across a man carrying two heavy boxes. He could tell it was heavy due to his light stagger, but it didn’t bother him the slightest based on how he walked.

The man dropped them on the side of the sidewalk and sat down on a nearby bench.

At first Basil didn’t think that much of the man in front of him, but as he got closer he could see that the man was familiar.

He wore a familiar frown and he had wrinkles underneath his eyes. His brown hair was hidden and tuckly kept underneath a grey fedora and he wore a white collared shirt. Basil slowly approached the man and hoped his gut instinct was right. “Detective Baxter?”

The man looked towards him in a nonchalant expression. “Yes, that would be me.”

Basil’s heart started to pound as they both made eye contact.

He walked towards him and clasped his right hand and shook it. “B-Basil sir. I’m not sure if you remember me but-”

“My memory doesn’t fail me even at this age, child. Of course I remember you, you were the one in that house that night.”

Basil gulped. “Yes…”

Now that he was facing the man himself, his stomach lurched and he found himself running out of words to say.

Basil had given up all his hope in meeting him, but now here he was, sitting on a bench right in front of him. Something about the detective’s stoic expression felt unsettling for him and he didn’t know why. Sure, he looked like a cool yet collected grandpa, but he has this aura that he has only seen in Mari’s father.

A man going to retirement should be happy with himself, but this man looked resentful.

“Are we going to stare at each other or are you going to say anything? I still have to get some of my things from the PD.” He said, snapping Basil out of his trance immediately. ‘Come on, Basil. Say something.’ he thought to himself. But nothing would come out of his mouth.

The man sighed and stood up, he picked up the boxes next to him and began walking towards the opposite direction. “Wait!” Basil cried, rushing to grab the detective’s sleeve. The detective ignored him and kept on walking, Basil was just an addition to his bad mood. His hopelessness a few minutes prior quickly turned into desperation.

“I know you know Sunny’s alive, sir.”

The man stopped in his tracks and turned towards him appalled. “What?”

Lub.

“Sunny, my best frie- my friend. You know he’s alive.” Basil said, letting go of his sleeve. “If you didn’t know, then you wouldn’t be ignoring me.”

Dub-dub.

The man ratted his fingers on the bottom cardboard box and shook his head dismissively. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Basil gave him a pained smile. “You- you must be joking, right sir?”

Lub Dub-dub.

“I don’t know what you're talking about. That’s what I’m saying, son.”

Lub Dub-dub. Lub Dub-dub.

“The girl, she came to the PD and we went to question her. She said she had a fight with her–” “I know that, I know that.”

Lub Dub-dub.

“But what do you mean by ‘you don’t know’?”

Lub Dub-dub. Lub Dub-dub. Lub Dub-dub.

“You were there that night, w-weren’t you sir? Then next week, you said you didn’t find a body.”

Lub Dub-dub.

The detective stayed silent, and a painful silence it was for the part of Basil.

Lub Dub-dub.Lub Dub-dub. Lub Dub-dub.

“ Well he must have sunk real deep because that lake is an embodiment of a black hole.”

Lub Dub-dub. Lub Dub-dub. Lub Dub-dub. Lub Dub-dub-

“Look kid, I’m retiring and I don’t have time for this. I’m sorry for breaking it to you this way, but your friend’s dead, you have to move on.”

“No you got it wrong, sir. I- My friend isn’t dead-”

“Kid, I’m not going to send my men down there again just so that they’d drown themselves in that pit.”

Lub Dub-dub. Lub DUb- DUB. LUB DUB-DuB. LUB DUB-DUB.

“10 days. 10 days, detective Baxter. I searched for you for 10 days- This- t-this can’t be your only answer.” Basil said, the color draining from his face. “T-this can’t be your only answer.” His grip shook.

“I’ve already told you what you needed to know, and I’m sorry if this wasn’t the answer you’re looking for-”

“What about the woods? You must have checked the woods.”

“It’s too large to account for all of it. Look, I don’t know how many times I have to say it, but please, I’m politely asking you, get off my case.”

LUB DUB-DUB. LUB DUB-DUB. LUB DUB-DUB. LUB DUB-DUB.

“Hah…” Suddenly, Basil started chuckling.

“What’s so funny, son?”

“Hahaha…”

“What’s with those eyes, you look-”

“Hahaha!”

Somehow hearing that from the man he was looking for made something inside Basil bend. He couldn’t stop himself from laughing and his surroundings suddenly turned static. He could hear his heart beat loudly as he laughed uncontrollably at the detective.

The detective’s stoic face turned to worry, but the moment he tried to pat Basil’s back with his hand, Basil immediately pushed it away.

“I knew you were going to say that.” Basil controlled his laughter and gave the detective a warm smile as the detective found himself backing away from the kid. “I knew, you were going to say that.”

He wiped away a tear that had fallen on his right cheek; he had been laughing too hard to notice anything else. “You, everyone- You know that’s the thing with you people, you’re so quick to easily cut off things if it doesn’t benefit you.”

He walked towards the detective. “Is this a game for you detective Baxter? Is a robbery at Gino’s more important than a missing child?” He feigned a grin. “It must be fun getting all that quick attention; Faraway is just a small town, and you can easily catch the culprit- but to find a body dead or alive, lost in the midst of a storm?”

He sighed, mockingly. “Now who would want that?”

Basil could see that the man was controlling his temper. He was heaving, and beads of sweat were forming on his head. “The PD’s in a tight spot right now, we can’t-”

“Oh I know, I know. You can’t afford it, and because of that, you didn’t even try.”

“Then why don’t you try it?” the man huffed.

He looked around him and gave him a scorn, belittling smile.

Basil stopped approaching him and gave him a blank look.

He paused.

Why did his words suddenly run dry?

When Basil couldn’t find an answer, the detective scoffed and walked towards the bench. He took the boxes and carried it with him, flashing Basil a deadpan look.

“Boy, until you accept the truth you have no friends here. Not me, nor the PD, nor that boy you’re looking for so desperately. No one’s going to wait for you, and that’s the sad truth you must learn from this world.”

The detective walked right past him and stopped behind him.

“Some stories are better off closed than open, and this story is one of them.”

Without saying another word, the detective made his way towards his final destination. Basil did end up skipping school that day, and he spent it pondering over the detective’s last words to him.

—-

0 DAYS LEFT. Thursday

After clearing his mind, Basil made the firm decision to solve Sunny’s case on his own and allow the world to move on without him. He began charting the entire woods, and he planned on moving on to the lake once he has searched its every nook and cranny.

He alienated himself from everyone he knew. He didn’t want to, but he knew he had no one else to rely on other than himself.

Detective Baxter took his last train away from Faraway at 10 am. His son was the only one to see him off.

Chapter Text

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.
The faint ticks of her wall clock resonated in Mari’s ears. For six days she didn’t go outside her bedroom, (except for the bathroom and occasionally the kitchen) and she spent her time alone thinking about what Hero said.

“But... even after all that has happened, I just want to say that this is not your fault and you shouldn’t blame yourself.”

But is it true?

If she had taken control of the situation that night none of this would have happened. Sunny- the real Sunny would’ve been right beside her alive if it weren’t for her ignorance. But a small part of her wanted it to be true.

Pulling the sheets off her, she stood up and expected Sunny to be there in the corner of her eye peering at her again.

He wasn’t.

Ever since Hero talked to her, her visions of Sunny haven't been reoccurring for the past few days. That simple interaction—It was as if Hero’s presence had driven him away for a short amount of time.

She hasn’t really interacted with anyone about her situation other than the constant “we’ll manage.” From her time-to-time teary eyed mother. The pieces of paper sneakily compressed within her binders couldn’t really count as an interaction because she couldn’t find the heart to respond to any of them.

Though after that day, Hero’s visits have become shorter, and her mother has taken the role of bringing her assignments from the door. Even the letters have slowly dwindled and as of late, she hasn’t received a single one. Maybe he got tired of her and decided to give up all the way, she figured.

Taking a breath, she looked at her filled to the brim desk. She scooted over and engulfed herself into studying. It was the best thing she could do to keep her mind off things for a while, she thought to herself.

—
She hasn’t done a single thing.

Mari sighed in defeat and closed the thick binder. It was hard for her to concentrate when her thoughts would suddenly intrude with whatever she was doing. She ended up absently scribbling small misshapen doodles she couldn’t wrap her head around instead of reading anything.

Clicking her tongue in annoyance, she flounced herself towards her bed and stubbed her toe on the hardwood. She grimaced. Sunny, unbeknownst to her, has somehow entered the locked room and was sitting where she originally was.

“You really like to see me suffer, don’t you little brother?” is what she wanted to say to him, if it weren't for her situation. Biting her lip, she decided it was best to not entertain it.

The pain waived away in a few minutes and she laid on her bed contemplating what on earth was wrong with her.
She couldn’t play the piano, she couldn’t catch up with her requirements even with Hero’s effort, she barely talked, and she couldn’t even face her brother. She’s even stopped taking proper care of herself and started worrying not only Hero and the ‘others’ he claimed to be worrying about her.
She started thinking everything was hopeless.

All she could do was race on empty hallways, clinging onto what sanity she had left.

This was retribution for everything was it?

She closed her eyes and wished that this time she wouldn’t wake up.

—
A knock. She could hear a knock on the door. Mari could hear someone calling her name from the pillow, but she was too tired to answer.

“Mari!” the voice said, which she assumed to be her mother’s. “Open the door. I’m home and I need you to meet someone.”

Shifting to her side she tried blocking out the source of the voice.

“Mari if you don’t open this door I’m barging into this room!”

She grumbled.

Mari flattened her vest and got up to open the locked door. She noticed Sunny was gone from the seat when she unlocked it. When she opened it, her mother was outside casting her a dismayed look.

“You should really stop locking yourself in Mari, that’s very unhealthy. Just because I’m not always in the house doesn’t mean you have to shut yourself in all the time.”
Mari said nothing and took a step outside. Her mother sighed and fixed a strand of her hair. “Now come on, it’s rude to keep our guest waiting.”

Mari looked at her mother confused. Guest? Who would want to visit her?

“Who exactly?” she asked. Her mother didn’t respond to her question and ushered her down the stairs. “Be in your best behavior alright?”

“Mom-”

“And! If he says something make sure you respond. He came all this way to see you, you know. So better not disappoint him.”

“Mom seriously, what’s this for?”

Her mom stopped on her tracks and pulled her in a hug.
“Everything’s going to be alright honey. He’s here to help you.”

Mari’s eyes widened. Help? Hero?

Letting go of her daughter, her mother smiled at her before she entered the living room.

“Sorry for the delay doc. I had to fetch her from her room. My daughter hasn’t interacted with anyone other than me for the past month.”

“Oh, it’s fine Helen. I completely understand your daughter’s situation.”

An unknown voice perked from the room; it was someone Mari could not recognize. Brooding, she entered the room and saw a thin, pale faced man with a coat sitting on the sofa. He wore a pair of rimmed eyeglasses and he was thin in figure. He looked around mid-30s, and had thick black hair neatly combed in place.

Mari felt her blood run cold when the man shifted his gaze to her and smiled warmly, linking his fingers as her mother told him to sit down.

“Why hello there Mari, my name is Doctor James Cardinal. You look as lovely as your mother described you.”

Chapter Text

Black.

That was the only thing Sunny could see as he found himself sinking deeper into the abyss, engulfed in his silent suffering.

He’s been there for months now… no years. He couldn’t recall from all his forgetting.

All he could do was watch in silence as the light faded above him, helpless and hopeless for a sign of being saved.

Why was he there?

He constantly wondered to himself as he tried swimming up the raging dark water.

His memories have slowly deteriorated the more time he spent there, all in exchange for memories of his dreary present.

Who was he?

He could see himself in third person from time to time, and he could see that his dark shirt was ragged by the water. He resembled the figure of a petite boy, weak and fatigued from the time he spent screaming and flailing his arms.

He’s even forgotten his own name and persona for the fear that seeped through his bones was killing him slowly.

Maybe he was there for a reason. Maybe he was there for no reason at all.

But who was he to end up in a situation like that?

Has he been in this situation before? Was this normal?

Inhaling what seemed to be his 40th serving of water, he paddled his way through the darkness, his chest constricted as he did so.

He felt tired. Really tired. He wondered how he was still alive.

That was until something came to him, some would call it a revelation, and he finally realized where he was.

This must be hell.

That explains the slow and painful time he spent there.

Looking at his shaking palms, he noticed that half of it has turned chalk white. He was dead, was he? And this was his own personal form of torture.

Yet even with the idea of this being hell, a part of him still didn’t want to admit his fate. A part of him still wanted to live on and reach for the dimming light he saw above him.

Why was that?

Why couldn’t he accept the fact that the moment he woke up there he was already a goner?

No one was there to save him, no one probably knew where he was so…

Why was he still trying?

Suddenly, he felt a jolt hit the back of his head and he was taken aback.

He winced.

What the heck was that?

He felt the urge to check the back of his head and he noticed something coming out of it. Even in the dark he knew what it was, and there it was resting on his hand, clear as day and starkly contrasting the dark environment.

He saw red.

His foggy eyes suddenly darted to the light when he heard a voice coming from above.

“Sunny?! Please. No- Sunny-”

A voice of a girl rang clearly in his ears, she sounded desperate as if something bad had happened.

“No- nonononono Sunny! Please- you can’t leave me! Not again- Don’t do this to me Sunny!”

He reached out his hand above him, and desperately mouthed the word ‘help.’

That voice… Sunny thought. That voice sounded familiar.

He didn’t know how he got that kind of information, but he was willing to take any chance that he could get.

The light above him got wider and wider; and as if it were a miracle, it was slowly reaching out to him.

Was it finally his time? Was he finally free?

“Omori… please wake up.”

Suddenly Sunny found himself being forcefully dragged to the left, quickly and swiftly by someone or something he didn’t know of.

The voice slowly dissipated the moment he got too far from the light, and everything else was too quick for him to process.

He woke up panting safe inside a room, white light illuminated from every side.

Chapter Text

Sunny woke up with a gasp and clutched his heart as if he had woken up from a very terrible dream. He felt as if his body had hit a pretty hard wall, and his left arm had numbed from the collision.

Omori?

His head spinned and he could hear loud static.

There were voices. Not of the girl, but voices of 2 people having a conversation. He couldn’t hear what they were talking about but he was sure that one of them was a male.

He felt faint as he looked around for them but found no one in that room but himself.

It was getting louder the moment he stayed awake, and soon enough his senses has started to succumb to the loud sound.

Sunny found himself hitting the floor unconscious.

…

“Omori! Hey, wake up!”

There was that voice again, calling out to him cheerily.

“Omori wake up!”

He opened his heavy eyelids and adjusted to the light. There she was, the source of the familiar voice, standing in front of a white door. She wore a white dress and smiled sweetly at him.

“Come on Omori, you shouldn’t keep the others waiting. Get up!”

She opened the door and beckoned him to join her.

Before Sunny could ask her who she was, she had already slipped inside and closed the door behind her.

Sunny sat up and scratched his head.

So his name was Omori.

The static was gone and he was left with the quiet solace of the place he was in. Everywhere he turned he was met with a bright light, but somehow it didn’t hurt his eyes. He stood up as if nothing happened and looked around.

There was nothing there other than a door and a laptop.

The place was barren, he noticed. Not only that, wherever he went, he would go on and on like he was stuck in some sort of loop.

He didn’t know why but something urged him to stay in that place despite the girl's effort to show him a clear exit. Sunny decided it was best to stall for a moment to satisfy the entity that wanted him to stay there.

Sunny walked towards the laptop and took it off the floor, he sat down and allowed it’s warmth to comfort him. When he opened the lid he noticed that some of the keys were missing, but even with that, it still easily booted up once he opened it.

On the screen he could see a frozen game of hangman asking him to find 19 letters. Due to the missing keys he couldn’t do anything.

Seeing that there was nothing else to do, he finally decided to stop stalling and enter the door.

When he approached the white door he felt something off-putting about it; it was as if it wasn’t what it seemed and it was better for him to stay in that white room.

But then his thoughts trailed back to the girl who saved him and how she entered it with no hassle.

He took a step closer to the door and put his head closer to the wood, to his surprise, he could hear people laughing. It surprised him because the door stood in the middle of nowhere and there was nothing behind it.

He placed his hand on the knob and decided to turn it. He turned his head once he heard something fall from behind him.

Sunny’s eyes widened when he saw a knife sticking on the ground just inches to his heel. With heavy breaths, he looked above him and saw nothing but empty white light.

Exhaling sharply, he took it just in case he needed it.

When he finally opened the door his jaw dropped from what he saw inside.

—

It was colourful.

Sunny stepped inside and found the door shutting behind him. He ignored it and walked further into the short pathway.

Everything around him was brightly coloured and the sky was a shade of purple. He could see constellations of certain objects tracing through it, and in front of him, a big yellow cat peered at him from above.

Sunny could even smell the distant smell of chocolate chip cookies, and unlike the white room he was in, the atmosphere seemed overall happy.

In front of him he could see 3 people playing cards on the floor engaged in a lively conversation.

“Ha, well look at that! Guess I’ve won again!” The girl among the 2 boys cheered to herself triumphantly, pointing at the younger boy as he pouted.

“No fair, you cheated! I saw you looking through my cards again.”

“No I didn’t! You're just that bad!”

The girl stuck out her tongue which enraged the other.

“Now, now come on you two. It’s just a game and no one cheated. Kel, you aren’t bad at it, and Aubrey, it isn’t nice of you to say that.” Said the older one, sighing when the both of them huffed and looked away from each other.

“Just hug it out like you always do! It usually works.”

“But Hero, I don’t want to!”

“Neither do I! Why would I hug it out with a prick like Kel?!”

“Aubrey...”

The both of them groaned. After a while, the girl was the first to make eye contact with the boy.

“Fine, fine. I’m sorry for calling you a terrible player.” Hero looked at Aubrey. “And a prick.”

“Man, if only Omori was here. He’d take my side for sure.” Kel sighed and dropped his cards. “Yeah, yeah it’s fine. Sorry I assumed so easily too.”

The two of them hugged it out and earned a smile from Hero.

“See! Much better.”

They suddenly went silent after Kel brought up the topic.

“I still can’t believe he stopped playing with us! It’s been 4 years and he’s still in that coma. I just wish that one day he would just get out of his-”

The boy looked towards the direction of the door and saw Sunny standing there. Out of shock, he scrambled from his seat and clung unto Hero, mortified.

“OMORI?!”

Kel suddenly shouted and ran towards him. Aubrey found herself shrieking and Hero was taken aback. They stared at Omori as if they had seen a ghost. When the 3 of them calmed down, their faces quickly turned into happy surprise and they immediately stood up to greet him.

“OMORI! IT REALLY IS YOU!” Aubrey jumped up and down enthusiastically, running up to him and giving him a big hug with Kel. “You do remember me right?! It’s me! Aubrey. I can’t believe it’s really you!” To her right, the short guy was also crying. “Me too! It’s me Kel! Kel! Forget about Aubrey man! Kel!”

Sunny felt stunned from the sudden impact. Aubrey and Kel?

“Guys! Give Omori some room to breathe. Hi Omori, it’s nice to see you again. It’s me, Hero.” The tall one said, earning a look from the both of them.

“Bro! Is that seriously all you have to say?!” Kel huffed, earning a chuckle from Hero.

“That was only the start of it, C’mere Omori!”

Soon enough Sunny was being squished to his death simultaneously by three people.

There was crying, there was laughing, but he couldn’t understand why and he barely knew them. But by being with them even at that short moment- Sunny felt safe and he knew that his gut feeling was wrong.

—

“How are you Omori? Are you okay? It’s been 4 years since we met again so I’m sure things might be a bit unclear.” Hero said, giving him a cookie. “Oh, your sister will be so glad to know that you’re awake now. Abbi too!”

Sunny tilted his head as he accepted it from him. Aubrey didn’t look like the girl and she barely sounded like her. Maybe it was his sister or this Abbi person. Neither of them were in the room.

“Yeah, Mari would be so overjoyed.” Kel added, wistfully munching on his cookie, “she never stops talking about you and she's been sighing a lot. And I mean a lot.”

Mari…

“Hey! Why don’t we bring Omori to her now?” Aubrey suggested, still hugging Omori’s arm. “We can also show him the new stuff here at Headspace!”

Kel grinned. “I agree with Aubrey! Come on, let's go!”

The two of them stood up and raced each other towards the rainbow staircase.

“Aubrey and Kel, always the energetic duo.” Hero said, patting him on the back. “You might not remember everything but we’ll be here to guide you. Just prepare yourself to get tackled a lot haha. A lot of people miss you.” he chuckled before joining Kel and Aubrey.

Sunny nodded and followed them,he looked at the white door one last time before he shrugged.

Getting clams from a talking snake, he joined them out of a tall tree. He looked at it from a distance, and gaped at its glowing ever so changing leaves.

“Come on Omori! Let’s go to the park and meet Mari and Abbi!” Aubrey said, pulling him with her. He quickly squatted down and took one of the multi-colored leaves as he passed by.

“Hey! Don’t keep Omori to yourself Aubrey! Wait up!”

Aubrey grinned before allowing Sunny to walk by himself.

Soon enough the 4 of them ended up in a park where everyone was merrilly playing.

“Alright, Omori… Hide behind us.” Hero whispered to him. “It’ll be a surprise for Mari and Abbi.”

The three of them went in front of him and entered the park with Sunny trailing behind them. Sunny could see two people nearby having a picnic and saw her. It was the girl- it was really her.

“Aubrey, Kel, Hero!” The girl piped, waving at them.

“Mari!” Aubrey exclaimed, hugging her.

“Hey Mari.” Hero said, running a hand through his back. Mari smirked at him and put her hands on her hips. “If it isn’t the father of the house! Come here handsome, I’ve made you all a handsome picnic!”

Kel chuckled and pointed at Hero’s red face.

Mari tried to look behind them when she saw a glimpse of Sunny.

“Oh! You must have brought a new friend with you! Isn’t that wonderful, Abbi?”

She looked at Abbi happily, but unlike her, Abbi didn’t look like she was in a good mood. She looked at Mari and nodded half-heartedly.

“Well hello there! It’s nice to meet you--”

When Hero, Kel and Aubrey moved out of the way she gasped in surprise.

The girl stood up from her seat. “Omori? Is that actually-” she walked towards him and pinched his cheeks, the shock still clear and true in her face. Tears started swelling in her eyes.

“Omori!”

Mari hugged him tightly and sobbed.

Sunny stood there and hugged her back, knowing she was the one who saved him. He also found tears slowly rimming from his eyes as they stayed there, earning awed looks from everyone around them except for Abbi.

He looked back towards the picnic blanket and saw her looking at him, shaking her head dismayed. What did he do? He gave her a questioning look as the girl hugged her knees.

“Welcome home Omori. Welcome home.” Mari cried, wiping her tears from her face.

Amidst the happiness that was welling up inside him, Sunny couldn’t help but look at Abbi as she scooted away from the picnic blanket.

Chapter Text

“Welcome to the team, Charlotte. Looks like you’ll be hanging out with us now.” Lizzie grinned, ruffling Stephen’s hair. “Burns I will give you 10 seconds to get off me. 10… 9… 8…” she quickly interjected. “He’s like that but he secretly likes it, want to give it a try?”

Geneva, who was watching them amusedly, gladly obliged. “Sure, I don’t see why not.” With just a single pat from Geneva, Stephen immediately turned a bashful bright red; Lizzies laughter was incoherent at that point.

3 days after the election and Geneva’s already fitting in with the officers. I mean, what was Hero expecting? It’s Geneva, of course she would easily fit in. She was popular among the students and she did her tasks better than Hero juggling two at the same time. Mrs. Naismith always found a way to praise her for “saving their vice president's face” and it was very very obvious she was thrilled by her. Though she didn’t exactly say it in front of him, he knew she implied it. And because of this, Hero was back to writing.

‘Geneva is once again, an ‘angel’ in disguise.’ Hero wrote, explaining it in Mari's letter. At first he refrained from speaking anything about Geneva, but he’s been writing more often. As of late his ‘how am I and the others’ suddenly had an additional ‘Geneva’ to it.

“Hey Hero, are you going to eat with anyone at lunch?” Geneva asked him innocently, peering on his right side. “What are you writing?”

“N-Nothing.” He stammered and quickly shoved it inside of his pocket. Calm down. The girl looked
at him skeptically before deciding to let go of it. “So, are you free?”

And here comes Hero’s excuse for the day, one that often comes up when Geneva was the one asking.

“I- I’m not sure. My brother said he’d eat with me today, and I don’t want to leave him hanging.”

2nd time in a week. Hero must be fawning over his new record.

In actuality, Kel was hanging out with Jonathan and Stephen had informed him exactly 6 minutes earlier. Geneva frowned and tugged on his shoulder. “Awww come on Hero, it’s just lunch. I thought your brother and Jonathan were going to have lunch together.”

Hero shot Stephen a wry look as he struggled against Lizzie’s grasp.

“Huh, I forgot about that.” he lied. “Well if that’s the case I don’t see a problem with that.”

“Cool! Then I’ll meet you there.” She cheered. Without a warning nor a hint, Geneva walked out of the classroom with a paper bag and didn’t give Hero a second glance. Hero stood up and paced towards the door. When he got there, Geneva was already walking idly through the corridors. “Wait! Where exactly?”

The Brunette pointed her right finger towards the ceiling and continued walking. “You know where to find me.” Hero gulped as she disappeared up the stairs. Is this really going to be a thing now? He walked towards his desk and noticed that the paper bag Geneva was holding was none other than his lunch. He sighed. ‘Very funny, Geneva.’

Leaving Lizzie (who was now in a heated argument with Stephen for some reason) with her bidding, he walked out the classroom and approached the staircase. He knew what she was referring to, and he hated how he was going with it. What can he say? No one can say no to Charlotte Geneva, not even him.

—

“Took you long enough.” she grinned, waving the brown paper bag in front of him. She wasn’t sitting on the edge, thankfully, and instead she sat close to the half-open door.

“You’re seriously not going to learn from last time, are you?” He snatched the bag from Geneva and she gave him a cheeky smile. He sat down next to her and took out his lunch with a feigned sigh. “I guess I should just report you, you know? Like a good student.” Geneva nervously laughed. “You wouldn’t Hero.”

Hero didn’t say anything and took a bite of his salad after he opened the lid. Geneva’s laugh simmered down to a chuckle, but even the chuckle died when he still wouldn’t answer. She shook his arm insistently.

“Ayai- Hero! Come on, you wouldn’t!”

Hero looked away.

“Heroo!”

“I’m eating!”

“Stilllll come on, Hero.”

Hero wanted to laugh in disbelief at the scene. Geneva was practically begging for him not to report her. After further convincing, (by convincing, Geneva wouldn’t let go of his arm and he couldn’t eat) Hero decided to spare her the lecture.

“So remind me again why we’re eating up here?” Hero asked her with a sigh. He just wanted to get it over with; packing his lunch and crouching through the door next to Geneva seemed so easy. But leaving Geneva on the roof with her clumsy nature in mind was hard for him.

“I wanted to see you, that’s why!” she said with an incandescent smile.

“Why not? Besides, it's crowded down there and the cafeteria’s stuffy.” She stuck out her tongue.

Hero decided to ignore her and take in the view in front of him. They were silent again, just like the first time they went up there. He was late to notice Geneva staring at his salad. “Aren’t you going to eat?” Hero said, questioning her lack of food.

“I’m not hungry.” She smiled, hugging her left knee. He could tell she was lying because he could hear her stomach grumble from where she sat.

He looked at his lunch guiltily.

“Anyway, that’s not the point why I brought you here.” Geneva changed the topic, clasping her hands together in a childish manner. “Did you see Stephen’s face light up when Lizzie ruffled his hair?” she giggled, earning a confused look from Hero. “No, I don’t think so. Why, what’s up with that?”

They were usually like that, but he knew that Stephen only acted like an aloof lovestruck idiot whenever Geneva was around his parameter. She clicked her tongue at his ‘naivety’ and decided to point out the obvious. “I just think they’re cute, that’s all! Lizzie always likes teasing Stephen and Stephen’s just the cutest thing whenever she does that. You don’t think they’re a couple right?”

A bead of sweat started to form on Hero’s temple. He wasn’t sure if he was the right person to break it to Geneva, and he didn’t want to ruin Stephen’s chances. Stephen should be the one who should confess to her about his feelings, not him. So instead of saying something, he decided to just shrug it off. “He’s probably just embarrassed because she keeps treating him like a kid.”

“You really think so? Well it looked like something to me.” Geneva sighed glumly.

This wasn’t the first time Hero heard someone mistake Lizzie and Stephen as something else. Just a year ago, Mari brought it up to him as well. Somehow, she also had the same vigor as Geneva. They were busy doing their pair project during science, and as usual, Stephen and Lizzie were having their usual spat in front of them.

“Are you seriously saying they’re not a couple?!” she whispered to him as she fitted the sun on its beam. “I mean just look at those 2! They’re basically screaming ‘we’re meant for each other!’”

The surprising thing about Mari’s case was that she decided to confront them about it, quite openly as well. The results didn’t end well to say the least for Stephen and Lizzie, but she did get a good laugh at it.

“Do girls usually talk about things like this? Ow!” Hero groaned when Geneva kicked him on the shin.

Though their conversations after that were minimal, Hero could say that somehow he felt less awkward with Geneva. The letter in his pocket lay forgotten for the rest of the evening, and he only noticed it was there once he had changed clothes back at home.

—-

A week after, the 4 of them were summoned by Mrs. Naismith for an announcement after dismissal. They were about half-way done with the meeting, but Mrs. Naismith had to excuse herself to go to the restroom.

Lizzie and Stephen were as usual, having an argument, and Hero, who was tuckered out, decided to take a drink of water. Geneva, who didn’t have anything to say, decided to butt in mid-conversation.

“So, are you guys dating or what?”

Hero spat out his water.

—-

After dinner, Kel was the first one from his family to come upstairs to sleep. Though it wouldn’t look unusual to anyone outside their family, it was somewhat unusual to Hero.

“You’re here early, did dad not hand you the remote this time?”

“No. I just wasn’t feeling it today.”

“Oh?”

He frowned when Kel went straight to his side of the room and said nothing else. He seemed to be greatly lost in thought.

“Did something happen?”

Kel shrugged.

“Kel.”

“Can you stop coming down every lunch for a while? My friends need a place to sit.”

Hero shifted from his position and felt an ache settle inside of him. He gave him a sad smile. “Sure, if your friends need a space you can use the table.”

“Thanks.” Kel muttered.

He knew it was bound to happen some time, but he didn't expect it to happen now. Now that Kel has made his own friends, Hero couldn’t do anything about it.

“Mind if you tell me who your friends are though? I’m curious.”

Instead of an answer, Hero was met with Kel’s snores which were also quieter than before.

—

“Hero, psstttt…. Hero….”

Hero heard a familiar voice from his sleep. He had dozed off a few minutes and he woke up alone with Geneva inside the classroom. Geneva was sitting on the desk in front of him and was tapping his head. “Wha… Where are the others?” He asked with a yawn.

“They already left for lunch, even Stephen and Lizzie are out already.” A flash of recognition sparkled through her eyes. “Oh, you also missed it! They were staring at each other the entire time during class.”

Hero rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms and looked at her dubiously. “You’re seriously not over Lizzie and Stephen? Geneva, they’re just friends.” he reprimanded her. She grumbled. “Yeah, yeah. Now come on Hero, have lunch with me.”

For some reason, Geneva was highly infatuated with Lizzie and Stephen’s dynamic. Too infatuated, in fact, most of the time it’s all that she talks about. Maybe it was Hero’s fault that she turned out like this; she was always the one jump-starting the conversation and Hero was usually the one listening. But his lack of conversation didn’t stop her anyway, and she always found ways to drag him back to that rooftop. And this time, he didn’t have an excuse.

“No, you’re not going to do that.” He grabbed his paper bag from the floor and held it away from her.

“Boo, killjoy.” She huffed, walking out of the empty classroom.

Hero blinked. It was the second time that that happened again. For a moment, he thought Geneva’s long dark-brown hair had turned black gray as soon as she stepped towards the light outside of the pristine corridor. The first time he even thought he heard- No, it’s probably because of her intonation.

He shook his head and walked out of the classroom to follow her.

Geneva mostly talked about their math assignment when they got to the roof, and though trivial, he found a part of him listening to her.

—

These trips to the rooftop became more frequent than what Hero expected. Kel was really adamant about his ‘friends’ and insisted he eat somewhere else; something about that honestly didn’t add up. Geneva, meanwhile, was dodging her fans left and right just to get to the rooftop. She’d groan about it sometimes but always kept it lighthearted.

“Man, I can’t believe they tried following me to our secret lunch spot. I’m surprised they didn’t move the bookcase.” It was a weird arrangement. One day he and Geneva found a bookcase blocking the door. The door wasn’t locked of course, but it did hide it pretty well.

“‘Our’ lunch spot? I thought this was your place.” he asked.

Geneva crossed her arms and gave him a light nudge on the shoulder .

“Well it’s ‘ours’ now, you already know about this place too so what’s the use of keeping it all to myself?”

She let out a yawn and rested her head on the wall. He didn’t know why his stomach suddenly churn from Geneva’s innocent remark.

—--

When he got to Mari’s doorstep, a sudden brief thought popped up in Hero’s mind.

Geneva didn’t eat lunch again that day, and he was the only one having lunch on that rooftop.

—--

“So Hero how was– oh, what’s that?”

Hero gave her a plastic container containing the sushi he had made that morning. He also left in there a slice of pizza they had leftover in case it didn’t fit her taste. She opened it carefully and looked at him surprised.

“Awwww, you shouldn’t have. But I’m seriously not-” Geneva’s stomach suddenly betrayed her, and Hero gave her an unbelieving look. She gave him a sympathetic smile.

“Thanks, Hero. You don’t know how much this means to me.” She said, her voice tinted with emotion.

Hero gave him a small nod. “That’s what friends are for.”

—--

“You’re getting awfully close with Charlotte.” Stephen said, a frown etched on his face.

They were cleaning the classroom, and Stephen had been eying him since lunch.

“And you're getting closer with Lizzie every day.” Hero remarked.

“No I’m not!” Hero had made that remark as a joke, but Stephen seemed to take it personally. “What are you both talking about?” Geneva asked, entering the classroom with Lizzie.

“Nothing.” Stephen slunked back on his seat and gave Hero a ‘this isn’t over’ glance. Hero sighed.

But he had to admit, he has been hanging out with Geneva more and his feelings about her had gradually changed from indifferent to… somewhat friendly?

But as they waited for Mrs. Naismith, Hero didn’t even bother to entertain Stephen’s thought in his head. Because in the end, he knew his eyes were only set on…

Chapter Text

Friend. What is a friend? A friend is someone who is with you during your ups and downs, and genuinely wants to be with you not because of obligation.

To Aubrey the Hooligans were her friends: Charlene, Vance, Mikhael, Angel; ever since Kim invited her into their group, they have done nothing but treat her as their equal.

It was weird for her to say the least. Everyone would expect the worst out of the Hooligans whenever they came across them, but overall, she didn’t expect the treatment they gave her.

They were family. To the rough world around them they were mean and tough, but at the end of the day they were family.

And she was now part of that family, a family of chaotic misunderstood kids rebelling against society.

It was a whole new experience for her getting affiliated with them; she found herself in situations she never knew she could do or go into. First it was skipping class, next it was graffiting on alley walls for experience, and at one point, taunting the likes of her own.

It wasn’t that she approved of what they did or what she had done with them, but when she was with them a part of her wanted to be like them.

They were feared around campus, they even became the talk of the neighborhood once because of it. But Aubrey knew the strong must do what they can and the weak must suffer what they must. And because of that, she had to let go of her weakness and embrace her new self.

Everything she cared for was gone. Everything she stood up for was gone.

The Hooligans were the only thing that she got. And she wasn’t going to let go of it.

She was the new Aubrey. The Aubrey who doesn’t give a shit about what anyone wanted to say to her and the Aubrey who wasn’t crying on a sidewalk alone.

So what if people call her a delinquent or a terrible person? She was too much of a broken person to be fixed anyway.

“Aubrey!”

Kim said, calling her attention. They were near the lockers loitering after school, and Angel and Mikhael were busy picking on someone in the gym.

“You're spacing out again, m’lady.” she said coolly and bowed in a joking manner as Aubrey huffed in pride. “In your dreams ‘m’lady’ I was merely checking the perimeter.” said Aubrey ratting on the lockers.

Angel and Mikhael were taking long (again) and the others had gotten tired of waiting so they decided to check out what kind of mess both master and student had unleashed.They were supposed to be going to their new hangout spot but so far none of them returned.

“What’s taking those nerds so long…” Kim grumbled, kicking one of the lockers. “It’s been an hour!”

Aubrey watched as some people leaving the campus murmured past them and scampered towards the exit as if it were on fire. “Looks like they’re having fun. Again.” she agreed, hearing the boisterous laughs coming out of the gym entrance. “Too much fun.”

Kim sighed. “Jeez… what’s going to happen to the hangout now? They might as well stay there until midnight.” She stowed away towards the gym door and took a look inside. “ Oh wow. It does look like they’re having fun. Yo! Aubrey check it out.”

She entered the gym and left Aubrey to join the festivities.

Aubrey stopped leaning on the lockers and looked at the open doors.

Did she really want to see what was going on in there?

She shrugged. Of course she does. It’s the Hooligans.

Putting a hand inside her bomber jacket she entered the gym. Inside, she saw the 5 of them surrounding someone in the corner.

There were cheers and shouts and she could hear someone getting pounded into a pulp.

She winced.

Thank god it wasn’t her.

The Hooligans had circled around the poor person and were taking turns punching them.
She couldn’t see them because Charlene was in the way but she could hear someone crying.

Shit.

“Eyyooo looks like Aubrey’s come to join in the fun!” Mikhael said, pulling her in the circle.

Everyone cheered.

“We’re playing punch the nerd because the nerds being a cocky asshole again!”

Aubrey gulped and nervously chuckled as the others laughed it off as some sort of sick sadistic joke.

She was usually on the sidelines, and she didn’t really like fighting, but when she was asked by Vance to taunt someone she proved to be very brutal. And by brutal, the kind of brutal she did not expect at all from herself.

She stiffened when she saw the ‘nerd’ being none other than her old friend Basil.

He was shaking in the corner, frightened from the people cackling above him. He had a black eye and his arms had bruises all over it. Aubrey couldn’t even recognize him from his thin pale face. Yet her friends still continued mocking him and ridiculing him as if he weren’t a human being.

“Ha! Still not giving up, are you ya prick? It’s our hangout spot, just leave it alone!” Angel taunted, raising his fist. He then had this good idea to fake a punch to scare him. “Haha! Weak.”

Angel ended up kicking him on the side, making Basil fall to the floor once more.

“Kim… this is too far.” Aubrey murmured looking to her side, but Kim was too busy talking to Vance that she didn’t hear her plea.

“Please… stop.” Basil whimpered, choking on his tears.

Aubrey looked at him worryingly as her heart started pounding.

Basil?... of all people, Basil?

“Hey Aubrey, why don’t you give it a shot?”

Her eyes darted dangerously at Mikhael as the chants got louder.

“Excuse me?!”

“Unless you're scared of landing a punch that is.”

Suddenly everyone except for Kim started chanting her name and she found herself being pushed to the middle by Mikhael.

“You can do it Aubrey!”

“Just one punch!”

“Smack him on the nose!”

“The nerd deserves it!”

Aubrey looked at Basil as he scooted towards the corner.

Her hands shook as she curled it up to a fist.

“You don’t have to, Aubrey.” Kim said, pulling her to the side.

“But it’s best if you let go of people who drag you down. You said it yourself on the way to Gino’s that day, remember?”

Basil looked at her betrayed as if he was an innocent man being sent away by a biased judge.

Using his last reserved strength he stood up in front of her, waiting for her to deliver a blow.

Aubrey looked at him wearily at first but was drawn aback when he approached her and took her fist into his chest.

The cheers suddenly died down and everyone's eyes suddenly shifted to her.

The pressure on Aubrey tripled in size as she saw Basil mouth the words “do it.” with no take backs.

Lonely and silent is the river of one’s forgotten past,
To remove it’s trace of existence to get another chance.

With shaking hands she found herself punching Basil with a swift blow ending up with him dropping to the floor on his knees.

For a sacrifice must be made and another road must be paved,

Suddenly she could hear someone shout “Hey!” behind them and run towards them as Kim murmured for everyone to scatter.

But in the end, whatever happens, the currents remain just the same.

Aubrey found herself running towards the other entrance until she heard Basil murmur something to her from behind.

“Was it worth it?”

She stopped in her tracks and looked at him as he had withdrawn back to the corner.

“I-”

Before she could continue her sentence she shook her head and ran for the entrance.

Chapter Text

“Hey!”

Kel said, dropping his bag on the gym floor.

The Hooligans were crowding someone and he could see someone in the middle. Judging from the murmurs outside the gym, he could tell that something bad had happened.

“Scatter!” Kim murmured in a frenzied tone, running for the exit with her crew as he chased them off.

He had served detention for throwing a ‘food fight’ that day, (“THROW ANOTHER TUNA SANDWICH ON MY FACE YOU’RE GETTING A WHOOPING CHILD.” screamed the lunch lady at him. He threw it. Not purposefully, but accidentally. And soon enough his teacher got word of it and he was sentenced unjustly.) and he was on the way home when he saw the commotion.

Almost all of them left but one of them stayed behind. And he was absolutely certain he felt someone stab him in the heart when he saw the both of them.

It was Aubrey and Basil.

Basil was on the floor badly bruised and Aubrey was shaking. She was looking at her fist and back at Basil. Did she? Kel could see Basil tell her something as she was about to run away.

When he got there Basil was in the corner. They were alone so Kel was the only witness to them massacring him.

He looked like he was about to faint, and he could barely tilt his head.

“Basil! Oh god- Basil, what happened?!” Kel said, putting his hands on his friend's shoulders.

He couldn’t believe it. Basil? Aubrey? There’s no way what he saw was real.

They were his friends! Why would Aubrey ever beat-

Basil said nothing and sat there, tired from the beating he had endured. Kel looked around to see if anyone was there to help his friend.

Kel started freaking out when Basil started fading out.

‘Oh no Oh no Oh no Oh no-” Kel muttered looking for the entrance.

Basil needed help, immediately. But Kel was only good at carrying shots, not carrying people.
Slinging Basil’s arm around his neck he helped him up and helped him to the nurses office.

He just hoped that Basil wouldn’t faint. Otherwise it would be way worse.

--

Basil could see cartoon stars spinning around his head as he used his good foot to navigate his way across the hallway.

He didn’t know how he managed to walk or who helped him, but he accepted it anyway.

The only thing he remembered vividly from the fight was Kim revealing how he was just dragging Aubrey down and how Aubrey punched him square on the chest.

But no matter how cruel her actions were when he gave her that chance, one thing stood out
from the situation.

She hesitated.

Soon enough his vision had completely dimmed and he couldn’t feel anything.

He was gone. And he saw nothing but darkness.

--

As Kel waited for Basil to wake up from unconsciousness, he couldn’t help but think about what happened.

The Hooligans were Aubrey’s new friends, but he never knew that she was joining a bad crowd.

Sure, when he approached them regarding Aubrey it took him time… but a delinquent group?

He buried his head in his hands.

How was he supposed to know that?

Kel looked at his friend who was laid on a hospital cot bruised and in a terrible condition.

And Aubrey did that?

He groaned and kicked the small table next to him.

“Woah! Calm down there Kel. Your friend over here might wake up.”

The nurse said, approaching them as she carried the bandages.

“But the Hooligans!-”

“I know. Kel. I know.” the nurse sighed and sat next to Basil, bandaging his wounds. “Those kids have sent a lot of kids to my office in just a span of 5 months. But I’ve never seen them beat someone this severe.”

Kel looked at Basil with despair and then looked back at the nurse.

“He’s still going to wake up right? He’s not going to-- stay unconscious forever?” he asked worryingly.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll wake up. Though he might have to stay here for a while. Are you sure you want to stay here until he wakes up?”

Kel nodded with no hesitation. “Definitely.”

“My, he’s very lucky to have a friend like you.” The nurse smiled wistfully as she stopped bandaging Basil. “Most people aren’t so lucky when they are faced with the Hooligans. He’s very lucky that you found him before things could’ve gotten any worse.”

She walked across her desk and took a cup, filling it with water. “Here, have some water. You might need it to calm down.”

She then gave it to Kel and sat next to him.

“I just… I don't understand how this happened.” Kel said, taking a sip. “Basil’s never hurt anyone, and he’s not prone to making enemies. Why would they target him?”

“They target the weak ones, I’ve seen it a lot. Mostly the ones who barely say a thing. It’s heartbreaking everytime I see kids rush into my office one after the other; one with a bruise on the cheek, and the other a scar. And they tell me not to tell anyone.”

Kel looked at her shocked. “And why’s that?”

“...They’re afraid.” She frowned. “They’re afraid that it would happen again if I were to tell it.”

She took Kel’s cup of water and took a drink.

“I just can’t take it anymore- those Hooligans or whatever group they are. They aren’t kids; normal, healthy kids, to do such feats like this.”

As they talked, Kel could see Basil fidget a little in his sleep.

“Ah, it looks like your friend is about to wake up.” The nurse said as she stood up from her seat. “I’ll leave you both alone now. If you need me I’ll be near my desk.”

Patting Kel on the back, she gave him a sympathetic smile and walked towards her desk.

Kel watched Basil open his eyes slowly.

“Hey Basil.” he said, placing the cup of water on the table. “How are you feeling man?”

Basil looked around him and met eyes with Kel when he looked towards his side. When he saw him, he immediately looked away and sat up only to be stopped by Kel.

“Dude chill, you just got beaten into a pulp and now you’re sitting up just like that?” Kel said, pushing him back on the cot. “You need rest- A lot actually. Heck, you shouldn’t even be moving right now.”

Basil rolled his eyes.

Kel sighed and sat upright as he watched his friend attempt to move away from him.

“Basil, man listen to me. I know you still practically hate my guts, but if I hadn't found you there you’d probably been…”

He paused. No, he didn’t want to finish that sentence.

“What I’m saying is, be it another person or me I’m still glad… I’m glad someone found you.”

Basil stopped struggling and looked at him with genuine surprise.

Kel gritted his teeth as he remembered the exact words he had told Aubrey back in her house.

“I can’t believe it.. You? Aubrey? Just why?!”

“Look. I don’t mind if you have a new group of friends and I’m really glad you do”

He groaned. “I never thought that the Hooligans were like that- I told Aubrey I didn’t mind if she made new friends, it’s- This is all my fault!”

Basil watched Kel as he started tearing up in front of him.

“This is all my fault…”

He wiped his tears with the handkerchief he had inside of his pocket. When Kel came to, Basil was also downcast.

“Sorry, I must look pitiful to you right now… you guys are my friends and seeing you both this way just… stings.”

Kel placed the handkerchief back in his pocket and looked at Basil, pleadingly.

“Please.. Just tell me, what did I just witness8?”

Basil looked in front of him and noticed that someone was watching him from the other side of the curtains. From his black eye, he could clearly see Sunny’s head pop out in an innocent fashion and give him a nod. He gave him a sad understanding smile as the boy walked to the other side of the curtain. He looked up to hide a tear in his right, unswollen eye.

“Sunny.”

Kel looked at him wide eyed from his sudden answer.

“They did this to me because of Sunny.”

Basil sat up, moving the pillow away from him.

“Sunny?” Kel asked, dumbfounded. “How did Sunny get into this?”

Basil sighed. “You don’t really pay attention to what happens around you, do you?”

Kel felt hurt from what he said, but he was right.

“I’m a freak you know.” Basil said, examining his bandages. “I’m a freak for believing that my best friend is still alive.”

“You’re not a freak.”

Basil looked at him resigned. “Really? Well I feel like one now”

Kel shook his head in disbelief.

“I just wanted… a chance. Maybe if I didn’t give up, Sunny would come back.”

Basil quickly rebuked Kel before he could say something. “I know, Sunny’s ‘dead.’ And I know that this isn’t ‘healthy’ and I have no friends until I get over it, but what am I supposed to do? He’s my best friend!”

Kel kept quiet. He realized Sunny’s importance to Basil and how much his friend has been through because of it. He put up with bullying just because of him, and Kel couldn’t find the heart to correct him. But to go that far?… Kel looked at the sobbing Basil. He couldn’t do that, Kel wasn’t brave enough to let go of everything because of it.

“He’s- He’s all I’ve got.”

Basil’s sobs turned into a cry and he found himself getting hugged by Kel.

“But Basil… you’re not alone.”

Kel said, rubbing his friends back.

“You’ve never been alone.”

Basil’s cries were muffled by Kel’s sleeve but he could hear the boy clearly.

“I just wish that Sunny was here…”

—-

“I’m sorry… Kel.” Basil said, his voice was still cracky because of a while ago and it took him time to calm down. But that apology didn’t end there. “I’m sorry for pushing you away… I’m- I’m sorry for being such a freak of a friend and-”

“Basil it’s fine-”

“And I’m sorry you had to see me like this.”

Kel gave him a new glass of water from the nurses table and shook his head. “You don’t have to apologize Basil. I should be the one apologizing. You don’t deserve this treatment from everyone and I- I should have been less dense.”

He put on a smile amidst the mix of emotion he felt.

“Friends.... Friends are supposed to be there for each other, and I promise I’ll be a better friend to you from now on. Friends? ”

After everything Basil had endured, he found himself smiling again.

“Friends.”

Kel smiled and hugged the injured flower boy, finally making amends.

He was glad. Kel was glad that he got his friend back.

The two of them stayed in the nurse's office and talked things out. The nurse, kind as she is, decided to work overtime and wait for them.

“But what about Aubrey?” Kel asked, crossing his arms. “Aubrey just punched you square in the chest and left you there… But knowing Aubrey she would never do such a thing.”

Basil scratched his bandages as it itched.

“They were cheering for her to punch me, and Kim said that it was best to let go of the people who drag you down… I think she was pressured into it.”

Kel looked at Basil. “And why’s that?”

Basil took another sip from the cup of water in his hands and looked at it.

“She hesitated.”

Kel immediately stood up when he heard that from him.

“Then there’s still hope!”

Basil looked at him stunned from his abrupt movement.

“We can still get Aubrey back Basil. I know it. Aubrey wouldn’t just give up on us like that!”

Basil looked down. “She betrayed us though… She told them about our hangout spot and where Sunny-” he bit his lip.

Kel could see Basil’s hands start to tremble so he decided to put a hand on his shoulder.

“I’ll talk to her. Maybe she’ll talk to them and make them leave you alone.”

Basil let out a small smile. “Thanks, Kel.”

Kel grinned and gave him a thumbs up before returning to his seat.

“We’re going to get Aubrey back, I promise you. And once we do get her back, you won’t have to suffer anymore.” Kel said, putting his hand in the middle.

Basil looked like he was about to say something but he shook his head and put his hand in the middle as well.

And at that moment, a plan of intervention was formed between Kel and Basil to save Aubrey from the hands of the Hooligans.

When they parted ways, Kel couldn’t help but frown. He hoped that their plan would work and that they could get Aubrey back.

Chapter Text

Sunny’s day was fine. And ever since he got there, it has always been that way.

For the first few days he stepped out of that white void, he had been babied by everyone around him. Even with little instances such as accidentally tripping on a rock or getting his knee scraped after running a lap, everyone in his proximity would practically freak out.

“Omori! Are you okay?! Oh god your finger’s bleeding, let me get you a bandaid!” cried Kel.

“Move aside everyone! Omori’s injured. Get out of the way!” screamed Aubrey, pushing him towards Mari.

“CALL AN AMBULANCE, CALL AN AMBULANCE. BUT NOT FOR ME.” one of the kids joked, earning an icy glare from everyone that surrounded them.

Mari and Hero would giggle about the situation from the picnic blanket and Abbi would just glare at him in disbelief. He was an accident waiting to happen, and because of that his friends have been very protective of him. They told him that a few years back he got himself into a coma in the strangest way possible.

They told him that one day they were playing hide and seek near the lake and he tripped, hit his head on something hard, and got flung into the water. He wouldn’t wake up when they saved him.

Then suddenly he started fading and he’s never left that white void ever since.

Thankfully though after they learned that he could walk on his two feet, they stopped mollycoddling him and everyone started calming down.

Sunny was fine. In fact, everything was terrific.

Every day was simple for him in Headspace. He would sleep in the neighbors room with his friends, get pocket money from the talking snake by the entrance, play games and have a refreshing picnic inside of the park.

They say Headspace (yes, the place was called Headspace oddly enough.) was wider than he thought but he never strayed from the park. Everyone was nice to him and he actually enjoyed his stay there. He was starting to doubt the fear he felt when he first opened the door.

All he wanted to do was stay there and be with his friends. Maybe even forever, as long as it wasn’t that white room.

He had completely forgotten about Mari’s sudden appearance when he first woke up there; he didn’t even bother himself to bring up that topic.

“Hey Omori! Do I look pretty with this flower crown?” Aubrey asked, twirling around and pointing at her head. “Mari and Abbi made it for me! And they’re making some for you and Hero as well.” she grinned and sat down next to him.

“What about me?!” Kel complained, huffing as Aubrey looked around innocently.

“Who? Omori did you hear that? I swear I heard someone… That’s strange.”

Kel sighed and crossed his arms.

“Don’t worry Kel, we’re also making one for you!” Mari chirped, putting on flowers on the weaved crown she was holding. Abbi was quietly making hers as well, but Sunny could tell that she was stumped.

The weather was nice that day; the food Mari had brought for the picnic was great and they had resorted to playing tag just moments ago.But somehow even with that, Sunny had become pretty bored of the same routine he had there.

That was until Kel had an idea.

“Hey guys, I’m pretty bored.” Kel said, dropping tufts of grass on Hector.

Sunny looked at Kel curiously. Strange. He had the same exact thought.

Hero yawned. “Huh? What do you mean by that? There are a lot of things to do here!” he replied, continuing to rest his head on Mari’s lap.

“No I mean, we have the whole Headspace to explore and we’re just staying in the park! Omori must be bored out of his mind as well man.”

Kel looked at Omori weirdly knowing and nodded.

“Hm.. Is that so? Little brother, are you bored?” Mari asked him, giving Abbi a side eye before looking at Sunny. Sunny sighed and nodded, finally admitting the truth to them.

Kel cleared his throat and stood up.

“I have an announcement to make, guys! Listen up. But first, drumroll please.”

Everyone stopped what they’re doing and looked at Kel as he imitated the beat of a drum.

“I propose an adventure!” he exclaimed triumphantly.

Sunny could see Aubrey’s eyes sparkle and Mari clap her hands at the idea. Abbi dropped her flower crown.

“And I say we go right now!”

“An adventure? An adventure!” Aubrey said ecstatically pushing Kel aside. “Mari, Hero can we go? Can we, can we, can we?” She asked, pleading to the both of them.

Mari smiled. “I say it’s a wonderful idea! Little brother will love it.” She said, placing the flower crown on Hero’s head. “Hero you won’t mind if the kids have a little fun right? It sounds so exciting!”

Mari looked at him encouragingly.

“Well… a new change of scenery wouldn’t hurt. Plus it could serve as a refresher for Omori.”
He agreed. “I’m in, as long as you all don’t get too chaotic.” He chuckled, smiling back at Mari.

“Yes! That’s my bro.” Kel grinned, pointing at Hero. “Can’t promise the ‘not being chaotic’ part but still- Omori ya hear that? We’re going on an adventure!” he beamed at Sunny.

They began sharing random facts to Sunny about the different places he could find at Headspace. Hearing about the possible adventures they could have, his attention was immediately hooked to all of them.

But amidst the good time everyone was having, someone didn’t look happy.

It was Abbi.

“Guys, I don’t think Sun- I mean Omori’s that bored.” She said, her curtness hidden within an innocent remark. “I think he’s having a wonderful time here at the park.”

“But he said he was bored!” Aubrey said, hugging Sunny’s arm. “Isn’t that right Omori?”

Sunny nodded, earning a deeper frown from Abbi.

Mari smiled and played with her hair. “Come on Abbi it isn’t that bad, an adventure can be fun too!”

But no matter how much reassuring Abbi got, Sunny could see that she didn’t want to comply.

Was there something wrong?

“But what if he gets lost or gets injured again?” she asked, looking at Sunny as if she wanted to desperately tell him something.

“Oh don’t worry Abbi, I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.” Hero perked, giving her a thumbs up.

“But you never know.” Abbi said, still discontented. “There are a lot of cliffs around here and he could just end up falling face first into it.”

Abbi strung up concern after concern that it had become a heated battle between her, Mari and Hero.
Sunny found it peeving.

Why was Abbi so reluctant to go on an adventure with them so badly?

There’s nothing bad here in Headspace.

“Abbi, loosen up a bit will you?” Mari said with a hint of annoyance. “Omori will be fine. You don’t have to worry.”

Abbi looked at Mari and paled. Mari had stopped playing with her hair and she was still looking at her, smiling. Sunny felt as if Mari wasn’t the only one.

“O-ok. Safe travels.” Abbi squeaked, giving him a shaky thumbs up.

“So Omori, you ready to go on an adventure now?” Kel asked, directing the attention away from Abbi. Sunny studied Abbi as she looked away from him; a defeated expression on her face.

He shrugged and nodded.

“Alright! Let’s go then!” Aubrey said, pulling him with her as she stood up. Hero nodded at Mari and stood up as well, trailing behind them as Kel talked.

He turned around and looked at Mari who was waving at him, telling him to be safe. Beside her Abbi was looking at him quietly, mouthing something he could not read.

Chapter Text

It had already turned 5 pm when the both of them got out of school premises. After a lot of reassuring, Basil was finally able to convince Kel to split ways. Kel had continuously insisted on joining him as some sort of bodyguard in case the Hooligans were to approach him again, but Basil knew it was best for him not to be seen with the likes of him.

Yes, Kel was lucky that they scrammed before they saw him; but there is no such thing as infinite luck and it would eventually run out.

Waving Kel goodbye he turned around and hung his head low, running off to the other side of the sidewalk.

He wasn’t going straight home that day honestly; and if it weren’t for the Hooligans he would’ve done it earlier.

Basil looked around him before walking towards the parking lot in between two buildings; one of which was abandoned while the other was used as an office space.

He should be there. He was there last time.

A rusty fence that had a large sign saying ‘do not enter’ divided the buildings from the trees and greenery.

When he learned that it led straight to the forested part of the park he’d been trekking that path to avoid the Hooligans. It wasn’t considered trespassing, he hoped. It was a convenient way for him to get from place to place.

He removed the bag he carried around his shoulders and threw it over the fence, letting it land on the soft grass below. Basil then started climbing it, completely ignoring the injuries he had gotten.

When he got to the other side, he started trekking towards the lake.

The trip he had made wasn’t easy nor short but it was the safest way. Soon enough he could see figures from the distance which he assumed were the Hooligans.

They were sitting by the dock and dangling their feet on the water.

He held his breath and hid behind a tree when Charlene inspected the perimeter with a stick.

The Hooligans looked beat, Basil noticed. And though he was ashamed to admit it, he didn’t feel bad for them the slightest. That was until he fixed his eyes on Aubrey.

“Man… this sucks a lot.” Mikhael grumbled, throwing a pebble hard enough it immediately sank to the bottom of the water. “We were having so much fun then suddenly boom! It was all ruined by some nerd we don’t know.”

“Yeah, honestly it was a real close one.” Vance said. “If sis didn’t tell us to scram we’d be dead if they brought a teacher with them.”

“Who even was that guy?!” Angel said huffing as he kicked the water. “I mean what’s his deal man? Jeez.”

Kim sighed when Angel looked at her questioningly. “Don’t look at me. I basically ran for it the moment I heard him shout. Aubrey?”

Kim looked at Aubrey who was sitting next to her, a sullen expression plastered on her face. Kim frowned.

“Aubrey?”

Kim tapped her on the shoulder, earning no response from Aubrey.

“Aubrey’s out of it. She probably doesn’t know either.”

“Man.”

Aubrey clenched her fists as if it were to prevent it from shaking. Basil shook his head.
She really picked the wrong crowd… poor girl.

“Umph!”

Basil suddenly shifted his eyes to Charlene who had suddenly grunted.

“Eh, Charlene? What are you looking at?” Kim said, shifting from her seat. Charlene had been staring at him the whole time and Basil was too late to notice it.

Basil gulped when she started pointing a finger towards his direction. He immediately hid.

“AYO IS THAT PRICK HERE AGAIN?!” Mikhael shouted, standing up from his seat.

But it was too late and he was spotted. He froze like a deer in headlights when he was met with very, very angry gazes.

“THERE HE IS!” Angel said, pointing at him.

Without taking another glance Basil started to run for the fence as the Hooligans rushed towards him.

Things were not looking good.

He could wait for later.

“So whatcha got there, man? Tell us!”

Mikhael said, approaching him with a smirk. He roughly yanked the photobook away from his hand and started flipping through it.

“Holy- wow. Well this--” Mikhael frowned, showing it to Angel and Vance. “Man. You really got serious issues, freak.”

He walked towards the edge of the lake and started weaving it above the water.

“G-Give it back.” Basil said, his heart racing. “Give it back!”

Vance and Angel held him in place as he tried to squirm away from the tree.

It wasn’t what it seemed and he didn’t mean to do it. Basil was supposed to clean it up after he got home.

He was frustrated that day and when he arrived home he rushed towards the bathroom and started impulsively scribbling on the pictures with a black marker. It was understandable that he was angry, but he didn’t mean it. It took him a week to realize what he had done.

“Why are you fussing? You’ve already ruined it already, right?” Mikhael cooed, telling Angel to help him with something. He whispered something to his disciple which made them both smile.

Before Basil could say anything to protest, Angel had already torn out a photo from the album, waved it in front of his face and threw it in the lake.

“No! Please, you're ruining it! T-those photos are important!” Basil cried, trying to move away from Vance. But no matter how much he struggled he was too weak and Vance’s grip was too strong for him.

“If they were important to you, you wouldn’t have ruined it yourself!” Angel huffed, ripping away 2 more and throwing it in water. “Aim ho! Take that you freak!”

Basil watched helplessly as the memories he had taken with his friends were submerged in the salty water.

He started shouting. “H-help! Help-”

“Shaddup Shaddup Shaddup!” Mikhael approached him clearly annoyed and gave him a clear blow to the cheek.

But Basil didn’t listen and tried to inch closer to Angel who was ripping off more photos. He didn’t care about the pain, he didn’t care about him at all. He needed to get that photo album back and save what remained of the carefree days he had with the group.

“Basil, stop squirming!” Vance grimaced.

“Ha ha ha! Look at this Basil!”

Angel showed him a picture. It was a picture of him and Sunny reading a book.

Basil’s heart dropped. Angel examined it jokingly, trying to make it seem like he was invested with the picture. With a devilish grin, he threw it in the lake and allowed it to get whisked away by the wind.

“No!”

He fell to his knees. No. Not Sunny. Not in the same lake-

“Hey! What’s going on here?!”

Suddenly a voice emerged from the trees stopping the commotion.

It was a man.

“Dammit old man! Can’t you see we’re busy?!” Mikhael said, inching away from Basil.

The man pulled Vance away from Basil and looked at Angel threateningly.

“M-master-”

“GEDDOUT! GEDDOUT!”

“No chance, man. Go to- okokokoK HOOLIGANS SCRAM! SCRAM!” Mikhael shouted, sprinting towards the exit.

Vance let go of Basil and ran for it as well. Angel looked at the both of them shocked.

“Now hand the book over if you know what's good for you, youngin’.” The man said, looking at the album. Angel shook his head insistently and threw it in the lake.

“ANGEL OUT! HEY GUYS WAIT FOR ME!!”

And soon the last of the Hooligans were no more. The man sighed and bent down, taking the soggy album before it fell any deeper.

“Child.” he muttered, wiping it with his jacket.

Basil looked at him stunned as the man gave it back to him with a toothy grin.

“A-hyeck! There you go kid. Sorry I got here late.” He swatted the flies away from him and looked back at the lake. He frowned when he saw some of the photographs sink deeper into the lake. “They really did a handful those wrongins’. What a waste…”

He patted Basil on the back as some sort of gesture to comfort him. “My old bones are too weak to swim. I’m afraid I can’t get those for you sonny.”

Basil’s lips quivered as the old man started walking towards the trees.

He looked at the old man as he walked away. “You best go home before dark and not stay here for too long. It’s not safe for kids your age to be out this late. Unlike you I live rent free underneath the stars.”

Basil rubbed his left wrist.

“What?”

“I said, A-hyeck! Go home!”

Before Basil could say a proper thank you the man was gone. But he was sure that one day he’d meet him again, maybe in the same place. He owed the man his gratitude at least.

But the photos he had… He looked at the lake.

They were gone.

“God, where is that freak?!” Angel groaned, punching a tree.

Basil had ended up hiding behind a big rock and the Hooligans could no longer see him.

“Just let him go, Angel.” Kim grumbled, turning back. “It’s getting late anyway. We should get home.”

As they left one by one he could see Aubrey with an expression of worry on her face. Although, after she was called by Kim she immediately followed them.

Basil sighed and stood up.

That was a close one. He could’ve been beaten into a pulp again.

When he got up he noticed something or someone staring at him from a distance.

It was him.

Chapter Text

“What’s that?” Kel asked Hero, as he packed some quesadillas into an extra container. He didn’t go up that night, and instead he accompanied Hero in the kitchen. Hero shrugged. “Quesadillas.”

“Oh? For who?”

Hero walked towards the fridge and put it on a rack eye-level to him. “Geneva,” he answered.

Kel, who was lying his head on the table, sat up and used his arms instead. He looked at him in a skeptical manner as he closed the fridge. “What?”

“You’ve been talking about this Geneva person more than usual.”

Hero quirked his brow at his deduction. “Have I?”

He did end up briefing Kel about her when she was running, but he didn’t expect him to bring that up so suddenly.

“More than Mari actually. You’ve even forgotten to bring her the binder today.” He pointed outside the corridor. Mari’s binder had fallen off the table, and some of the paper inside had flown away.

“Oh sho-” Hero quickly paced towards the living room and picked up the pieces of paper. After giving the worksheets a count for the 2nd time, he let out a sigh of relief. He looked at his brother. “Kel give me a pencil.”

“What, why?”

“Just give me one.”

Without another word, Kel began searching his pockets. When he came across something dull which he assumed was lead, he took it out and gave it to Hero.

“Thanks.” He tore out a page and wrote something on it. Once he was done, he tucked it carefully inside.

Kel frowned when he saw his brother approach the front door. “Don’t tell me you’re going to give that to her right now. It’s already 9:40!”

“I have to, some of these are due tomorrow.” he said, taking a flashlight with him.

“Hero!”

“It’ll be quick, we’re just neighbors Kel.”

He closed the door behind him and opened his flashlight.

The outside of their front porch was dim, and other than the flickering lamp post that separated their houses, Hero had to purely rely on his flashlight. As he walked towards their lawn, he could hear Hector barking towards the other side of the fence. Must be a cat.

His heart stopped when he realized the reason why Hector was barking. There was a bicycle on the road and a man who had his camera set on Mari’s kitchen window.

He couldn't identify the stranger. The moonlight was framed on the other side of the house, and the man was by the kitchen window. From where he was, he could hear him talking to himself as he took pictures of something. Hero could only identify the man's blue baseball cap which was suspended on his shoulder bag.

Putting his fears aside, Hero decided to quickly step in and see what was going on. If it was a burglar, they would’ve been inside of the house by now; this guy was just probably passing by.

“Excuse me sir.” Hero said, tapping the stranger on the back. The stranger abruptly shoved his camera inside his pocket and put on a friendly smile immediately.

“Why hello there. I didn’t notice you were… there.” He said, chortling as he looked around. “Such a lovely neighborhood, I think my daughter would really love it here.” He sighed. “I presume you must be Helen’s neighbor.. Hero?”

The man extended his arm towards him. “John Carlisle. Nice to meet you.”

Hero hesitated before shaking it.

“You know Mari’s mother?”
There was something eerie about the man’s smile after he brought up Mari. “Mari… Yes, Helen brought her up an hour ago at Fix it. But yes, you can say we are acquaintances.”

Hero tried to pinpoint what Carlisle was looking at. “Though I do not see how being ‘acquaintances’ is connected to taking pictures of one's private property.”

The man raised a brow at him. “Pictures? What do you mean by that?”

Hero looked at him skeptically and pointed at his pocket.

“Oh.”

Carlisle took it out and showed him a picture. “I just came across their antique table and I just had to take a picture of it. I’m waiting for Helen to return so I can ask her about it.”

When Hero took it from him, he noticed that nothing was suspicious about the picture and it was just an empty table. But something about the photo bugged him even with its innocent content.

“Now hand it over.”

The man said, trying to take the photo back from him.

Hero looked at it one last time before giving it back.

“Enough about me, what brings you here this evening?”

Carlisle asked him and looked at the binder he was holding.

“Oh uh, I just need to leave this binder here. It belongs to Mari.”

Hero looked at the window and tried to see if Mari was there.

“I see… It must be very important. School related?”

He nodded. Carlisle frowned when he looked at his clock.

“It’s a sunday and I assume you’re a student so… why don’t we make a trade?”

He put a hand inside his pocket and took out a photo.

“You should be asleep already, it’s about to turn 10.” The man waved the photo in front of his face.
“Don’t worry I won’t run off.” the man waited for him to reply.

Hero thought about it for a minute and came to the realization that Carlisle had nothing to do with the binder. Not only that, Mari’s mother must have not yet returned from her nightshift and she’s probably asleep by now.

“Alright, sure. I don’t think Mari would mind.”

Having lesser doubt, he gave the binder to Carlisle and received the photo.

“Well well, that’s a win-win for you.”

Carlisle grinned and patted him on the shoulder.

“I’ll make sure to give this to Helen.” He looked towards the road and shook his head. “I do hope she doesn't take long though, my daughter would be head over heels with that table over there.” He chuckled.

He gave Hero a friendly push.“Now off you go now, boy. I’ll take it over from here.”

Hero thanked him and nodded, walking back to his house.

‘What a strange man.’ Hero thought to himself as he looked at the photo. ‘What a strange man.’

—

“Herooo, are you done yet?”

Geneva yawned as she stretched her arms.

It was recess and Hero had decided to stay back to clean the blackboard. Geneva saw how ‘lonely’ he was and decided to keep him company.

“You know you can go down right?” Hero said, giving her a wry smile.

Geneva shook her head and took the other eraser. “Well what am I supposed to do there?”

“I don’t know, eat?”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?!”

Before she could answer, Mrs. Naismith knocked on the door. “Yohoo.”

“Mrs. Naismith!” Geneva beamed. “What brings you here?”

She dropped the eraser too quickly the moment Mrs. Naismith walked in. “Hello Charlotte.” she said, walking towards her desk. When she realized that Hero was also in the room she feigned a surprised gasp. “And Hero. I hope I am not interrupting anything.”

Hero let out a nervous chuckle as he finished up cleaning Geneva’s side of the blackboard.

The woman smiled and gave a sympathetic look to Geneva. “You don’t mind leaving us both alone for a moment will you? You can go take your recess downstairs, Charlotte. No need to wait.”

Geneva let out a small ‘oh’ and looked at the both of them. When she finally figured out what she meant, she gave Hero a knowing smile and a pat on the shoulder. “Well, you know where to find me.”

With a wave, she left the classroom in a daze. Mrs. Naismith gave him a grin. “Just two months ago you were having an internal conflict about Geneva; now you’re being ‘buddy-buddy’ with her, never thought I’d see the day.”

Hero felt a wave of embarrassment overcome him- wait embarrassment? Why was he embarrassed all of a sudden? When he couldn’t think of an answer, her grin just widened. But after a while, her grin turned into a sigh.

“I really hate talks like these. Don’t get me wrong, I always have these talks with my children but it doesn’t mean I like it.”

Hero gave her a questioning look. “Is there something wrong, ma’am?”

She motioned for Hero to get a chair and come near her desk. When Hero did, she took out the binder he had given her this morning and two envelopes.

Mrs. Naismith nodded grimly. “Quite so.”

Hero was in for a treat that recess, and he carried that treat until lunch time.

—-

“You look awfully down, did something happen?”

Hero gave her a sad laugh. “Funny, Geneva.”

Geneva was lying on the floor as she ate the quesadillas Hero had brought her. You’d think that she would at least eat it sitting down, but no, she thought it would have some rhetorical effect to it. When she realized that Hero was actually downcast, she sat up and dusted her back.

“No seriously, are you okay? Ever since Mrs. Naismith called you, you’ve been…” she fumbled for words in her head. “Distant.”

She poked Hero on the forehead. “Hey, are you still in there?”

“No.” He muttered.

The girl frowned. “What happened?”

He took a drink from his bottle of water and dumped it inside his paper bag once he’s finished it. Geneva was back to her spot on the wall.

“I’m… no longer the vice president,” he said with a sigh. “I quit. That simple.”

“What?!” She exclaimed. “But why?”

“Are you done with that?” Hero pointed towards the empty container on the floor. She reached towards it and gave it to him.

“No seriously though, why? You’re a good vice president and you’re very helpful in class. I don’t see why you have to quit.”

Hero shook his head. “You can all find another vice president.”

“Hero-”

“Well what was I supposed to do?!” He didn’t notice that he had shouted those words at Geneva until he looked at her stunned face. “I’m sorry.. I shouldn’t have shouted.”

The girl gave him an understanding smile. “Hey, hey, it’s alright. No harm done.” She waved her hands.“Just talk to me. Maybe I can help with your situation.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this but… thanks Geneva.”

“Yeah you better thank me. You’re being heard out by the ‘Charlotte Geneva.’” She jokingly huffed. “Now come on, lay it out. We don’t have that much time on this rooftop.”

Hero sighed. “You’re not going to tell Stephen and the others about this, are you?”

“Good blackmail material but no, you’re off the hook this time.”

“Okay…” Something about Geneva’s tone was unbelievable to him. “I’m not fine.”

Geneva looked at him wryly. “No kidding.”

“I mean academic wise. I hate to admit it, but my grades are stooping.” he explained. “I don’t know if there’s something wrong with me, but I just can’t seem to cope with things as easily as I used to. Mrs. Naismith thinks that it all has something to do about…”

She frowned.
“So I just picked the binder instead.” He chuckled. “Honestly, that binder is the closest interaction I have with her. I can’t just let go of- Geneva, has there been someone in your life you constantly try to desperately reach, but whatever you do they always seem so far away?”

…

“Geneva?”

…

…

“Geneva?”

“No.” The girl answered in a sympathetic tone. “I don’t think so.” It took her 5 whole seconds to answer Hero’s question. “I’m fine, just… too deep haha.”

“Sorry… ow!”

Suddenly, Geneva pinched Hero’s wrist. “What was that for?!”

“That stings right??” She asked him. “Yes, yes it does! What the he-”

“That’s your situation in a nutshell. Sorry by the way.”

She took Hero’s arm and examined it. “But after a while, the pain fades away. It hurts at first, but it fades away.” Hero winced. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“What I mean is, you aren’t happy.” Geneva said. When Hero looked at her eyes, a piercing sense of truth shone from its dark orbs. It wasn’t the same eyes he would usually see when she would gleefully munch on the snacks he would bring her during lunch, nor were it the eyes that sparkled in the light whenever she euphorically talked about Stephen and Lizzie. “Yes, you’re stuck in the routine of bringing Mari that binder since it’s the only thing that connects you at the moment. You can’t let go of it, but at the same time, you like being vice president as well.”

She dropped Hero’s hand and crossed her arms across her chest. “You’re never self-serving, Hero. That’s why a lot of people admire you. But sometimes you have to think about yourself, y'know?”

Hero rubbed his wrist and looked at her dumbfounded. “Then what do you propose I should do?

“Hmm… probably give back the binder to Mrs. Naismith and get your position back. You’re smart, I’m sure with the proper motivation you can do something about it.” She gave him a thumbs up. “It might hurt at first, but once it’s over and everything is back into place, it’ll just go away.”

“Geneva, you’re a genius.” Hero exclaimed. Suddenly his past vigor came back to him and he was out and about towards the door. “Thank you. I mean it.”

Geneva flushed and put a palm on her cheek. “N-no problem. Anytime.”

With that, Hero was out of the door.

—

Charlotte watched the boy creep through the opening and leave a small gap to push the bookcase. Her hand was still on her palm and she could feel warmth settle on her cheeks.

Maybe Hero didn’t notice, but he quickly leaned in on her and gave her a peck on the cheek before running off. She sighed and patted it.

Has there been someone in your life you constantly try to desperately reach, but whatever you do they always seem so far away?... huh…

She looked at the sky. What a tough question.

—

“Hero!”

A voice perked from outside the classroom. Their adviser walked towards them with a small smile etched on her face.

“Hello Ma’am!” Lizzie quipped, quick to stand as she moved away from the teacher's seat.

“Good day to you 4.” She greeted them. “I would like to talk to Hero alone for a while. Is that alright with you?”

Stephen tilted his head in confusion before nodding, dragging both Geneva and Lizzie out the door. Geneva grinned at Hero and gave him a knowing nod.

“So... looks like you redeemed yourself. Class representative.”

Hero gulped when he heard her use ‘class representative’ on him, but he tried not to pay it any attention.

She sighed and opened her drawer, taking something inside.

Hero looked at it worryingly wondering what he had done now. He was surprised when she took out the binder and placed it in front of him.

“Ma’am?” Hero asked as she closed the drawer.

“It’s not complete, but you deserve it. Ask your subject teachers about the assignments this day and they’ll hand it to you.”

Hero looked at her with wide eyes before taking the binder. He still couldn’t believe it.

“You’re scott free, and I’m giving you permission.”

Hero smiled and stood up, and he’d never felt the urge to hug someone so badly in his life.

Instead of hugging his adviser, he ended up overbowing, thanking his teacher over and over again. His adviser laughed at his gesture and sighed, telling him to ‘go get her’ or something in that manner.

When the bell finally rang, Hero had never felt any happier.

—

“Well if it isn’t Hero.”

He turned around and smiled, beaming at the person behind him.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Carlisle.”

Carlisle grinned as he joined Hero down the sidewalk.

“You look happy.” the man remarked. “It’s been awhile since we saw each other. How are you?”

“Everything’s great.” Hero replied, earning a pat from the man. “I can finally see her again. Or.. well try seeing her, I just hope this time she'll actually come out.”

Hero noticed Carlisle stop in his tracks for a while and looked behind him. Carlisle smiled and followed him. “I see… well I do wish you luck.”

Hero nodded as they both came to a stop on the house.

The house was silent as it was back then, and nothing really changed about it. Hero looked at the window insistently and tried to look for Mari. When he saw no trace of her again, his happy mood waivered.

“Oh.. she must not be here.” Carlisle said, a frown on his face.

Hero shook his head and smiled.

“It’s fine. I was wrong to expect that much anyway. But I’m glad I got the chance again.”

He sighed and took a piece of paper from his bag. Here he goes again.

“What are you doing, Hero?” Carlisle asked as the boy started writing on it using the window.

“Writing a note.” Hero said, writing as much as he can.

When he was done, he placed the note on the binder and looked at Carlisle, his smile showing great sadness.

“Hey, I’m sorry for asking sir but if she ever shows up can you give this to her?”

He gave the binder to the man, the note on top of it.

“Anything for you boy.” he reassured, taking the binder. “I’m sorry you weren’t able to see her.”

“Thanks.” Hero put on his bag, defeated.

“I guess I should probably go home. Maybe she’ll come out tomorrow.”

Thanking Carlisle again, he walked away from Mari’s house.

Carlisle sighed. “Merely Romeo and Juliet. Take care of the photo Hero. It’s more special than you think.”

Hero turned around.

“What?”

When he turned around, Carlisle was no longer there and a piece of crumpled paper laid on Mari’s doorstep.

Chapter Text

He’d lock eyes with her from time to time during recess, flashing her looks of concern and disbelief as she continued with her facade of self-proclaimed innocence.

2 weeks, he said. 2 weeks of him getting his cards straight before he finally initiates the plan to talk to her. And maybe, Kel thought, maybe during the time Aubrey would finally be in her right mind to apologize to him as well.

But to Kel’s dismay, no. Nothing happened and things normally resumed as usual. They have received no comment nor apology from Aubrey on behalf of herself and the Hooligans.

She was different when she was with them, and it was a bad kind of different that Kel couldn’t understand. She said that Basil didn’t think of her as a friend anymore but why wouldn’t she bother changing it? Basil was just a table from her in class and she could just apologize any time.

It left Kel confuddled whenever he thought about it. What did the Hooligans have that they didn’t have? Sure, they may have somewhat split ways but it doesn’t mean that they abandoned her. He shook his head in dismay.

What makes it even harder for him is the fact that she always hung out with them and he couldn’t get close to her to talk things out. Time was against him and it wouldn’t be long before they would start picking on Basil again. So where should he even begin?

But at least to his relief, Basil stopped ignoring him and began sitting with him during recess. It was safer for Basil to join him or anyone as long as it was far away from the Hooligans. He couldn’t bear to see his friend getting beaten again so he decided to play arbiter on both of them. He lied to Hero about having ‘friends’ over and asked him if he could eat somewhere else.

Basil would constantly be in a state of paranoia to the point that he’d have his nose inside a book and barely said anything. He looked remarkably paler than the last time he’s sat there. The two of them barely ate and there was a wave of gloom that infested the both of them. Even Kel couldn’t find the energy to play the ‘light of the table.’

But whenever he looked at the Hooligans' end they always seemed happy. They’d banter to each other as if they were the kings and queens of the cafeteria. It didn’t matter if they were loud, in fact the whole canteen was louder than them. Kel and Basil seemed to be the only ones dwelling in their own sorrows.

“You’ll see Kim... You’ll see.” Kel murmured to himself as he put his chin on his hand.

If Aubrey wouldn’t apologize and the Hooligans wouldn’t give a damn about what they’ve done… Kel would make them see.

The bell wasn’t even close to ringing, but when Aubrey parted from the Hooligans, he saw it clearer than daylight. She was alone this time; Charlene, Angel, Mikhael, not even Kim accompanied her like a patrol guard.

Kel’s eyes trailed her as she left the cafeteria, awake and full of determination. He patted Basil hurriedly on the shoulder. Basil’s head was laying his head on the book he was reading, and he was trying to get at least a 3 minute nap.

When he came to, Kel was pointing towards the exit and mouthed out the word ‘Aubrey.’ Basil looked at him tiredly and shook his head, he closed his eyes and put his head back on the book. Kel sighed and dragged Basil with him. It was time, Kel mused. It was finally time. Time was finally in their favor and they could talk to the real Aubrey without the interference of the Hooligans.

The real Aubrey was still in there; he knew it. The Aubrey who hesitated a punch was still inside the shell she hid herself in.

He wanted to reach out to her so badly no matter how messed up she thought of herself. No, it wasn’t a want… he needed to get his friend back.

As the two of them exited the cafeteria and into the hallway, Aubrey was just about to enter the girls bathroom. Her signature purple hair bow was gone and she had replaced it with a light blue one. He regretted the days he had teased her about her appearance because she looked way more cunning than she was back then.

“Aubrey!” Kel exclaimed, pulling Basil behind him in the process. Aubrey stopped in her tracks.

“Kelsey.” she said with a curt sigh. She let go of the door handle and addressed him by his real name.

She looked at Basil and her curt gaze waived for a short second; instead of saying anything, she said nothing and looked at him as if he were air.

“Is… Is that all?” Kel asked her as she tried to walk away from them. “Is that all you have to say? After all this-”

“Yes.” she said, shrugging off Kel’s hand as he tried to reach for her shoulder. “Now if you excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom.”

Aubrey walked back from where she was and attempted to open the bathroom door, but Kel was too quick. Kel frowned. “And you think I’m letting you go that easy?” he asked, blocking her path so she couldn’t enter. “You think I would just be okay with you punching Basil just like that and running off?”

Aubrey was taken aback by his sudden terse words; she looked around her when she heard murmurs from the people walking in the hallway.

“Not now Kel.” Aubrey gritted, kicking him on shin just to push him away. But no matter how much it hurt Kel he didn’t budge and stayed there. “I just want to know why you gave into the pressure.” Kel explained, wincing from the kick. “Of all people why Basil? You know Basil doesn’t deserve that treatment.”

She groaned and moved away from him, tired from hearing his yapping. When she came across Basil she pursed her lips and shoved him to the side. “Move it… f-freak.”

Kel couldn’t believe his eyes as she started sprinting.

“Basil are you okay?!” Kel asked him and shifted his attention to his friend. Basil looked at him and nodded, motioning to follow her.

When they got out of the building they spotted Aubrey near the janitor's shack. “Aubrey! Come back here!” he shouted, finally catching up to her.

“What do you want, Kel?!”

She said, now very annoyed. “Catch me in the act again? Is that what you want?!”

Her fists started trembling and so was her voice. She sounded conflicted but at the same time she wanted to prove a point.

“Well here you go you- you prick!”

Aubrey approached Kel with one fist raised up threateningly. He immediately saw this and quickly dodged her shaky punch by catching it with his palm.

“Aubrey! What’s going on with you?!” he said exasperated, holding onto it tightly and refusing to let go. “This isn’t you Aubrey! This isn’t you at all!” Kel said. He pleaded with her to stop resisting and listen to what he had to say.

Aubrey scoffed. “Like you’d know.”

She yanked her fist away from Kel.

“Stay out of this Kel. This doesn’t concern you.” she said, eyeing Basil.

Kel looked at her disbelievingly as he continued to approach her.

“Of course this is going to be my business whether you like it or not Aubrey.” he stood in front of Basil and raised his hands. “You and Basil are supposed to be friends! I can’t have you bullying him.”

This wasn’t Aubrey. Kel grimaced.

“Our friendship is a thing of the past now.” She said, choking on her words. She pointed at Basil accusingly. “That freak- that freak doesn’t care about our friendship! He doesn’t care at all and he probably doesn’t care about yours as well.”

She looked at Basil dead cold in the eyes. “Hope you’ve had fun doodling on those photos of yours. Hah! Well look at that, Sunny must be smiling from the grave right now.”

Kel looked at her wounded. “Are you even hearing what you’re saying, Aubrey? Don’t drag Sunny into this.”

“Oh why not! He’s dead anyway, there’s nothing he could do about it!”

“Aubrey!”

“Kel for once in your goddamn life can you stop being so dense?!”

Kel found himself shutting up.

“The Hooligans! The Hooligans gave me a home, Kel!” she cried, walking backwards from them. “And unlike you guys, they don’t just abandon people on the sidewalk!”

She shouted. A few people on the side of the cafeteria glanced their way but decided to ignore it when they found out it was Aubrey. How painful, people were willing to ignore them and let the situation escalate further.

“Do you think I wanted to punch Basil?! Do you think I take pride in the things I do? No!”

“Then why do you do it Aubrey? Why do you let people push you around like that and pretend to be someone you aren't?!”

“Because they’re all I’ve got!”

Somewhere, in the distance, a stray lightning bolt hit the ground which startled the 3 of them.

Aubrey looked at Basil.

“You. tell him. Tell him what you did to those photos Basil!”

Basil watched Aubrey in disbelief.

“Tell him!”

“Basil, what does Aubrey mean?”

Kel could see Basil shift from where he stood. The boy said nothing when he was confronted about it.

Aubrey scoffed. “I knew it… you have nothing to say.”

The sky had started to turn downcast and Kel shifted his attention on Basil.

“Basil?...”

Basil shook his head.

Aubrey looked flushed from the anger she had just unleashed and Basil looked retreat. The fight, it happened all over again; it had no difference from their fight in the lake. Kel was disappointed. He was disappointed in both of them but most of all, he was disappointed in himself.

He thought to himself, this must be a joke. Surely this must be some sick joke time had construed against them by finally giving them the chance to talk with their friend when it is already too late. It must be… It must be.

“Hey, what’s going on here?!”

From behind Basil, Kim showed up and walked towards the commotion.

“Kel? … and the nerd.” she sneered at Basil before laying her eyes on Aubrey. “Kim…” Aubrey said, her anger feigning from the sight of her.

“Aubrey, are you alright? The others have been worried sick about you ever since you left for the bathroom and never returned. What happened?”

Kim looked at Basil and Kel.

“You. What did you do to Aubrey?”

“Kim, this isn’t right.” Kel said, standing his ground. “Aubrey and Basil are friends and you’re letting them fight against each other because of your gang. Please, just end this now!”

“You have a lot of nerve speaking like that to the leader of the Hooligans.” Kim said, walking to Aubrey’s side. “And after all Aubrey has done for you, you’re going to side with that freak? Get your story straight.”

“Basil is not a freak!”

“Hear it from the man himself!”

She cast her eyes on Basil, one of pure disgust.

“You think he’s your friend? Well look at what he did to Aubrey and how inconsiderate he is! Aubrey told me everything and I’m not letting losers like you hurt her again. Sure, we may be mean and everyone hates us, but we would never do such a thing to Aubrey.”

Kim turned to Aubrey.

“Are these nerds bothering you, Aubrey?”

Aubrey looked at them and without saying another word she nodded.

“Well if that is the case…”

She glowered at them.

“If any of you, and I mean ANY of you come near Aubrey or dare mess with her.... I myself will personally make sure your life will be a living hell.”

She took her by the hand and walked away, neither of them looked back at him. Kel and Basil were left alone next to the shack with rage and fear was running through him.

He knew what Kim meant, he wasn’t sure if Basil understood the context of it but for him she said it very clearly.

It meant war.

Chapter Text

It’s easy to keep a straight face and act like everything is fine. Everyone does it from time to time but Hero has been wearing his mask for too long to the point that it was obviously breaking.

Everything was supposed to be fine, he believed. Everything should have been fine by now.

His academic life? No longer in shambles. His relationship with his brother? Sure, it’s different now but at least they finally see eye to eye.

But why, god why, could he not make any progress with Mari?

He frowned and looked through his window defeated.

Time has a thing on playing silly tricks on people. They give you the closest inch of hope you can ever get and snatch it before you can take it.

That man… Carlisle; that strange fellow he met weeks ago. Soon after handing that binder he never made an appearance after that. Hero finally realized it was very stupid of him to trust someone he had just met weeks after the incident.

But Carlisle didn’t look like a man who could do any harm. He looked just like any ordinary person he could meet around Faraway; if there were any warning signs, his warning signs were quite possibly very delayed.

The letter he had written to Mari was laid on her front porch. Why did he not bother to write another one back? Was it because he was stunned how he just vanished into thin air the moment he looked back? Or was it the resigned hope he had seeing how nothing has changed?

The photo the man gave him was carefully tucked inside his notebook. Carlisle said it was important, but Hero could only see a photograph of Mari’s table.

He should have thrown it out by now, seeing how it hasn’t done anything to help his case.

Actually, Hero did throw it more than once out of frustration. What was he going to do about that cursed thing? Shove it into Mari’s imaginary face and hope for a reaction? It was a table! For god's sake, a table! There’s nothing special about it!

But as if it was a curse laid upon him, somehow the photo was stuck on him.

Kel laid on his bed snoring as if it has been ages since he last slept. He didn’t know what was going on with him, but sure was headstrong about keeping it secret. But both brothers had the knack of being headstrong about hiding whatever's been keeping them recently. Funny thing is, he could be headstrong as well.

But his days couldn’t get any worse when just today he was confronted by Stephen. “I’m glad. Really, I’m glad that you and Charlotte are hanging out more but please you have to stop. Lizzie’s driving me to my grave.”

Stephen sighed. “Look man, if this keeps going on I…” He looked away. “I think I have to ignore you from now on.”

Of course he would say that. Stephen liked Geneva and Hero was… God why him?

So there he was, sad and miserable, sitting on his desk pondering what he was going to do. 10 pm was supposed to be lights out but he couldn’t sleep from all his activities due the day after.

Weirdly enough he could see Mari’s house lights left open and Maris' once blocked window (she blocked it out with her closet) was completely ajar. He wasn’t sure, but there was also cloth hanging loosely from it.

Hero rubbed his eyes and shook his head, dismissing it as him seeing things. When he reached his bed suddenly he could hear small tapping on his window. As if by instinct, he got out of his bed to check out the sound of the tapping.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Clank.

Groaning, he opened the window half-heartedly before jerking quickly back when something almost hit him on the head.

“What the-” Hero exclaimed in sheer shock, looking around him as that object landed with a thump on the floor.

“Oof! Sorry.” someone outside whisper-shouted to him back.

Hero looked on the floor and saw a massive pebble attached with a note taped on the back-side of it. Something was clearly written on it seeing how it was written cleanly in the middle of it with one word he could never miss.

Treehouse.

He took the pebble to his desk and looked outside. He was expecting some random kid wanting to disturb the peace but was met with a shock when he saw who it was.

…

It was Mari.

They met eyes for a second before she started running off towards the fence. He immediately ripped off the letter and started running down the stairs like there was a fire. When he got down he saw his father watching late night shows on the television but decided to buck it for the door.

“Where are you going, son?” his father asked him with confusion, watching him take his jacket from the rack briskly before opening the door.

“It’s Mari, dad.”

Without saying anything else he ran off towards the treehouse.

Chapter Text

“Herooo... I’m bored.” Kel pouted, nudging his brother's arm with his head.

It was a hot day unlike any other, and the gang had decided to spend their afternoon in the comfort of their treehouse. They’ve been playing cards for 2 hours straight. Basil, surprisingly, was on a winning streak and Kel, having his 5th loss in a row to Aubrey, decided he had enough. Mari sat there humming small tunes with her head plopped on Hero’s shoulder while Sunny was by the window watching Aubrey? Basil? Hero couldn’t see but he was sure he was watching something.

“Hm, what do you mean by that Kel?” Hero asked, patting Kel lightly on the back. “You and Aubrey seem to be having a good time.”

“Not true! I don’t want to play anymore. Aubrey’s too low for my level.”

“Hey!”

“Please just get me out of this man…”

Kel looked at Hero with a hushed tone, pleading for him to back him up. With a sigh, Hero shook his head dismissively and looked at Aubrey.

“Well… Kel seems like he’s out of it. You and Basil have also done good as well, Aubrey. Neither of you are below Kel’s level.”

Aubrey grinned and gave Kel a cheeky look. Mari chuckled.

“Well, what do you all want to do then?” Mari said with a yawn, removing her head off of Hero’s shoulder.

“Checkers? Snakes and ladders? Jacks? Oh! What about chess?” Mari suggested with a pep in her tone. Everyone except Basil and Sunny felt a shiver run down their spine.

“But Mari, you’re good at those games! Especially...chess.”

“Oh come on Kel, I’m not that good! And chess is good for your brain! Besides, it would be a fun activity, wouldn’t you say so as well Hero?”

Hero gulped when Mari called his attention. Although Mari was very humble with her stance, he couldn’t help but agree with Kel due to experience.

“Why don’t we all play something we’ve never played before?” Hero chuckled nervously, earning an ‘awh’ from Mari. “Do you guys have any ideas?”

Everyone fell silent for a while and thought about what game they should play. Sunny stopped reading and sat next to Basil, handing him his book from underneath the table.

Aubrey took a look at Mr. Plantegg before perking up with a bright idea.

“I know!” she exclaimed, holding Mr. Plantegg by the arms. “Why don’t we play father, mother?”

Kel turned red and looked at Aubrey as he pointed at her with an accusing finger. “Wh-what?! What the heck is that game supposed to mean?”

“Not you, you dingus.” Aubrey huffed and threw Mr. Plantegg on Kel’s face.

“Ow!”

“But yeah! We can pretend to be like some sort of big family! like me and Mr. Plantegg!”

Kel scoffed. “What are you, widowed?”

“Kel!”

Hero reprimanded him, knowing his brother could go too far at times.

From the other side of the table Basil was nudging Sunny holding a grin as Sunny urged him away.

“I am not joining your stupid game Aubrey. No way.”

“Oh come on Kel, what other game can we play then?”

“Something other than that.”

“Boo. Killjoy.”

“I am not a killjoy!”

Mari laughed and playfully tucked her hand on Hero’s arm.

“Well I don’t see anything wrong with the game at all Aubrey.”

Aubrey thanked Mari with a smile and stood up from where she sat. Hero looked at her with confusion. That was until he noticed what she meant. Oh.

“Mari can be the mom and Hero’s the dad of the house!” She cheered, yanking Mr. Plantegg back from the grasp of Kel. “Me, Sunny and Basil can be the kids and Kel’s just that weird neighbor kid next door.”

“First of all, ouch. After we’ve been through Aubrey, seriously? And second of all, I’m not weird! Ask Sunny.”

Sunny excused himself from the table to prevent himself from answering the question. Seeing this, Basil tried to answer for him but Sunny dragged him by the wrist before he could say anything.

Kel sniffled and raised his fist.

Aubrey sighed. “Fine, not the weird neighbor kid but you’re still weird.”

Kel grinned. “Why thank you Aubrey, though I’d have to say you’re more weirder than me.”

Aubrey grumbled as Kel laughed in triumph.

Meanwhile while the children (that being Kel and Aubrey) were busy yapping against one another, Hero couldn’t help but feel astounded from his sudden rise in position.

Father of the house… he was the ‘father’ of the house. with Mari as-

Hero turned red when he caught Mari’s cheeky grin aimed at him.

“Come on Hero, it isn’t that bad. Besides, we already are a little family.”

She turned to the 4 of them and smiled.

“Heh… our tiny little household. How quaint.”

Hero felt even warmer when she mentioned how the treehouse was 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 household.

He’s always thought of Mari differently from everyone else he met in his life, but now that the situation was brought to his attention he couldn’t help but think of the possibility that… No Hero. He bit his lip. It’s just a game of father mother, it doesn’t amount to the actual thing.

With a resigned sigh he nodded, putting on a smile for Mari.

They did resemble some sort of family, now that he’d noticed it as well.

It was always him and Mari watching over the other kids, and the group did feel like a second family to him.

“Yeah I guess you’re right. What’s the harm of playing along for now? Darling.”

Mari couldn’t help but be taken aback from Hero’s sudden quip. Her cheeks turned rose pink, but being the competitive person that she is, she took it as a challenge.

“Ohh, getting in the role now handsome? Well played. Well played.”

Kel let out a sound of disgust making both Hero and Mari laugh.

“Well if that’s the case, let’s play house!” Aubrey said, putting her hands together.

And from that point onward, Hero and Mari became the father and mother of the house.

EXTRA

The sun had started to set and soon enough everyone started to leave the treehouse. First it was Kel, then it was Aubrey, and soon enough Sunny and Basil had also left to get some food in the house.

Mari and Hero were left there of course to clean the place with their game of mother father coming to an end.

Mari was once again humming her tune as she cleaned the table.

The game didn’t really change that much from what they were doing before Aubrey suggested it. Just like Mari’s realization, they were already like a small little family in the first place.

But that didn’t stop Mari from excessively flirting with Hero, which Hero replied back like it was some sort of contest.

When the both of them finished, she was first to leave for the door. Hero followed as well.

From the door she sat down on the side and watched the sun slowly sink. Hero started climbing down.

“Wait, Hero.” Mari said, bending down to hold Hero’s sturdy hand. “Come back up here I need to tell you something.”

Hero looked back up at her and raised a brow before climbing back up.

When he got up Mari motioned for him to sit with her.

“What is it Mari?” he asked, earning a sigh from the girl.

“No, actually it’s nothing. I just wanted you to keep me company and watch the sun go down.”

She watched the sun wistfully, and leaned on the wooden planks.

“I found out about it two weeks ago when I snuck out. It’s beautiful seeing it set like that.”

Hero looked at it and watched as the sky turned reddish orange. It was indeed beautiful, just like Mari said. But even with that he found his eyes trailing towards Mari’s direction that he watched her adoringly in her glory instead.

Mari seemed to notice it and smiled earnestly at him.

“Hey, the suns over there Hero. Not over here.”

Hero chuckled and put his hands in his pockets.

“Yeah I know, but honestly you’re way brighter.”

Mari giggled when he scooted closer and laid his arms around her.

“Yeah yeah, romeo. Poetic as ever.”

She laid her head on his shoulder and watched the sun from that angle. They stayed there until the sun was fully gone and the sky had turned into a dullish grey.

“I just wish this moment would stay like this forever.” he said, holding her hand which she accepted. “Like time would freeze or something and we’d still be carefree kids.”

Mari looked at him and smiled, one not of cockyness but sincerity. “Who said we have to grow up so quickly? We can stay like this no matter how old we get.” she reassured, putting her head back on his shoulder.

Hero smiled hearing what Mari had said.

“Really? Even if we grow old and dull as a twig branch?” He asked, genuinely asking her a question.

Mari said nothing and looked at him, a glint in her eye Hero couldn’t understand. Moving closer to him she kissed him on the cheek making hero turn red.

“Well, does that answer your question?” she said, chuckling at Hero’s reaction.

From below, Basil and Sunny emerged from the trees calling for the both of them.

“Mari! Hero!” Basil shouted. “Are you both coming?”

“In a minute Basil!” Mari said, waving at the both of them before looking at Hero.

“Well? Shall we get going?” she asked, scooting away from him to give some space.

Hero nodded.

The both of them climbed down the treehouse and followed Basil and Sunny towards the house. Without any fear of judgment they walked together holding hands until they finally reached the glass door.

Chapter Text

Basil has made his own share of mistakes in the past. One of them was not being there for Sunny when he needed someone the most and the other being cold and distant as a result afterwards.

But seeing Aubrey and Kim leave in front of him left him with a huge wave of guilt that he couldn’t express even to Kel; that being his past mistake resurfacing with him being the center of it.

“I thought… she would have changed.” Kel said in a frustrated grimace, watching their silhouettes turn smaller and smaller as they enter the school premises. “I thought if I… we gave her time maybe she’d turn around from the Hooligans and think of what she did.”

He kicked the dirt below him which sent some rocks and dust flying along the way.

But Basil was yet again stuck in his own world looking at the hands who've disgraced and defiled their once cherished memories. With tired eyes he nodded his head and looked at them tepidly.

Kel looked at him with fatigue before laying a hand on his shoulder. “Basil, what does Aubrey mean about the photos?”

Basil said nothing and darted his eyes away guiltily. He was unsure how he was going to come clean to Kel. Kel’s frown deepened.

“You have to tell me what’s going on man or else we’d end up in another situation like this. I thought we were cool by now.”

He sighed when Kel wouldn’t give up the topic.

“Mikhael and Angel. They must have told her.” he replied flatly, earning a grumble from Kel.

“Basil-”

“I’m trying… okay?” Basil said, his figure starting to shake. “I just didn’t expect them to tell her now nor even bring it up in general.”

Kel tilted his head. “What exactly do you mean by that?”

Basil looked up above the trees, hoping for an answer to at least grace him out of nowhere. But no matter how much he hoped, no one came to his rescue. It was only a matter of time before he would tell Kel the truth, a decision which could send Kel to the path of disappointment or running away.

“It’s my photo album. They saw the pictures I ruined before throwing them into the lake.”

Kel stood next to him shocked from what he had just heard. Basil expected him to dip immediately and start walking off but to his surprise he did no such thing.

“You ruined our memories?...”

“I didn’t mean to, Kel.”

Basil removed Kel’s hand from his shoulder and inched away. “Think of me as a bad person, but I promise I didn’t mean to.”

Kel looked conflicted. Of course he would be, and he had the right to be that way.

Basil expected Kel to start questioning their friendship the more time they spent saying nothing to each other. He was proved wrong when Kel suddenly spoke up.

“Do you promise?”

He nodded.

“Good cause I can’t lose you too.” He sighed, scratching the back of his neck.

“What caused you to ruin our photos though? They were still our memories.” he asked, this time looking like a sad beaten up puppy.

“I… wasn’t thinking right that time. It was just a few weeks after-” he shook his head, choosing not to continue the sentence. “I just wasn’t thinking right. But I did intend on cleaning them.”

“Where are they now?”

“At home.” he quickly replied. Kel raised a brow from his hesitancy.

“Well… most of them.”

Kel hung his head low when he finally got what he meant.

“You didn’t mean it and though it kind of hurts since I was in the album too…” he paused.

“I forgive you.”

He patted Basil on the shoulder before giving him a side hug. Basil looked at him with confusion.

“You don’t hate me?”

Kel nodded before giving him a small, sad reassuring smile.

“I don’t hate you. Disappointed, but yeah I don’t.”

Basil smiled.

“Thanks.”

With that aside, they looked towards the direction Aubrey and Kim went.

“So… guess we've got hell to pay if we ever cross Kim’s direction now, huh?” Kel chuckled grimly, as if it were some sort of dark humor.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

He sighed and blew a raspberry, muttering the word ‘Kim’.

Basil found himself chuckling at Kel’s actions in his head. Back then he hated dark humor, but now even he found himself laughing at it.

The bell rang as if on cue, and the two of them started walking inside.

“We’ll get back at the Hooligans for throwing your photos and taking Aubrey from us, whether they like it or not.”

Basil nodded his head as they entered the school building.

He just hoped at least it would turn into a reality, and it wasn’t some pipe dream he and Kel were dreaming.

---

Another month passed and Aubrey has become a completely different person.

The Hooligans were indeed not a group to mess with, and Kim wasn’t fooling around when she said she would personally make their lives a living hell if they came to mess with Aubrey.

Basil suggested one time to bring Hero in hoping things would be different, but Kel refused to bring his brother in.

Yet amidst their efforts, time progressed and the Hooligans became more ruthless to Basil than before. He didn’t have an upper batch brother like Kel, so he wasn’t as lucky as him. Kel noticed this and suggested that it was best for Basil to lay low when it came to the Hooligans and leave him to deal with them instead.

Basil of course thought of this as a terrible idea, but he was no match to Kel’s stubborn determination and persistence.

This resulted in Kel taking one for the team while Basil went back to studying.

Despite this, he knew he couldn’t stand still while his friend dealt with everything for him. So secretly, he started meeting up with some of the Hooligans' former victims and tried to prevent the gang from harming anyone further.

He knew that at one point it wouldn’t just be about Aubrey and the photo album, and soon enough it would also come to that. The Hooligans weren’t just jerks to him and Kel alone, in fact, they were jerks to anyone who opposed their presence.

Yet no matter how much he tried to keep it secret, people started making rumors about him and called him crazy for what he was insinuating. He didn’t pay it any mind and continued doing what he did, to which he garnered some quiet support along with the backlash.

The school may call him a freak for thinking his friend was alive and a madman for what he was doing, but he was persistent on letting no student experience what they did to him.

Kel meanwhile focused all his attention towards getting Aubrey back. He didn’t know how much progress Kel was doing because he was adamant on him handling it.

They couldn’t touch Kel right? After all, Hero was just a building behind them and Kel could just run to him if he ever needed help.

The last thing Basil knew about Kel’s actions was when he caught him frowning at his locker and nothing else.

---

The bell rang and soon it was gym, a subject Basil dreaded.

Their teacher has this habit of overworking the exercises and tasks that they become quite grueling to a lot of them; at this point, a plea to leave for just 100 pushups was surely a scam.

That day they were promised something different, and truly enough it was different from what they did in every gym class.

Instead of only being accompanied by their fellow classmates, he decided it was a good idea to combine them with one of the other sections, making them face each other in a game of dodgeball.

And of course, as if they were some characters in some story strung up by an inconsistent narrator, the class they were facing had to be the Hooligans.

He nervously stood next to Kel as the Hooligans exchanged cold glances at them. Basil quickly tapped Kel’s shoulder and pulled him in for a whisper.“I don’t like where this is going…”

Kel gave him a half-hearted smile before smacking him on the shoulder, telling him it was going to be fine.

They all paired up in groups of 6 and waited for their turn at playing dodgeball. They waited for their teacher to assign them with the group they were going to fight against.

The plan was for them to move ranks every time they eliminated a team, and the last teams from the 2 sections would gain a prize at the end.

The other class was lacking a student so one of them had to substitute for the other team. Aubrey happily agreed to this change.

“What the heck Aubrey, not cool!” Kel grimaced, earning a devilish grin from the other side.

“You're going down, flower boy, and Kel’s going down with you if you don’t pick someone else.”

Basil gulped hearing the last sentence.

He looked around him and saw most of his classmates were avoiding them when they searched for a team.

“Basil, Kel! You can’t be a duo. Pick 4 more people or it’s off to the benches with the both of you.”

Basil, relieved that they had a chance of dipping the activity, happily obliged and started walking towards the bleachers before Kel stopped him.

“No way we're going to miss this opportunity! Basil, come on man don’t dip on me!”

He looked at him with pleading eyes, pointing towards the Hooligans.

“This is our only chance of payback, can’t you see?! We could strike a deal with them if we win this game and get Aubrey back!”

Basil looked at him shocked and cleaned his ears to make sure he heard what Kel had just said.

Kel wanted to fight fire with fire and make a deal with the devil; that hardly sounded optimistic at all.

“I’m not sure about this Kel… maybe there are other ways to handle the Hoo-”

“There are no other ways, Basil.” Kel gritted.

Basil sighed.

They were going to get absolutely floored by the Hooligans. He could already see the foreshadowing.

“So… is anyone going to pair up with Basil and Kel over here?” their teacher asked, earning reluctancy from the entire class. “Anyone?”

Kel shrugged. “Can’t we just be a duo, sir?”

Basil’s eyes turned as wide as saucers. “Kel!”

The teacher laughed. “Are you trying to be smart with me, boy? Because I feel like you're trying to be smart with me.”

He faced Kel with hidden amusement, towering in front of him menacingly.

“I don’t see why not sir. Besides, it looks like everyone in the class doesn’t want to team with us.”

Basil looked at the others as some of them hung their heads while the Hooligans smirks got even bigger.

The teacher looked around and shook his head in disappointment, but Basil could see the glint in his eyes when he agreed to Kel’s terms.

They were screwed the moment he and Kel shook hands.

“Hey Kel boy! You know what I feel bad for you!”

They looked towards the Hooligans as Kim called their attention.

“If you and flower boy make it to the final round and beat us, we’ll allow you to talk to Aubrey for one day.”

Aubrey’s jaw dropped and looked at Kim in disbelief. Kim whispered something to her which made her grin. Kel put his game face on and accepted the challenge leaving Basil no time to express his distress.

Soon the second bell rang and they were off to compete one another, each equally teamed except for Kel and Basil. Basil could feel the eyes of everyone in the gym when the teacher announced them as the first team.

He found himself praying, hoping that they’d at least get 3rd or 4th place.

“Are both teams ready?”

Kel nodded, looking at the other team as they did the same. Basil did the same as well and set his eyes to the goal.

For Aubrey.

“Well get on with it! Time is not waiting for you!”

With that everyone started rushing towards the middle, stampeding each other for a ball.

Kel took two and immediately knocked out one person, the other ball sending a chain reaction and knocking out two more.

Meanwhile Basil became the immediate target and everyone started ganging up on him due to him being the ‘weakest’. Basil proved them wrong by dodging almost all of them, the closest one being an inch to his hair.

Two minutes in he heard Kel shout behind him.

“Basil, duck!”

Without hesitation he followed and saw 2 more dodgeballs fly like darts straight above his head. One of them missed but the other landed with a satisfying ‘clonk’. The 6 v 2 became a 2 v 2 which caused his classmates to start gawking about it.

After dodging another ball he decided to pick it up and help Kel and they hit their opponents together square at the chest.

Kel grinned from ear to ear and shot him a look of approval before raising his hand for a high five. “Good throw, Basil! Good throw!”

Basil smiled and didn’t leave Kel hanging.

The whole gym went wild and the Hooligans were left speechless, seeing their flawless win.

Kim grumbled and spat on the floor. “Beginners luck! Wait till you face us.”

With the grumble she stood on her feet and rallied the Hooligans. Kel started grinning. “You underestimate us Kim, you underestimate us.”

She rolled her eyes and got into position.

The Hooligans also put up a surprisingly good fight especially with Aubrey by their side. Kel watched them mortified as they completely floored the other team in 2 minutes.

“Hah! right… you're no match for us Kel just give up.”

Kel frowned but shook his head insistently. “Not happening.”

Kim smiled. “It’ll be a pleasure beating you then.”

She scoffed and turned towards the Hooligans to update their strategy for the next round.

Kel and Basil didn’t have a proper plan, which Basil did not find amusing at all.

He was quick to his feet because of his gardening and Kel had reflexes, but that didn’t mean it would last them the entire round.

Kel suggested leaving the offense to him while Basil would serve as a distraction.

The entire time they played dodgeball, Aubrey didn’t bother to bat them even an eyelid. They were invisible, just like everyone seated in the audience. Her competitive nature was showing again, which was a bad omen seeing how she could plummet anyone in front of her if she wanted to.

With him and Kel basically flying by the seats of their pants he hoped she’d at least go easy on them.

Soon enough it was their turn again and they made their way towards the middle. Basil patted his cheeks and put on his game face.

He nodded at Kel when he mouthed at him to go right.

The game started and the plan was set in action, Kel hoarded half the balls in the middle of the ring and started throwing them like they were missiles. Basil did his best dodging everything they threw at him, but no matter how quick he tried to run past them he was hit on the knee.

Kel glared at the other team furiously because of this and with what seemed to be a battle cry, charged towards them.

When he was finally able to finish them completely, he looked at Basil angrily.

“You shouldn’t have done that Basil! We were so close to getting eliminated because of that slip up!”

Basil stared at him wide-eyed. “I’m… sorry?”

Kel rolled his eyes and helped him up the ground. “Just… Whatever. Don’t pull that stunt again, we can’t fess up in front of the Hooligans!”

Kel grumpily made his way towards the bleachers, leaving a confused Basil at the scene.

Basil was shocked. He’d never seen Kel so angry before and it was the first time he’d ever snap at him. He shook his head and blocked it out, thinking it was because Aubrey was at stake.

The Hooligans were relentless. They didn’t make the mistake of leaving anyone in front of them standing for long. Kim, Vance and Aubrey carried most of the team and Aubrey had more than a few hits. He felt a shiver run down his spine whenever they would win a round.

“Hey Kel, you know you can spare yourself the humiliation right?” Angel taunted, elbowing Aubrey. “Just forfeit, it’s that easy!”

“I am NOT forfeiting!” Kel said quite loudly, earning a stunned reaction from most of the people around him. Even Aubrey raised a brow.

Kel clasped his mouth hearing what he had just said. “I mean we’re not forfeiting that easily.”
He looked at Basil.

Basil said nothing in the hopes of not making things worse.

The teams standing got smaller and smaller, and it was just about time that only two remained standing.

Kel had done the most to keep their team afloat and they did last long enough to fight against the Hooligans. The Hooligans meanwhile continued to play rough and were able to hold onto the ledge.

The second bell was close to ringing, and they were the last teams to fight for first place.

They stood there face to face, ready to unleash the last wave of war.

The Hooligans looked carefree as if they already knew that they were going to win, which pissed off Kel to say the least.

Basil could hear the slightest pin drop from inside the gym, and he felt as if he were on fire.

They were facing the Hooligans. The actual Hooligans. The main baddie of the story they were in.

Aubrey, their once old friend, stood against them on the wrong side of history. She was gone. And if they did win there was still a big chance nothing would change.

“I hope you’ve said your prayers, the both of you, because there is no way we’re going easy on you.” Kim said, a sinister smile plastered on her face.

Kel smiled at her and got into his final position, all fired up.

“Less talking, more dodgeball.”

Aubrey smirked and pointed at the both of them, using her finger to draw a line across her neck.

Basil avoided her gaze.

The world seemed to stop when their teacher started counting, and everything around Basil started to become blurry.

But he fought it in the count of three and with the shout GO he started running towards the middle.

Chapter Text

Mari ran off the moment she and Hero met eyes with one another. She was sure that he would follow her after she saw his aghast face framed by the moonlight on his window. The path towards the treehouse did prove to be quite a distance, though both wooded areas were connected to each other.

Looking left and right to her surroundings, she found herself being led astray by the familiar trees around her which left her confused whether or not she was going the right way. Thankfully she caught sight of a huge shadow looming above her and surely enough it was the treehouse.

With a sigh she started climbing up the creaky wooden ladder and entered the now deserted house they had built from scratch ages ago. She was met with dust the moment she entered which made her cough a little. It’s been months, but for her it felt like a year. The place was now a bittersweet reminder of their once idyllic carefree lives that she had long forgotten how to cherish.

She dusted the table and checked for an electric lantern below it. She’d left it just in case someone were to come in late at night and needed it, and true to her word she did need it at that moment.

After scavenging for it, she felt its smooth base and took it out hoping its batteries weren’t drained. With a whispered plea she flicked the switch on the bottom, and soon enough she was basked in its light glow.

‘It worked’ she thought to herself, quietly musing about it as she placed it on the middle of the table.

Mari hoped that just like the battery operated lamp she wouldn’t run out of luck that night and no one had noticed her sudden disappearance.

She walked towards the window and looked for any sign of Hero.

He wasn’t there.

She frowned, the last of her confidence wavering with the flicker of the light.

What was she expecting anyway? She almost threw a rock straight to his forehead and the moment they saw each other she immediately ran off.

Hero must have thought of her as a ghost and nothing more; her white nightgown didn’t help at all. She paced across the room and felt sick the moment she laid her eyes on the calendar, the date of their recital was encircled with a red marker.

By instinct she tore the page and crumpled it, dropping it quickly on the floor away from her.

She didn’t want to think about it; not when she knew Sunny would be there waiting for her the moment she entered her room. It got worse when he started staying in their house and Sunny was no longer as passive as he was before.

As she tried to calm herself down, she heard someone climb the ladder. She stepped back in surprise.

Her heartbeat slowed down when Hero stepped inside and looked at her wistfully, though it was clear that his shock was still evident.

They stood there in silence and looked at each other, seemingly fazed by how long it had been.

Seeing Hero in front of her after a long time reminded Mari of a memory the two of them shared in the place they were in. Although she vaguely remembered it, she couldn’t help but smile at how naive they were.

“House.” she said, trying to recall it. “We used to play house up in this treehouse because Aubrey suggested it… did we?”

She chuckled softly and looked towards the table next to her. “Kel had gotten bored of playing cards and wanted to try something new so Aubrey came up with… what did she call it before? Oh yeah. ‘Mother father’.”

Mari could notice Hero was lost for words and stood there looking at her, daring himself to inch closer.

“Back then, I’d wish for moments like those to just stay that way…” Hero said, his stance unchanged. “But no matter how much I want to keep these things in my pocket, time always has a different plan.”

Mari gave him a wistful smile hearing it before shakingly putting her arms up and gesturing for a hug.

Hero froze for a moment before immediately running towards her direction, hugging her with full force as tears threatened to spill from his eyes.

“Mari…” he sobbed, pulling her closer into the hug and refusing to let go. “It’s really you… It’s really you!” he said, earning a sad chuckle from the latter. “Heya handsome…”

Mari pulled away for a little bit and looked at him stunned as tears started bubbling from his eyes, which caused the both of them to kneel from astoundment. With a smile, she wiped away Hero’s tears with her thumb.

“God it’s been so long,” Hero said, chest still heaving. “Too long Mari… I thought you might never open your door again after I-”

“Shh..” Mari said, holding his head closer to her shoulder. Hero took it as a sign and said nothing in protest. “It’s not your fault Hero, I’m the one who should be apologizing. Please don’t blame yourself.”

Something inside of Mari wanted to break the longer they stayed that way, as if it wanted to be free. All the emotions she felt threatened to burst but she decided to hold it in for the sake of Hero.

Yet even with her heavy burden in her chest, slowly it began to unwind just a little bit as she ruffled Hero’s hair just a little bit as if it were her comfort.

And on that night she truly received comfort for the very first time.

Hero wiped away the remnants of his tears and started to calm down, apologizing for the sudden outburst.

Mari reassured him it was alright by patting him on the back.

Silently, the two of them made their way towards the table and sat next to each other, letting the faint light reach them. Mari watched as Hero fumble for things to say.

“But why? Why now after all this time?” Hero asked, quite concerned. “What made you decide to come out now?”

Mari gulped, unsure about how she should deal with the sudden questioning.

A lot has happened in a span of 3 months and Mari was still unsure who she should trust.

Yet there Hero was in front of her waiting for an answer, something that has been long overdue that Mari has yet to pay for. A part of her wanted to lie, to get out of the spotlight and pretend that her situation wasn’t complicated. But at the same time Hero did deserve to know the truth and lying would be quite selfish of her. Yet who said telling the truth wasn’t selfish as well?

She gave it some thought before giving an answer.

“I’m- I- just wanted to see you.”

She smiled, earning a frown from Hero.

She couldn’t do it. No matter how much she wanted to say it.

“Mari, I know you're hiding something from me.” Hero said, clasping her hands. “This isn’t the only reason why you're showing up to me after months, is it?”

Mari said nothing and found herself looking away in shame.

Hero moved closer to her.

“I promised you I’d be here for you, and here I am. Please… talk to me.”

Unbeknownst to Mari, tears were forming in her eyes as she tried to form words to tell him.

“I’m- I’m sorry… I can’t.”

Mari said, finally letting go of her bottled up emotions.

“I cant- I want to say it isn’t complicated and I’m fine but no matter how much I want to tell you about everything, I can’t.”

Mari let go of Hero’s hands and wiped her tears from her white sleeve. Hero pulled her into a hug afterwards and muttered words of comfort to her. Like a child, she clung on tightly to his shirt.

“I’m scared… Hero. I’m scared..”

---

As Mari cried on Hero’s shirt, Hero was lost in thought.

It’s been months and seeing Mari in this state pained him more than the times he spent waiting for her.

He wanted to know more about Mari’s situation, hell, he wanted to ask her about everything but he didn’t want to push Mari to her limits. He didn’t want to risk the chance he had been given to see and talk to her again, and he didn’t want to add to whatever Mari was feeling.

So instead of prying any further he forced himself to smile at her reassuringly and continued to comfort her. It was the best idea he had for now, until he finds out for himself sooner or later.

“I’m here now Mari, you don’t have to be afraid. We can take things little by little until you feel comfortable telling me.”

Mari nodded her head gratefully as Hero rubbed Mari’s back; yet somehow his fear still remained. Soon it had grown darker in the treehouse, and Mari had to leave.

He followed her down the ladder and watched her sneak towards her window; the pieces of cloth she had used to climb down were still hanging loosely in the wind.

When she started preparing for her descent he stopped her in her tracks, hoping to relieve the fear he was feeling.

“Will we see each other again?”

Mari gave him a sad smile.

“I’ll try sneaking out again tomorrow night to meet you at the treehouse. If that’s alright with you.”

Hero looked at her confused.

“Can’t I just visit you in the morning so you don’t have to sneak out?-”

“No.”

Mari quickly replied, her voice hesitant.

She suddenly froze when she heard something rustle behind them and immediately looked at the source of it before shaking her head.

“Sorry… just, I’ll meet you tomorrow alright? You can’t tell anyone about this.” she asked him pleadingly, hoping Hero would understand.

Saying nothing more, Hero agreed.

She let go of the rope and gave him a hug.

“Thank you.”

With that she let go of the hug and started scaling the house slowly, making sure to be silent along the way. Hero watched her with worry when she almost let go of the cloth and put his hands up ready to catch her, but was relieved when she finally reached the window.

When she entered the house she waved him goodbye before closing the window and blocking it with her closet.

Hero stood there for a minute or two wistfully looking at the blocked off window before walking off towards the route he took to get to the treehouse. He hoped that Mari would come out tomorrow and that day wasn’t the only day he was going to see her.

As he walked towards the trees, he stopped when he saw an obscure shadow of something near the treehouse. He couldn’t see it well but with just a blink, the shadow was gone before Hero could confirm its existence.

Chapter Text

The two of them stared at each other awkwardly for a minute as the man adjusted his eyes toward Basil. He had a smile on his face but it was very obvious that he was very disappointed. Basil took the moment to examine the old folk in front of him.

Nothing about him has changed since the last time he saw him: his clothes, his untrimmed beard, his sullen dark eyes? They were still the same. The only thing that was new was the fact that he reeked of a pungent odor which Basil assumed to be the work of alcohol.

“A-hyeck! What are you doing back here in the woods little kid?” he said with a disbelieved tone, drinking from the green bottle he held in his right hand.

Basil looked at the bottle and frowned. ‘Of course, he’s drunk…’ he remarked to himself unamused before looking back at the man.

The man noticed this and wiped his mouth with his glove. “What, too much for ya kid? Never seen your old pap drink before?” He grinned in a teasing manner. “Or are you just tired of playing rough with ya group of friends like the last time we met?”

Basil turned red.

“No… I’ve never seen my dad drink before,” he replied, trying to keep his flustered expression at bay. “Though I haven’t seen a 76-year-old man drink either, so this is something new to me.”

The old man snorted from Basil’s attempt at a witty comeback. “Nice one kid. Though mind you I’m 62. Sure as hell am I nowhere near kicking the old bucket.”

With a spit on the ground, he threw the bottle towards a nearby tree with a strong swing. The bottle shattered into pieces and flew off before hitting the ground. Basil stared at it in bewilderment.

The man’s grin turned smug when he saw Basil’s reaction. Maybe it was because he was able to show off. With a sigh, he started walking away from him.

“Wait, sir! I-I didn’t mean to insult you!” Basil squeaked, running after him.

“None taken lad, you get used to it when you’re older.” He mumbled. The man didn’t even bother looking at Basil and continued on, refusing to say another word.

Basil hung his head in shame regretting what he had done.

He trailed behind the man unsure of what to say as a form of redemption.

While the two of them walked Basil couldn’t help but notice how much of a distance he'd run away from the Hooligans.

It was odd since he never knew he had such stamina in the first place. Yet that wasn’t the reason he set out to get there in the first place, the reason he was there was because of the man who was walking in front of him.

He wanted to thank him for saving him from the Hooligans, even if some of the photos were never recovered.

Oh!

With a fumble, he opened his bag and uncovered a plastic container.

It was his lunch- or well, half of his lunch, he didn’t eat it yet he swore he had more.

After zipping his bag he looked at the man.

He’s awfully quiet for someone who was drunk.

“Uhm… excuse me. Sir?” Basil asked, earning an unamused mumble from the man. “Sir?”

“Quit trailing me like a lost puppy child, A-hyeck! That won’t do you anything.”

Basil tilted his head. Puppy?

That was until he noticed he did look like a lost puppy, trailing after some stranger he saw in the hopes of being pointed in any direction. That is if he could even understand them.

He shook his head and ignored the comment.

“I wanted to thank you for…” he looked at the man who was seemingly more interested in taking a drink from his flask. Basil inhaled sharply. “Sir, you’re drinking again.”

“I’m sober.” he scowled with another drink. “It’s one thing to be homeless but it’s a completely other thing to be gullible enough not to accept free booze.”

Basil bit his lip unsure of what to say about that.

“Where do you get your booze anyway, mister?” He asked, earning a chuckle from the man.

“Wouldn’t you like to know? I have a private benefactor, and I’m not willing to share who.”

The two of them made their way out of the clearing, the Hooligans were nowhere to be found near the lake.

“So, whatcha want sonny? I’m a very busy man.” He asked. Basil found himself drifting from the conversation for a second or two earning a confused look from the man.

Sunny?

“Oh. You meant sonny. Sorry.”

With that he handed him the plastic container, prying his eyes away from the lake.

The man took it in amusement.

“And what's this?” he questioned him once more, grinning. “Look A-hyeck! Son, if you want some cheap wine get some from the pastor. You ain’t prying me with no food for a swig of my sweet booze.”

Basil sighed.

“I wanted to give you that because you saved me from the Hooligans, not for your...booze.”

Booze. A poison in which many adults partake for reasons Basil knew of even in such a young age.

At one point Basil did wish he was older and take a shot or two for all he had experienced for Sunny’s sake, but he didn’t want to risk getting scolded by his grandmother. Actually no, scratch the shots, he wanted to drink an entire bottle and lay on the floor forever.

“A-hyeck! You’re a pal, sonny.”

The man stuffed it somewhere inside his greyish jacket (Basil wondered how it even fit there) and gave him a crooked smile.

He offered him his flask to which Basil declined.

Basil looked at the lake … for now.

The old man seemed to notice his distant gaze and looked at where he was looking.

“They really hate your guts, do they?”

He nodded, scratching his bandages by habit.

The man looked at him inquisitively. “And why’s that?”

Basil was taken aback by the man's sudden interest, seeing how all he could be interested in was free booze and some random kid's lunch.

“My best friend, Sunny,” he said. “Everyone thinks he drowned himself in this lake and didn’t think twice about him.”

He sighed. “I mean, I get why they want to move on and not dwell upon it, they’d probably think he’d be happy if they did. But I’m selfish and I don’t want to move on from him.”

Basil smiled wistfully as he could feel a cold breeze from his shoulder.

“He’s a lucky guy to have a chap like you.” The man consoled him. Basil flushed from his high regard since he ultimately dissed him earlier.

“A-ah thanks.” he rubbed his hand behind his head sheepishly, before noticing what the man meant. His cheeks turned redder.

“I-I mean! We aren’t like that! Haha- he’s just my best friend! Nothing more.” he chuckled. raising his hands defensively. “I- mean-- I’m still going to find him and tell him he’s- shit. Wait no he’s not shit he’s- why does everyone think that way about me and Sunny?” He muttered the last words under his breath and covered his red face.

The man laughed because of this and gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

“Still, I mean what I mean, A-hyeck! Not giving up on your friend and taking the hit by yourself,” he said with a grin.

“And that’s not only the booze speaking, I genuinely hope ya find him and prove those suckers wrong.”

He smiled at the man.

One day. One day.

“Look, I’m not rubbing any shade on you for what you’re trying to do, but what makes him so special that you’d put yourself through living hell to find him?”

Basil tilted his head.

“He’s my best friend?”

“Other than that.”

Basil thought long and hard about the question and whether or not he should answer. The man was right, why did he put himself towards the mercy of the Hooligans just for Sunny when he could’ve resumed his normal life?

Why did he decide to push all he had aside just for the sake of playing weeping willow when even Aubrey, the one Sunny liked, moved on quite quickly like Hero, Mari, and Kel?

Why did he choose to cling to memories of the past that can no longer be revived by the skipping of the stones Basil would throw towards the lake instead of making new ones?

He looked at the man who was still waiting for his answer.

“I love him.”

The old man looked at him wide-eyed. He clearly wasn’t expecting such an answer, yet Basil remained strong enough just to say it.

“I love the way he listens to me whenever I need consoling and never says a word about it. I love the way he checks up on me whenever I feel like I can’t handle something and tries to help me in his own simple way. I love the way he silently laughs at my jokes even if I don’t find it funny myself. I love the way he accompanies me, a silent, boring person even if he could spend his time with the others. I love the way he… there’s a lot of reasons why I love Sunny to the point I’d go through hell itself.”

He chuckled, his face not as red as it did before.

“I feel indebted to him in some way or another, and I hate being in debt to people.”

With a sigh, he looked back towards the lake.

“That’s why until now I still hope for the water to bring him back home no matter how much it costs me.”

The man stood there stunned, moved by Basil’s hope and dedication.

“I-I’m sorry kid, a-hyeck! You must have been through a lot.”

Basil nodded and reassured him it was fine.

The old man stayed silent before letting out a grumble. “You know what, screw this dumpster of a place and screw the booze, kid let’s make a deal.”

Basil looked at him confused as the man fidgeted and placed the flask somewhere inside his jacket.

“What deal?” he asked.

The old man looked around just in case anyone was there before leaning in for a whisper.

“I’ll help you find this friend of yours as long as you help me out as well.”

Basil’s eyes flickered the moment he said that.

“Really?!” he asked, earning a grin from the man.

“A-hyeck! This Sunny fella of yours, you care a lot about him and I’m touched. So how about it?”

Somehow, no matter how much he tried holding it in, tears started brimming from Basil’s eyes.

He looked at him worrying. “Hey kid, don't cry. A-hyeck! It’s nothing to cry about.”

The man started patting Basil on the back as he started sobbing.

Basil wasn’t one to cry in front of a stranger, but it was the first time someone actually believed him and didn’t downgrade him for Sunny.

The old man seemed kind after all, and he shouldn’t have assumed the worst about him.

"Thank you..." Basil said, wiping his tears. "You don't know how much that means to me." The old man smiled. "It's nothing. A-hyeck!" He looked around them and noticed how dark it was getting, he looked at Basil concerned. "Now, you go on your way kid, it's getting dark. You can come by the park anytime you need help."

Basil smiled gratefully. "Thank you, sir."

The man chuckled. "Please, call me Carlisle. Sure as hell is a weird name for a homeless man like me but my parents were privileged-" the man paused. "schiesses. To name me something like that." He offered Basil his hand.

Basil shook it. "Basil," he said, earning a grin from the man. "Basil? Isn't that the name of a plant or somethin' I dunno... I dropped outta college somewhere in my youth before they got to me."

Basil flushed hearing his name compared to a plant. He was used to it, but it still embarrassed him, to say the least.

"Well, it was nice to meet ya, Basil. Now you should leave before dark gets you." Basil nodded and made his way.

When Basil was gone the man chuckled to himself as he took out his flask and opened it, drinking it soon afterward.

"Man kids these days, A-hyeck! sure as hell needs to act more like him."

He grinned and finished the booze before morning.

Chapter Text

“Kelsey dear, stop being dense and help me and Hero out. The instructions are right in front of you, I can’t see why you’re not helping at all.”

“Kel, stop being dense for once! I thought you already knew about the group project and set a schedule for us to meet already. Man, our group is screwed!”

“Kel’s a sponge. He’s denser than the rest of us.”

“Hah! Kel? That loser’s so dense you can tell him anything and he still won’t understand. It’s funny, to say the least.”

“Dude! Stop being dense, it’s obvious she’s just playing hard to get. That’s what my brother Stephen said.”

“Aubrey’s gone Kel, stop being dense. It’s not worth your time investing in someone like her, she’s just an Icarus who flew too close to the sun!”

“Kel for once in your goddamn life can you stop being so dense?!”

Dense. A word Kel has heard for the majority of his life.

It wasn’t because he was dumb or anything nor was he always mentally absent, but he had a hard time picking up signals from other people.

He’s heard it many times now and he’s gotten used to it, but why did it hurt once Aubrey called him the word people used to make a practical joke out of him?

The words Aubrey said, unlike all the others, followed him the day after they had confronted her as if they were a ghost. And Kel wanted so badly to get rid of it.

“Aubrey still needs me…” he said to his reflection in the school’s bathroom mirror, painting him a sad forced smile. “She’s still there… I know it, I can feel it. Even if she’s hard to read.”

He splashed some water on his face for the second time.

He didn’t want to believe that Aubrey was truly gone. He didn’t want to believe that there was no more hope in the situation Aubrey had given him. Now the only comforting word he could say to himself to not give up was that Aubrey needed him.

Yet to an outsider’s eye, Kel looked like he was the one who needed her.

He scowled as he put his hands through his hair.

Why?

Why does this have to happen to them?

They were sailing a boat made out of mud that was doomed to sink the moment it was made. Yet Kel was still insistent that they would make it past the border.

He was stubborn as he was dense.

With a sigh he put on a smile and wiped his face with his handkerchief, feeling the need to keep it on all the time.

---

Dense. If Kel wasn’t so dense-

It’s been 2 weeks already and Kel is still trying; to reach out to someone he no longer knew.

Ever since that day, the Hooligans had their eyes set on Basil and him whenever they would come in close contact with Aubrey and whenever they were caught didn’t let down their promise of making life a living hell.

Kel has immunity because his brother was an upperclassman but his poor friend Basil did not.

He tried his best to prevent the Hooligans from getting to his friend but they proved to be too strong.

His heart ached whenever he wasn’t able to spare Basil from the punches and bruises they added to his skin whenever they fought.

Yet he couldn’t do anything about it.

And just like Basil, it pained him so much.

---

Dense. Kel should’ve been considered lucky to be dense.

The reason why he was so happy-go-lucky before Aubrey joined the Hooligans was because of this.

Being dense saved him from all the drama around him and he quite enjoyed the life of knowing nothing but the good bits, but at what cost? His friend was getting beaten into a pulp before him and Aubrey was too headstrong to listen, and it was all his fault.

---

Dense. Why was Kel dense?

Kel was tired.

He was tired of seeing his friends suffer, and he couldn’t do anything other than shout for Aubrey’s name through the halls and hope she would turn around and face him.

He’d tried different ways to catch Aubrey's attention, from throwing paper planes to her during class to inserting letters inside her locker.

Yet even with that nothing’s changed between the both of them.

One day he decided to check the reason why Aubrey wasn’t responding to any of them by hiding behind the crowd once he placed the letter inside.

After a few minutes, he was surprised when Angel came walking by and opened Aubrey’s locker with her key. From his eye, he could see Angel taking his letter and crumpling it until it was nothing more than a mere paper ball.

Angel then chucked it inside the trash can and closed Aubrey’s locker.

---

Dense. Kel didn’t want to be dense.

“What do you mean I ‘lay down’ for a while?”

Basil asked him and rubbed his newly bandaged arm as they made their way out of the clinic.

Kel gave him a wavering smile. “It’s for the best. I can’t bear to watch you get hurt by the Hooligans anymore and I feel like a bad friend for allowing them to do so…”

Basil said nothing and hung his head low while they kept walking.

“Can’t we bring Hero into this? I mean surely he can-”

“No,” he replied quickly, earning a sigh from Basil.

“I’ll handle it from here on out and you don’t have to worry about it.”

Basil looked at him worrying. “What?! You can’t do that Kel, they’ll beat you into a…”

“No. They won't.”

Kel gave him a stern look.

“Just please, trust me on this. I care about you just as much as I care about Aubrey.”

Basil seemed lost for a second before adamantly shaking his head.

“No Kel, this is seriously a bad idea. The Hooligans can do more than pack a punch, you know that right?”

Kel nodded.

“I know, and I’ll be careful. Don’t worry about me man, you should worry about yourself!”

“Still that doesn’t-”

“Basil, please.”

He gave him a reassuring pat on the back before smiling at him.

“I’ll be fine, you don’t have to worry. Just- leave me to deal with the Hooligans alright? You can still sit with me during lunch but when it comes to the confrontation, leave it to me.”

Basil didn’t seem to like the idea of leaving Kel alone at the mercy of the Hooligans, but Kel was firm with his decision.

So though it was a huge risk on Kel’s part he was forced to agree.

Without any hesitation, Basil gave Kel a side hug.

“I can’t reason with you for your decision and I know Aubrey’s also important to you but… stay safe alright?”

Kel gave him a grin and told him to stop worrying about him and allowed him to go on before him.

Once Basil was gone, Kel frowned, unable to keep the mask of reassurance he had made just so Basil wouldn’t worry.

He has to do it all on his own, he thought to himself. And Basil deserved a break.

With a bittersweet ‘I’ll see you later’ to Basil, Kel headed in the opposite direction.

---

No matter what Kel did, Kel would always be dense.

Days passed and turned into weeks, and weeks turned into a month.

Aubrey had completely blocked him out and played no role in what he was trying to achieve.

One day after finishing a round of basketball with Stephen and his brother, he decided to head towards his locker to get something since Stephen asked him to until he noticed his locker had been pried open.

Curious, since he didn’t recall leaving it open like that he decided to check what was inside.

When he opened it, his mouth made a tiny ‘o’ but it immediately turned into a frown because he was too tired to handle it at the moment.

Someone had decided to vandalize his locker with the words ‘dense’ and ‘freak’ with a permanent marker.

---

“Dude, are you okay?” Jonathan asked, concerned when he came back sullen.

Kel noticed this and gave him a forced smile.

“Yeah, everything’s great.”

With that, he threw the towel towards Stephen which he valiantly caught with his left hand.

“Are you sure, Kel? You look-”

“I’m fine!” he gritted, earning a shocked reaction from Jonathan.

Jonathan, stunned from his outburst, said nothing more and joined his brother.

---

So, what did the word ‘dense’ truly mean to him?

Being dense served as an escape for Kel just as much as it has been a curse.

Yet even if the story’s ending was as clear as day, Kel remained as stubborn as ever.

Chasing after Aubrey no matter which hallway she turned.

Chapter Text

“We won!”

Kel was on the floor sweating buckets while the Hooligans stood in front of him gloating about their victory.

The sound of cheers and sighs could be heard from the crowd.

Basil stood next to him, his face evidently tired and worried as he watched Kel bang his fists on the cold gym floor.

“Dang it…” Kel muttered. “Dang It…”

As Kel cursed under his breath, Basil could spot Aubrey eying him instead of celebrating with the Hooligans.

They were so close to taking them out.

Vance, Angel, Charlene, The Maverick.

They were close to taking Kim out as well if it weren’t for Aubrey.

Kel was outed the moment he was going to take down Aubrey because Basil wasn’t able to remind him of Kim.

“GO BASIL, GO!” He recalled Kel screaming at him, he was left to the mercy of both the sharpshooters of the Hooligans team.

Basil gulped and ran off to the side when Aubrey started shooting at him.

He needed to take both of them out if they wanted to win against the Hooligans.

But how was he going to win against Aubrey and Kim if he was originally supposed to be a decoy?

Taking a sharp breath he scrambled for one of the balls in front of him and threw with all his might. He closed his eyes.

…

Basil could only hear quiet.

Kel had stopped shouting and the crowd was awfully quiet.

All he could hear was the muted ‘thonk’ of the dodgeball as it hit someone or something.

When he opened his eyes all senses came crashing unto him and he saw the ball he threw fall below Aubrey’s feet.

Before he could react, Kim hit him smack on the forehead in a sweeping motion and he was knocked backwards.

Chapter Text

Something was off. The morning they spent in the classroom was silent, and the atmosphere was duller than before. It was surprising because Geneva came in early, bright and peppy as ever. Lizzie and Stephen were oddly quiet and neither of them seemed to be in the mood to talk. They had taken different seats in the classroom, and Hero could see the discontented look on Lizzie’s face.

He’d already expected the silent treatment from Stephen, but he didn’t expect Lizzie to be included in Stephen’s ‘avoid’ list. Hero felt a light tap on his shoulder and realized Geneva was behind him. “Are they okay?” She asked. “They weren’t like this last week.”

Last week. Right.

They were in their usual competitive mode last week until Stephen confronted him about her. But surely that doesn’t have anything to do with that; he saw them walking down the street together the same day.

“I’m not sure.” Hero admitted with a frown. “But maybe it’ll get better later. Who knows, maybe they both woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.”

Geneva stifled a laugh.

“What?” he questioned her nervously.

The girl nodded and gave him a smile, still evidently trying to hide her laughter. Hero didn’t understand what was funny about it but decided to let it go.

The two of them kept an eye on Stephen and Lizzie until their lunch break, but nothing seemed to happen between them. Stephen was despondent and Lizzie wasn’t as ‘quippy’ as she was when she was with him. When they were asked to pair up, they split and went for separate people. It was odd; to think that some people would say they were practically attached to the hip.

There were no fights, no quips, no teasing. The two of them really seemed out of it.

During lunch, Geneva brought it up as their first order of business. She didn’t even wait for Hero to give her the extra food he packed. “Something’s wrong. They’ve been like that since morning and they barely look at each other. Did something happen?”

Hero shrugged and handed her the extra container. “I haven’t heard anything about a fight from either of them.”

Geneva pouted and opened the container. She took a bite from her porridge and pointed at him with the wooden spoon she was holding. “But they wouldn’t act like this if they didn’t bump heads with each other. Yeah, they would usually fight but it’s more playful- I don’t know.” He watched her try to explain her case. She was oddly affected by it, and Hero couldn’t understand why.

“Geneva, I know this may seem really random, but why are you so attached to Lizzie and Stephen’s relationship?” He asked her. He didn’t intend to be harsh on saying it, but she would always jump the gun whenever she had a chance to talk about them. Geneva flushed.

“I…”

She dropped the spoon on the container and dabbed her face with her handkerchief awkwardly. The vigor she had in her eyes mellowed down, and for a moment, Hero could even see the shine in it fade away. He gulped. “I-I don’t mean to be rude, I was just curious,” he chuckled. “You always talk about them whenever you have the chance and- look, you don’t have to answer it if you want–”

She held up her hand and waved it, showing she wasn’t insulted by the question. “No, it’s okay. I’m going to answer.” She warily took a bite before meeting Hero’s eyes shyly. “I just thought about what you said and realized what you mean. Sorry if I’m boring you with these things haha”

She let out a small laugh that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Hero immediately felt bad about what he said and decided to reassure her. “No, you’re not. In fact, talking about that makes you more enthusiastic. I honestly don’t mind.” He said the last sentence in a murmur.

Geneva grinned. “Thanks.”

With a sigh, she stood up and walked towards the ledge. Hero groaned.

“Geneva, I swear to-”

“Jeez Hero, I’m not jumping! For God’s sake just- come here.”

She motioned for Hero to follow her and pointed towards something below them.

“What?”

Hero walked towards her curiously. When he got close to her, she immediately grabbed his hand and pulled him into a crouch. This sudden action of Geneva almost resulted in Hero having a close encounter with the ground below. “Geneva.” he hissed. “Shush, just look. Below the trees.”

She averted his direction towards someone sitting below a tree, a small rain cloud was sprinkling water on top of their head. Hero had to squint to realize it was Lizzie.

“Lizzie?” He asked her. Geneva nodded. “But what’s she doing there?”

Lizzie wasn’t eating lunch in the cafeteria with Stephen. She was sitting on the dirt floor close to the janitor’s shack. Was she crying? Hero couldn’t tell.

“We have to talk to her.” Geneva urged, walking back to Hero’s seat. She took the porridge and ate it in one sitting, ignoring the heat that graced her mouth. “Hey, hold on.”

She packed it daintily into Hero’s paper bag and left towards the door; she was in such a hurry she didn’t realize that some of the porridge had left a stain on her face. “I said wait!”

He took her wrist and stopped her from opening the door. “What?”

“There’s something on your-” As if it was a habit of his, Hero found his hand searching his right pocket for a handkerchief. When he found it, he wiped the stain off of Geneva’s chin. “You’ve got some porridge on your chin.”

When Hero realized what he’s done, his eyes turned just as wide as Geneva’s. What the hell

“Th-thanks.” Geneva bit her inner cheek. If it weren’t for the shade, he could see her rosy cheeks from the sun. “Now come on, Lizzie needs our help.” She turned around, an attempt to hide the bloody blush now staining her cheeks harshly.

With her palm, she pushed the bookcase away and exited the door. Hero was left dumbfounded as he looked at the stain on his handkerchief. Still shocked and embarrassed, he followed in pursuit of her ignoring his half eaten lunch. He’ll probably pick it up after class, he thought.

—

“Lizzie!” Geneva shouted towards her, jogging to the tree she was sitting close to. The french braided girl looked at her distantly as she got closer and closer. Her frown deepened once she saw Hero through her glasses.

“Hi.” she said in a melancholic tone. Her glasses were misty but she didn’t bother to wipe them. She was eating cup noodles and she continued to do so ignoring Geneva. When Hero got to Geneva’s side the latter smiled at him in a bittersweet way. “So, he was right all along.”

“Right about what?”

“About you two.” She pointed her chopsticks at them. Without bothering a proper explanation, she continued to slurp on her cup noodles and spared them a second glance. Geneva looked at Hero inquisitively. “What does that mean?”

Hero let out a sharp exhale and looked at Lizzie. The girl shrugged and scooted to the other side of the tree. "If you don't mind, I'm eating here. Why don't you 2 go wherever you 2 go during lunch?"

Geneva shook her head. "But you're not okay."

"I am."

She sat next to her and ignored the dirt that was getting on her dress. Lizzie looked at her in disbelief. After realizing that they wouldn't leave her alone, she stopped eating her noodles and sighed.

She muttered. "...So what if I'm not?"

"What happened between you and Stephen?" Hero asked. He looked behind him and saw Stephen eating alone inside the cafeteria.

"We had a fight." She explained, putting down the cup noodles. "I think he got fed up with me…"

"But why? you usually make up easily whenever you do. And Stephen of all people? Surely he couldn't stay mad at you for that long."

Lizzie ducked her head in shame. Hero already knew the cause of her transgression the moment Stephen left for the hallway.

"Charlotte, why must you do this to me?" Lizzie grimaced.

"Do what to you?"

"This."

She stood up and wiped the mist from her glasses. The girl was crying, it wasn't from the vapor of the cup noodles she ate.

"Stephen's so stupid!"

"Lizzie calm down-"

"Why can't he just confess?!"

She looked at Hero with scorn. "You should know this Hero. You should know this out of everyone that Stephen's head over heels about…"

"…"

Geneva pursed her lips when Lizzie's eyes darted towards her. The brunette sighed and gave Hero a weary smile.

"Hey Hero, mind if you go back for a while? Y'know, just gal talk nothing much." She said, patting the girl on the shoulder. He could tell her smile was forced since her eyes told a completely different story.

"Sure…" Hero rubbed his neck sheepishly. He walked towards the entrance and watched them talk behind him. Geneva must have known how to handle it, because when they came up for class Lizzie looked better than before.

—

He didn’t know why he asked her that; In fact, he thought he would’ve already left to go home. But there they were hand in hand dancing to the song outside of Gino’s in sync than ever before.

It all started when they were walking down the stairs and Geneva suddenly brought up the question. “Hey Hero, are you going somewhere today?” It honestly sounded innocent to him at first but he would’ve probably said no if he knew the context. Probably.

He was going to visit Mari that day after so many months but he still found himself agreeing to whatever she was planning. And boy, he did not expect this.

“Hold on, I think I found another one around… here!” Geneva exclaimed. She had ducked underneath a bench to take out an empty can of orange joe and showed Hero her scavenged loot quite proudly.

Hero sighed. “Why are we doing this again exactly?”

“To get money of course! How are we going to pay for everything without money?” she pouted, tossing the can to Hero. Hero had a hard time collecting the can since his hands were full with the other assorted trash that she found. “Now come on, I think this is already enough. “

The girl took out her coin purse from her bag and looked towards the direction of the park.

Trash. Apparently, Geneva needed help picking up trash.

She could’ve gone on her own, but she really had to drag him in her scavenger hunt. But then again, he didn’t have a lot to do other than meet Mari since Kel was out with his friends.

She helped him with some of the trash and walked towards the park. The old booth lady gawked at their reserve and gave them 12 dollars respectively. “Here.” Hero said, handing Geneva the money. “Huh?”

When she saw what he was offering she shook her head and gave it back to him. “No, keep it. You earned it as well.”

With a familiar ruffle of Hero’s hair she left towards the direction of Faraway plaza.

A small crowd had accumulated near the doors of Gino’s, and in the middle of it, stood a young man singing to the sound of his guitar. People have stopped by to listen to him, and even Geneva stopped for a moment to listen. “What a beautiful song.” Geneva voiced out before heading inside OtherMart.

Hero followed her cautiously when he realized where she was heading. Geneva studied him curiously when he suddenly hid himself in one of the aisles.

"Hero?" She asked.

"No. I am not going inside there." He grimaced. The candy aisle used to be fine for him; in fact, he would usually come there whenever he and Kel went to OtherMart. If it weren't for her things would have played differently at that moment. Geneva followed his trail of sight and realized who he was looking at. A bored, sakura haired woman was fanning herself with a fan guarding the entrance.

Geneva chuckled awkwardly. "Oh. Fan of yours?"

Hero sighed. "I don't even know how it started."

With a small smile, the girl reached out for her backpack and took out a rugged blue baseball cap. "Here, put this on."

Glancing at the woman, she handed it to Hero. There was nothing to be wary of wearing a hat, but something churned inside of him when he realized what Geneva had let him borrow. Deciding it was for the best to get over it, he wore the hat. Geneva came closer and fixed it on his head.

"Alright, let's keep going then."

Dragging him by the arm, she took him towards the candy shop and walked by his left. She made sure that the woman was a safe distance from Hero before taking her hat back.

"Thanks." Hero sighed, his back against the rack. "No problem. Don't worry this will be quick."

Geneva walked towards the chocolate aisle while Hero nabbed some candy for Kel. When Geneva got back, she was holding a red heart shaped box and 2 chocolate bars. "Hey Hero, do you think Stephen's into mint or dark chocolate?"

Surprised, he looked towards the two bars of chocolate she was holding. He wanted to answer, but the heart shaped box she held in her right hand caught his attention. Oh.

"Mint." He answered, looking away awkwardly.

She flashed him a grin. "Alright. If you want, you can wait outside while I pay for yours as well." She walked towards the corner of the aisle and took a peep. "I'll distract her for you."

Hero nodded and gave her the candy.

Without a second warning, Geneva headed to the counter and Hero made a run for the grocery section.

"Did you see that?" The woman asked, earning an innocent smile from Geneva. "It's probably nothing."

—

Waiting for Geneva out of OtherMart, Hero found himself pondering about the heart shaped box Geneva was carrying.

She looked happy when he told her about his mint preference, and the same old sparkle she held in her eyes was there unlike a while ago. No wonder why Lizzie looked relieved after Geneva talked to her, she probably… Before he could finish his chain of thought, Geneva walked out of OtherMart holding two plastic bags. Hero put on a smile.

"For you." She cheered, waving the bag on his face.

"Thanks," he replied. "Is that all you need?"

Geneva looked inside of her plastic bag and shook her head. "Not enough, I feel like I'm still missing something." She put her hand on her chin. "Geneva…"

"Oh! I know, flowers! You can't pair chocolate without flowers right?"

Hero nodded, ignoring the question he wanted to ask. When Geneva noticed him lagging behind, she unhesitatingly took his arm and dragged him to Fix-it.

Geneva's eyes sparkled when they got to the greenhouse. "Wow! Are these fresh?" She took a sniff at the bouquets situated close to the entrance. "I've heard they restock it weekly. My friend's grandmother supplies this shop."

It's been months since he last saw Basil's grandmother, but based on the quality, he was sure that she had brought them there. Twirling with the bouquet, she turned to Hero and stopped to face him; with faint surprise, she handed him the flowers. She remarked. "I just realized, roses really suit you."

Hero turned a shade of pink and looked at the roses bashfully. "What makes you say that?"

Geneva shrugged. "I'm not really into flower language, but it just… suits you. Just add a suit and a tie, and I'm sure a lot of people are going to flock to you. Not that they don't do that already."

She laughed when Hero turned away from her, his face now red as a tomato. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding, I was just teasing you." She took the bouquet and pulled out a rose. "Roses are sweet, and I think you're sweet too. Sometimes, when you don't berate me."

She tossed the rose to him and innocently hummed the song they heard all the way towards the counter.

He fiddled on the rose as she left the greenhouse. How strange. He knew she was there for Stephen but something about her tone was endearing. Not only that, it had a sense of familiarity to it- a strange kind of familiarity to it.

He pursed his lips. No, he’s probably just imagining things as usual. The more time he spends with Geneva, the more distracted he becomes and he doesn’t know how to pinpoint it. With a sigh, he cut off the rose by its stem and put it inside of his pocket. Geneva was missing when he got to the counter, the cashier told him she had already left the premises.

—

When he got outside, Geneva was standing by OtherMart watching the fountain. Young people, presumably couples, were dancing through the plaza, swaying to the tune of the now mellow serenade of the guitarist. It was a love song, Hero noted, it wasn’t that familiar to him but he was sure Mari had sung the same song while they were washing the dishes. Geneva had a wistful look etched on her face as she swung her bag in cadence with the rhythm.

“Geneva?”

Startled, she immediately stopped. “Oh- hey! Hi. Sorry, I didn’t mean to leave you there.” She cleared her throat. “I think that’s all I need, thanks again for joining me.”

“...”

“Well will you look at the time, it’s almost 6. We should probably.. Hero?”

Hero nodded but his eyes were glued on the couples slow dancing near the fountain. A lump formed in his throat when his eyes caught sight of Geneva watching the same thing.

“Would you- would you like to dance?” He asked, catching Geneva off guard. “What? Sorry, I didn’t hear you well.” “Would you like to dance?”

He slung the plastic bag he was holding by his elbow and gave her a hand. “I’m not… you know you don’t have to right? I was just- Aannnd okay, sure why not.” she squeaked nervously and took Hero’s hand.

They swayed in a slow pace as the guitarist turned his serenade into light jazz. Geneva was looking away from him shyly as Hero found himself focused on Geneva’s face. A lighthearted chuckle erupted from Geneva’s lips when she realized he was staring. “What?” he asked.

“You really like blanking out, do you?”

Hero gave her a coy smile and spun her around. “I guess you can put it like that.”

The brunette grinned and gave him an indulging huff. After a while of dancing, the girl sighed and put her hand on his shoulder. “I really hope this works out.”

‘What works out?”

“Lizzie and Stephen.” She looked towards the couples dancing along the fountain. “They deserve to be happy, you know?”

Hero took a long time to ponder what he was going to say to Geneva, but she already got to it first. “Oh right, a while ago, I didn’t really tell you why I was so into their relationship have I? I think I owe you at least that for helping me out today.”

Once he gave her the silent permission to continue, Geneva finally laid out her reason. “They remind me of my parents back then, before things went sour. I don’t want their relationship to end up the same way. I know I shouldn't pry but if I couldn't help my parents, surely I could help my friends, right? ” she said, bitterly.

He frowned. “Did they?...”

“Divorce. 3 years ago.” She gave him a sad smile. “But it’s fine, I’m already recovering little by little and now I’ve opened up about it.”

Perfect. Geneva was perceived as perfect. By her peers, her teachers, and at one point, Hero. After hearing about her parents it wasn’t guilt that settled into Hero the moment he pulled her into a hug. She put on an aura of an angel but he knew deep down she was also human. The girl did not pull back and let her head rest on his shoulder.

When the music slowly faded away, Geneva pulled away from the hug. Though evening had already made its calls, a light flush could be seen on her face. “Thank you, Hero. You don’t know how much that means to me.”

“No problem.” He said, putting a hand on her head, the same way she would usually do to him. “But Geneva, you don’t have to be perfect all of the time. It’s okay to be vulnerable to other people once in a while.”

“I’ll…” she paused. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

They waited for the music to fully stop before splitting ways. Geneva, realizing they still had extra money, asked Hero if he wanted to go to Gino’s and got them sandwiches as an early dinner.

Once Geneva was out of Hero’s sight, he walked home with a smile creeping on his lips. When he realized the time, he rushed towards the door, walked up the stairs, and dropped his belongings inside of his room.

—

The plan went well evident from Lizzie successfully confessing to Stephen after school. Though she wasn’t there to see it, the confession cleared up their misunderstanding to her relief, and Geneva didn’t need to bear a guilty conscience anymore. Stephen’s liking towards her was nothing more than infatuation, and after realizing his true feelings, he didn’t know what to do about it due to Lizzie’s insistent ‘wingmanning.’

While the both of them were waiting for Lizzie to buy soda from a vending machine, Stephen asked Geneva a strange question. “You like him, don’t you?”

Though it was vague, she clearly understood what he meant. Geneva laughed at Stephen’s question, her avoidance speaking volumes.

Chapter Text

The 2 of them sat inside the dining room as Mari's mother hummed with the hearty smell of cooked pasta. Cardinal was drumming his fingers on the table as a way of keeping himself entertained, while Mari’s mind was elsewhere, wishing to get things over with.

It has become a normal occurrence for him to stay over, but she didn't want anything to do with him. She hated it, yet she couldn't say anything to raise her mother's suspicion.

Her stomach was already rumbling even when the pasta was half-finished. She's been cooking a lot recently, and Mari could already tell the reason why.

When her mother finally finished the pasta, she walked towards the dining room with a plateful of it.

Cardinal chuckled nervously and stopped ratting the table the moment she laid it in front of him. "Helen, you know I find your cooking peak perfection but isn't this a bit too…"

"I insist James. Knowing you, you'll be having seconds in a mere 3 minutes."

"You know me too well." He replied coyly.

Scooping up a portion of the pasta, she ate silently as the two adults talked about their work and her mother's nightshift.

She finished her pasta quickly and stood from her seat.

"So soon, Mari? But we've only been here for 6 minutes." Her mother asked her quizzically.

"I'm not that hungry, mom."

Cardinal stopped eating the pasta and looked at her dumbly through his glasses. The woman frowned because she was about to give her another serving.

"Well… if you say so. Goodnight Mari."

She tensed up when Cardinal shared the same sentiment.

Once she got to her room, she bolted her door with a chair and pushed aside her cabinet. She planned to go earlier to the treehouse to meet Hero; Sunny saw her off as she climbed down the window.

-----

"Where are you going, Hero?"

Hero was putting on his jacket the moment Kel entered the room. Kel didn't know about his meeting with Mari and only he and his dad knew about it.

"Somewhere." He muttered.

Kel gave him an unbelieving grin.

"Sure."

With that, Kel made his way towards his bed and pulled up the covers. He's been doing that a lot recently and Hero's already noticing a pattern to it. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked, earning a groan from the boy.

“Hero, I’m fine, alright?! I’m fine…”

Though surprised by his tone, he decided it was best to leave Kel be. Once he was done zipping up his jacket he gave Kel a goodnight and walked out of the door. When he approached the stairs he could hear a muffled sound inside the room behind him.

He sighed and walked down the stairs to meet Mari.

Unbeknownst to him Kel was laying under his covers crying to himself, pained from the mere thought of the Hooligans and Aubrey.

—

When Hero got to the wooded part of his house, he entered it as if he were an ant lost from its colony.

The night was dark and he couldn't see that much from the thick foraging in front of him.

Thankfully he had gotten a flashlight earlier so it was bearable for him to say the least. Hero walked around the woods with the dim light of the flashlight guiding his way to the treehouse.

---

Rustle Rustle Rustle

Hero stopped in his tracks once more.

He could hear something rustle from behind him even though he was sure it didn’t come from him. Hero turned around once or twice to check what made that sound but whenever he did he was met with nothing.

He tried quickening his pace but they started quickening their pace as well. It was weird, but he was forced to shift his attention elsewhere.

The treehouse was just a few meters away and he could already see its dim light from where he was at. When he got to the tree, he started climbing up the ladder and hoped that no one would follow him inside.

Mari was waiting for him by their small table, fiddling with the lamp next to her.

---

“Heya Hero.” Mari greeted, a small smile on her face.

She didn’t expect him to come minutes after she left her house, but she didn’t mind seeing him.

“Sorry if I’m late…” Hero said, taking a seat next to her. Mari tilted her head in confusion when he sat next to her.

“Late? Late to what?”

It took a while for Mari to process what he meant but when she did she started giggling.

“Hero, this isn’t some class you know. You’re not late.” Hero blushed and gave her an embarrassed smile.

“Right… sorry about that.”

Mari gave him a light nudge on his arm.

Now that the two of them were there neither of them knew how to start a conversation.

Mari didn’t exactly want to tell Hero everything that’s been going on to her, and Hero seemed to be lost for words as well.

“So…” Mari started, trying her best to think of a topic. “How are we going to…”

She paused.

She knew she’s missed a lot ever since Sunny, but she didn’t know where to start.

“What did I miss?”

Hero looked at her unamused but decided to answer it.

“A lot.”

“Of course…”

Mari sighed.

“Sorry, at this point I don’t really know what to say.”

She combed the stray locks of her hair and placed it behind her ear.

“It’s been months huh?”

Hero nodded. He was unsure if he came off as harsh to Mari but the awkward atmosphere between them did not help at all.

“It still feels weird not having you around at school.” he admitted. “Until now as well, especially since the school year’s almost ending.”

Mari gulped.

Mari didn’t exactly think much about school like the way she used to, and it did sound foreign to her when the thought of going back crossed her mind. She simply didn’t know.

She simply didn’t know how she was going to resume her life normally both academically and personally. They were approaching college and she’d missed half her senior year.

She smiled in a teasing manner.

“Oh come on now Hero, surely it can’t be that bad without me around. Aren’t you still the class representative?”

Hero chuckled and shied away from her glance. She noticed something sticking out if Hero's pocket. She realized it was the bud of a plucked out rose once she took it out.

Quickly, Hero thought of a reply. "It's from a friend."

Mari gave him a wry smile.

“Right, in speaking of school, your requirements-”

Hero immediately shoved the binder he was holding on the table which earned a look or two from Mari.

“Thanks… I guess.”

She moved the binder aside.

“Fine, if you won’t talk about your status, how are the others?”

“Great.” Hero winced.

After a minute of silence he caved in. “Honestly I’m not sure.”

Mari looked at him worried.

“Is everything okay?”

When she didn’t get a response from Hero she already knew the answer.

“Oh.”

Other than school, Hero didn’t have much to share. Yet even with that Mari still listened to him encouragingly. Hero seemed to be doing fine and now that she's thought about it, she looked at the rose, he’d probably be fine even without her.

“Wow… you must have done quite a lot during my absence haha. Sounds fun.”

Hero frowned. “When are you coming back?” Hero looked hopeful for her answer but honestly even with hope the answer was quite obvious.

She smiled at him bittersweetly. “I don’t know Hero, but we’ll see.”

Hero seemed to be lost in thought for a second as if he was contemplating on telling her something.

It was already late when the two of them noticed it was dark, and soon Mari and Hero decided to save it for another day.

Hero insisted on accompanying Mari but she said she was capable of handling it on her own.

When the two of them left the treehouse they exchanged goodbyes before going on their separate ways.

From inside the treehouse, the binder Hero had given Mari laid on the table untouched for the rest of the night.

Mari woke up with the binder neatly placed on her desk the day.

---

It became a daily occurrence for them. Every night Mari would sneak out of her house and Hero would meet her in the treehouse. This went on for months but Hero thought she needed more time.

Usually it would be Mari asking about Hero’s day but occasionally she would tell Hero about hers as well.

It was vague, but it was better than nothing.

Mari was starting to become more comfortable with Hero and as if it were a miracle, Sunny’s been playing a more passive role in her life.

It was as if she could forget what happened and…

No. That was something she could never forget.

Sunny made her feel like a monster while Hero didn't.

Sunny reminded her of her undoing while Hero gave her the hope of moving on simply by his presence.

She didn’t want to think about Sunny and if she could she’d rather stay in the treehouse away from him- from them.

Yet that didn’t change her situation. In the end Hero has to leave and she’d be back in that house with the memories of her and her little brother scattered in every nook and cranny.

The treehouse served as her refuge for though it held history it wasn’t as great as the others.

Mari knew that what she was doing was none other than escapism; but the word no longer bore any meaning to her for the many times she had used it.

But who was she to pass such an opportunity of temporary freedom?

Hero meanwhile had stopped looking for answers. He’s learned to be happy with what he had and though his mind did carry some doubt, he’d much rather be with Mari than behind her doorstep.

Sure it didn’t give him that much closure yet he was with Mari, the living, breathing, Mari.

If he were to pick between a door and the person he loved he’d much rather pick the second option.

With that Romeo and Juliet decided to settle with what they have in that little house on top of that tree, surrounded by no one other than themselves.

---

One night Hero found himself lying on his bed inspecting the photo Carlisle had given him.

It was still too early to go to the treehouse so he still had a minute to rest.

It was funny for him; He knew it was just an ordinary photograph yet even after months he still hasn’t thrown it away.

He couldn’t find a reason to show it to Mari but for the sake of a conversation he decided to take it with him. Placing it neatly in his right pocket, he made his way downstairs and out of the house.

When he got to the treehouse Mari was by the window staring wistfully outside.

She didn’t seem to notice him coming in so Hero decided to use it to his advantage.

With a grin, he approached her sneakily and tapped her lightly on the shoulder.

Mari swung around by surprise and slapped the poor Hero harshly on the face.

She watched in horror as Hero winced in pain.

“Hero! Not funny!” She exclaimed, approaching him. “Sorry, are you alright? Does it hurt- I’m sorry I didn’t mean to-”

“I’m fine Mari.”

Hero caressed his cheek and scowled a little.

It stung but he did deserve it for surprising her like that.

With another apology, the two of them settled by the table and started talking about Hero’s day.

Mari sat there with the same vigor and interest she had whenever they talked about it but he could notice her mind was elsewhere.

When the conversation was slowly dying down Mari noticed the photograph Hero had in his pocket and decided to ask about it.

“What’s that?”

Hero shrugged. “Oh, just a photograph of your table for some reason. I saw some guy taking a picture of it one time since he wanted to buy something like it.”

Mari raised a brow and chuckled a little.

“Antique? Huh… never really thought about that- Hold on, give me that photo.”

Hero took it out and gave it to her, only to snatch it away.

Mari looked at him unamused as he gave her a grin.

“Only for an exchange.” He proclaimed cheekily, holding it high with his left hand.

Mari rolled her eyes and gave him a peck on the cheek. While he was distracted she snatched the photo from his hand and looked at it.

Hero turned to her ready to tell her off but instead noticed her mortified expression.

She dropped the picture on the table and abruptly stood up.

“Mari, are you alright?” He asked, earning no response from her.

She was still staring at the photo and her body was starting to tremble.

It was as if she had just seen a ghost.

“I-I think I’ve had enough for today… I’ll see you tomorrow, Hero.”

“Mari?-”

Before he could say anything she rushed out of the treehouse and ran for her house.

Hero followed her.

When he got to her she was already barring her window with her cabinet, the makeshift rope she had made no longer there.

---

When Mari had finally pushed the cabinet against her window, she was left in a trembling mess.

Why was he there in that photo? Why did he look so scared?

With a shaky sigh she noticed someone was tapping their foot behind her and with hesitation she turned around.

Cardinal was by the door crossing his arms, a smile drawn on his face.

Chapter Text

Headspace was vaster than Sunny could have ever imagined, and him being Sunny, he was imaginative to a fault.

After exploring half of Vast Forest, the group decided to show him to the train leading to Orange Oasis; But before that, he was more interested in the quaint flower patches he saw along the way.

“Those flower patches are mine.” Abbi said with a somewhat forced smile, she dragged him by a hand deeper inside the forest. “If you want, we can swing by my house to get some seeds for you to plant-”

“I think Omori wouldn’t like to get his hands dirty, Abbi.” Hero said, pulling on his other hand. “Not that I’m against planting, but I think he’d enjoy the view of Orange Oasis more. Seeing how he looks like someone who…” Hero looked at Sunny. “is very fond of pastries.”

Sunny watched both Hero and Abbi bicker about whose activity was better, going to Orange Oasis or planting with Abbi. Kel sighed and stopped the dispute by calling Mari in the equation.

“Little brother, it’s up to you to decide whether or not you should plant or head straight to the train.” Mari said reassuringly, earning a quizzical frown from Hero. “Well Omori?”

Sunny thought for a second on whose idea he should entertain first.

He looked at the pretty tulips to his right and then to the train ticket Aubrey was holding, dictating very clearly how the train was set on a schedule.

He took the ticket.

“Well there you have it.” Mari said, leaning her elbow on Hero’s shoulder. “Don’t worry Abbi, you all have plenty of time! You can plant after showing Omori around Headspace.”

Abbi sighed and nodded her head in dismay.

“Now off to the train station with you little brother! Have fun with your adventure.” She beamed and ruffled his hair. As Mari left them to go back to her picnic blanket, the group then made their way to the train station.

---

“Hup-two-three-four! Hup-two-three-four!” Kel chanted, using Aubrey’s bat as a parade stick which Aubrey was clearly annoyed about.

“You are dead to me, Kelsey.” she murmured to himself in spite, something Sunny could hear clearly due to her being behind him.

“Come on guys, the train station is just by that clearing!” Hero exclaimed, his smile back on his face.

Sunny turned around and looked at Abbi who was sulking behind Hero’s back, distant from the adventure the 5 of them were having.

Abbi seemed to notice this and walked a tad closer to align herself to Hero, just so she was no longer visible to Sunny’s view.

With a shrug, Sunny continued walking towards the small clearing, his jaw dropped when he saw the huge steam train.

---

Orange Oasis. Rain town. Other world. Pyrfly Forest and Pinwheel forest. Some places Sunny and the gang had gone to in hopes of an adventure.

With every place they go to, Sunny encounters a new face and each face he met was different from the last. Most of the residents were of course kind to Sunny, others were longing to pick on a fight, but most of the time Sunny was just being a kid with his friends.

For the first time he’d enter Headspace, Sunny started smiling, not obviously of course as to not catch his friends attention.

Going to those places, Sunny learned of something he never knew of himself unlike his stay inside the black void. Facing his fears for instance was one of them.

He learned that he had both a fear of heights and spiders, and because of that going to places at times began with a small progression, but with the help of his friends he learned to understand his fear and move past it. He was grateful of course, seeing how his friends were patient with him the entire time.

But of course in every friendship comes something or someone he couldn’t fully understand.

Abbi.

Abbi, unlike Hero, Kel, Aubrey, and Mari, was a mysterious character for him. She’d barely open up to anyone and she always seems to be carrying a quizzing grudge on him.

Sure, she was nice most of the time whenever they were near the others, but her behaviour was quite inconsistent. First she'd be supportive about him going on an adventure, then a second later she’d be complaining about going home.

Sunny after time began to think the others were just tolerating her behavior, and throughout the adventure he tried not to pay it that much mind. It was annoying, but he found a way to stay calm around her.

That however did not stop him from thinking. What does she want with him that she couldn’t tell in front of the others? Why does she pretend to be nice to him if it seems like it was something she clearly doesn’t want?

It was as if she didn’t want him to be there, and much preferred for him to not have opened the white door.

“Don’t mind Abbi, Omori. She just wants to get on your nerves.” Aubrey said with a tired smile as the both of them watched Abbi sit on a nearby tree branch. “She’s always been like that even before you got in a coma now that I think about it, but I’m not really sure why.”

Sunny nodded and walked towards Mari’s direction who was yet again by her picnic blanket.
Mari smiled when he sat next to her.

“Omori! cliffed-face as usual, I see. You should totally smile more! I’ve always liked your smile.”

She ruffled his hair playfully.

Compared to everyone else in the group he was quite closer to his sister, and would at times approach her whenever he needed something. Mari always had this some sort of understanding about him that she could tell whether or not something was bothering him. So she frowned when he told her about Abbi’s behavior during the trip.

“Is that so…” Mari said, looking at Abbi. “Then I guess I will have to chat with her later about her behavior. Thank you for telling me, little brother.”

Putting on a smile, she ushered Sunny to the rest of the group and reassured him that she would handle it.

A few minutes passed and the group was back to their adventure, this time heading their way to the sprout mole colony.

Abbi was cheery and had a smile on her face, contrasting her dull and on edge demeanor before.

Chapter Text

Sunny…

Omori opened his eyes. He was in the dark void again and his feet were cold. The waves were brutal below him, but somehow he was standing safely on top of the raging water. The water didn't dare to touch him but at some points it was inevitable and he'd get splashed at knee level.

The storm was heavy and he couldn’t see anything other than the glow of a white door in front of him. It was just a few meters away on top of a small island yet somehow he couldn’t move a limb to approach it. Below it, he wasn’t quite sure, was a small black laptop.

Sunny, are you happy?

The waves below him started to grow stronger when the door's light started to disappear. He was stricken with fear when his lungs started seizing up; the island was disappearing as well.

He looked down in a frenzied panic when he realized that he was slowly sinking. He reached for the door once more but found his hands suddenly binded to his body.

Well I hope you're happy, given the circumstances you’ve gotten yourself into. You’ve given into their tactics quite easily after all, your adventures, your games... They’re your friends right? You can trust them.

When the light of the door has flickered it’s last flicker, the platform that prevented him from falling further suddenly disappeared and he found himself crashing into it.
The black water swallowed him whole.

But Sunny, you can’t keep dreaming forever.

Omori, with his heart beating out of his chest, woke up to the sound of crickets chirping and Kel’s blatant snoring.

—

Omori’s been having the same terrible nightmare ever since their visit to Sweetheart’s castle.

They’ve gotten invitations to a show by the lead actress/princess herself 3 days ago with the promise of an amazing, dazzling, SPLeNDIFErOUS- performance, but before the show even started they had gotten a full beating.The moment Sweetheart laid her eyes on Hero she vowed to commit infidelity so quickly if she was ever married. Mari was of course pissed and she was ready to throw hands but thankfully Sweetheart’s real boyfriend Captain Spaceboy was able to knock some sense into his ‘sweet jelly filled donut’ messed up brain.

He apologized profusely for his girlfriend’s behavior and with a beady stare at Hero dismissed Sweetheart’s order to put them in the dungeons. Hero was very scarred from this experience of course so they decided to take a trip very far away from Sweetheart using Captain Spaceboy’s spaceship. He was nice enough to accompany them back to Otherworld so at least that was a good thing.Yet Omori's experience in Sweetheart's castle and nightmares didn't match at all.

Omori shifted his position from the picnic blanket and looked over at his sleeping friends. He was sleeping in between Kel and Aubrey while Hero and Mari slept next to each other on the side of the picnic basket; Abbi had her own self proclaimed spot outside. When Omori sat upright and moved Aubrey’s hand away from him, (he noticed Aubrey shifts in her sleep more than Kel surprisingly.) He noticed that Abbi was missing. He stood up and noticed pools of black, which resemble footprints, trailing towards Cattail field.

Curious from it’s sudden presence, he left Mari’s picnic blanket and followed it. When he got far enough he turned around to look back at them. They wouldn’t mind if he would take a quick walk would they? Hearing nothing other than the murmuring of the wind, he continued to follow the trail.

When he entered Cattail field, Omori immediately felt strange. Usually his friends would be behind him, and neither of them truly separated when they were on their adventures. Abbi would join them, but sometimes he could see her sneaking out when they weren’t looking. He continued walking down the path and stumbled across Abbi looking inside one of the cattails. She noticed him easily from afar and didn't seem to enjoy his presence.“Omori. Of course you’d be awake.” she said curtly, her lips pursed into a frown.

She was holding onto something, and black goo was oozing from her left foot. It looked like a pretty deep cut but Abbi didn't seem affected by it. Omori brought it to her attention and got a defensive stare from her.

“It’s nothing, it’ll heal easily.” she sighed after a while. She kicked some of the dirt with her injured foot and didn't feel the slightest bit of pain from it. Omori couldn’t believe his eyes when her foot started to heal in a matter of seconds.

Yet the fact still stands: the black ooze trailed further into Cattail fields. If he didn't come across Abbi, he might have mistaken that the track came from a wounded animal.
When asked, Abbi made a little ‘o’ with her mouth before answering quite openly.

“I couldn’t sleep so I started exploring on my own.” She explained. “ I did find something but I was already turning back. Wanna see what I found?”
He heard a little jangling sound when she placed the thing she was holding inside her pocket.

Her personality has been turning on and off like a light switch for weeks. Personally he didn't hold any ill will against Abbi, but he was more comfortable with his friends around. Yet he was curious, the sun wasn't up and Abbi was walking the lengths of cattail fields with an injured foot. With a shrug he reluctantly agreed and ventured further inside Cattail fields with Abbi.

It was a silent journey for the both of them. Abbi was leading the way while Omori wordlessly followed along. It was strange, Abbi wasn't showing any sign of hostility to him unlike the usual. In fact, she was calm and level-headed.When they got to the end of the trail they ended up in front of a small red barn. He could see some ominous red light spewing from inside the door which caused shivers to run down his spine. Abbi opened the door and entered, leaving Omori to enter for himself. When she called for him he gulped and made his way inside.

The barn was half-empty, and other than some hay, a singular black portrait stood in the middle. Dim red light surround the portrait, and something about it drew him in; it was as if he was a moth drawn to the light of a flame.

When he got closer to inspect it, the door slammed loudly behind him which caused him to jump. Abbi sealed them both inside with a shed lock and dumped the key in her pocket.

It was planned all along.

Omori felt a flight or fight response arise inside of him and he stepped closer to the portrait when she approached him. He dodged her to the right and ran for the lock, but before he could reach for it-

smack!

He jolted back stunned from Abbi’s sudden action. Abbi had slapped him with full force on the face, and his right cheek immediately started to sting.
“That’s for putting me in a stupid adventure when you could’ve just stayed put at Vast Forest.”

smack!

"That’s for being an idiot and letting people into Headspace and not listening to what I say.”

smac-

Suddenly, Abbi leaned in and gave him a bone crushing hug.

“And this is for finally listening and following me here.”

Omori looked at her confused as he winced in pain. When she let go not only did his cheeks sting, but now his whole body ached as well. Abbi looked really happy, and he wasn't sure why.

Yet even with Abbi's joy, it didn't change the fact that he was afraid. The boy scrambled for the door, and tried to yank the lock open with his hands. Abbi sighed. "Sunny just quit the crap and stop trying to escape. They can't hear you and neither can your overpowered psycho sister as well."

Omori stopped pulling on the lock and looked at Abbi. Mari? A psycho? That's impossible, Mari was the coolest sister he's ever had!

He walked towards Abbi and tried pushing her away. Abbi saw this and quickly dodged. Her blissful smile disappeared and got replaced with annoyance. "Sunny this isn't funny. You can stop playing pretend now, it's just the two of us here."

Abbi grabbed his arm before he could try doing anything else. When Omori struggled from her grasp she groaned. "Sunny!"

"My name is Omori!"

Omori broke free and pulled on the lock even harder. Yet no matter how much effort he put into it the lock wouldn't budge. Surprisingly, Abbi remained silent after his outburst. When he turned around he could see Abbi looking more downcast than angry. "You don't remember... do you? They took your memories away from you as well."

Omori looked at her angrily. "What do you mean I don't remember? Unlock this door!"

He shifted his attention towards Abbi's right pocket and rushed for the key.

Abbi immediately took it out of her pocket and dodged his advances. As if it were by habit Omori took out his knife. He didn't know what compelled him to do that but Abbi was leaving him no choice.

Abbi scoffed. "Really? You're really resorting to that Sunny. And here I thought you were different from them."

Omori readied his knife and prepared himself to attack Abbi. He could see a bead of sweat form from her right temple as she stayed on the defensive. She wore the key on her neck to prevent it from flying.

"Sunny it doesn't have to end like this... drop the knife and we'll talk about this in another way."

Omori refused to back down and glared at her angrily. Inside his head he could've sworn he heard a girl's voice telling him to put her down. When he paced towards Abbi and started slashing wildly at her, the voice started breaking into a sinister laugh.

Abbi was starting to get nervous. She was no match for Omori's persistence, but she couldn't hurt her target.

"Sunny, I'm only trying to help you! They're manipulating you to think this whole adventure of yours is real. They're not your friends- they're just doppelgangers pretending to be your friends! Can't you see?!"

Omori ignored her reasoning and tried to snatch the key from her neck. He aimed for Abbi's arm but his blade missed by an inch.

"Sunny, you can't keep dreaming like this forever! You still have people waiting for you on the other side. Stop being selfish and think about them!"

Omori groaned and reached from the key again, clearly annoyed. He was getting nowhere; Abbi was too quick for him no matter how much he was close to getting the key.
"Remember Sunny remember! You're mistaking fantasy for reality again and it's causing you great danger!"

"Shut up!" Omori shouted, earning a stunned look from Abbi. "Stop lying! Everything here is real... the places I've been to are real, my friends are real- my sister is real! Give me the key or else-"

"Or else what, you'll kill me?"

Omori stopped in his tracks after hearing that word from Abbi. Kill. He was going to kill Abbi for the key.

He didn't want to kill Abbi, but something urged him to do it. For a moment he felt frightened of himself, but soon he became dedicated to the cause. He was able to corner Abbi but she kicked a haybale at him and sent him toppling to the ground. She immediately ran for the knife but Omori was able to drag her down with him. She pulled away from him with a swift kick to his head and got up. When she finally got it, she threw it far away from him and moved out of his reach.

"Sunny why won't you just listen to me?!"

"I am NOT SUNNY!"

He pushed the haybale and started chasing her around the locked barn.

He ignored all of Abbi's pleas and used all his strength to get the key. Its been minutes and he was starting to get tired. He just wanted to get out of there, run away from Abbi and live in this 'fantasy' she keeps telling him to leave from.

Soon the fight started reaching it's falling action.

Omori found his back facing the black portrait and Abbi was in front of him.

Abbi was cross. "You abandoned me for your friends and I put up with it for 2 years… 2 YEARS! Yet here I am not abandoning you. You left me alone to take care of Headspace and I'm doing what you asked me to, and what do I get in return? A stab to the back! I am not your enemy Sunny, they are! Your friends- They're the ones trying to keep you here and preventing you from reaching the truth. Look at you- Omori?! You've even forgotten your name because you've stayed here longer than you should!"

Omori, though tired, tried to land a blow on Abbi by punching her; Abbi quickly caught it. Her grip tightened as she pushed him backwards.

"You know what… if you're going to be this stubborn and refuse to listen to what I'm saying, I'll make you listen."

Abbi pushed him further to the point he was just an inch to the portrait; Omori could feel cold wind blast from behind him.

"Sunny, it's time for you to wake up."

With a final push, Abbi pushed Omori into the portrait and left him to fall deep inside of it. He was met with a damp feeling on his lower back, a stinging sensation on his arm and a bright white blinding light of a ceiling.

Sunny finally remembered.

Before he could fall any deeper into the portrait, Sunny saw a hand extending out to him from above and he took it.

Chapter Text

Basil. Aubrey. Kim.

The only three words that Kel could register in his mind as he dropped down on his knees.

For a moment, Kel thought he could hear static even if he could see his fellow classmates cheering around him. They were cheering, but unlike basketball practice, they weren’t cheering for him.

They could’ve won against the Hooligans; Basil and him- they were supposed to win against the Hooligans.

Things shouldn’t have played out like this… heroes were supposed to win just like the comics he used to gawk about.

They were the heroes in this story, he just knew it had to be them.

Then why couldn’t they just win?

He started banging his fist on the ground and disregarded the pain it caused him. The three words he thought of played in his mind over and over again and he hated it.

He had never felt such a great urge to hit someone in his life and it was frightening to say at least.

Basil. Aubrey. Kim.

Kel was angry, but he wasn’t sure which one of them he was angry with the most.

It was always him… Him HIM HIM HIM HIM and he was sick and tired of blaming himself for everything. He needed to blame someone else and that’s where they came in.

Basil. Kel felt betrayed. Basil had one job, ONE job and he still screwed it up. It was an easy task, hit Aubrey and dodge Kim’s throw but he just stood there like a headless chicken! A headless chicken! He could SEE Kim throwing the ball at him but he didn’t bother dodging it. Did he want them to lose that bad?! Did he want to ruin their chance of talking to Aubrey?! He was angry at him but it wasn’t as severe because he did help them reach the finals even with his lack of attention at the very end.

Kim. If it weren’t for Kim, Basil would’ve gotten the chance to run off and they could have won if Basil was able to hit her. She was also the reason why Aubrey was such a jerk and why she was distancing herself away from them.

She brought hell and he hated her for being true to her promise.

And lastly, Aubrey. The person who started everything. She claimed that the Hooligans brought her a new start even if she knew she was going way beyond her territory. And she was happy. She was happy seeing her friends as an enemy.

So among these three who was Kel really angry at?

Who was the one who brought him to his breaking point and cast this storm on everyone?

His feelings were a mess and he was starting to think irrational.

If it weren’t dense, he was labeled as the “nice” guy and he didn’t care about what others thought of him anymore.

They’ve broken him, and that was the last time he was going to allow them to break him again.

He looked towards the Hooligans.

They were celebrating their victory and they weren’t ashamed to show it to everyone in the gym. They were all smug with their pride and Kim and Aubrey were in the center.

Kel got up from where he was and Basil approached him worryingly but he didn’t mind him.

His fists curled into a ball when the Hooligans started dispersing back to their section.

Aubrey and Kim were left talking with their gym teacher who was praising them for their performance and was just about to leave as well.

He shouted and paced towards them in a rage.

“HEY KIM.”

Kim looked in his direction happily, a mocking look on her face. It fueled Kel’s anger even more but he kept walking toward her.

He came to a halt when she was already in front of him.

Saying nothing more he raised his fist and punched her hard on the nose.

Chapter Text

The moment Abbi somehow generated back inside of Headspace after a long time, she immediately knew something was wrong.

She was Sunny's imaginary friend from back when he was still 11 but soon enough he’d grown distant to her when he met new friends, and she was fine with it, not even salty at all.

They talk, Sunny and her, but not that much, after he met Basil in the real world and Basil basically took her place in the friendship. Was she jealous that Sunny had a new best friend? No. But was it fun to rot out of existence because she was a figment of her friends imagination? Absolutely.

Sunny felt bad about this and one day decided to talk to her; he told her he no longer needed Headspace and wanted to give it to her. She had a hard time agreeing with it but in the end agreed with the bargain.

So her being back in Headspace with all it's pastel glory felt weird to her because:

1. Headspace should be empty, there shouldn't be any objects such as trees or flowers or anything to say the least it was supposed to be barren.

2. It was never pastel. Everything should be plain white and boring and not resemble some child's fantasy.

3. She was the only one who was supposed to be there.

Abbi woke up in a patch filled with sunflowers, dazed and confused.

"What the heck..." she mumbled to herself as she scratched her head. "What the heck."
She walked out of the sunflower patch and ended up trampling some of them.

She ignored it and looked around her.

The void she was in turned into a whole complete world, straightly ripped off of some picturesque fantasy book.

She walked towards a tree and gave it a good kick. Abbi was taken aback when leaves started falling on her head.

It was real. Real in the sense of headspace.. This was Sunny’s headspace after all.

The flowers, the trees, the dirt she was standing on.

They were real.

She could also feel... entities. Foreign ones, scattered around and multiplying through Headspace. A few hundreds? Maybe a thousand? She couldn't count because of how rapidly they were spreading like a virus.

Yet with that she could feel that there were 5 major entities amongst all the others created in this world. And they resonated with some strange energy.
She tried sensing where they were located and was able to pinpoint them in a matter of minutes.

2 boys and a girl were inside a room guarded by a huge yellow cat, a girl was by a picnic blanket in some park and a boy was inside of a large shoe.

She had a radar for everything because she was the first original entity in Headspace, but soon she noticed her access to everything had started cutting loose.

It was as if one of them was trying to take all of her access to Headspace and hogging all traces of it, it was like they were trying to reprogram Headspace itself.

Before Abbi could lose all her power she sourced who was the cause of it and found out it was the girl next to the picnic blanket.

She groaned when she could no longer see anything and she was rudely shut out. Headspace was already foreign to her, and she didn't know what else was in store.

She had to be careful. If they were reprogramming old Headspace then she had turned into a mere parasite to everyone and they'd be out to erase her from existence.

It's Sunny's Headspace. Not theirs.

Recalling which one of them was the closest of the 5 and far secluded, she made her way to the boy living inside of a shoe.

The others were in close range to the girl on the picnic blanket so she had to avoid them at all costs for now.

To be safe she had to assume one of their positions. Take a role in this fake 'headspace' the entity had created and blend in with it.

She didn't want to go through any extreme means but if she had to she would do it to protect what remained of Sunny's Headspace.

Abbi travelled to the boy's location and entered a small grove hidden with trees. It was like a fairytale. There were small mangroves surrounded with water and flowers growing around the area. In the middle was a big brown shoe turned into a house.

She sneakily walked towards the house and peeped through the window.

Her eyes widened when she saw a green haired boy tending to some of the plants around him, and unlike her he was actually human.

He wore a colourful flower crown and he was humming a small happy melody to himself which the flowers around him seemed to like.

When he turned around Abbi caught a glimpse of his face and moved her back against the wall.

"Oh shit."

She covered her face and moved some strands of her hair, taking a sharp breath.
It was Basil. Sunny's best friend.

With a frown she waited for him to turn around before entering the house.

Why was Basil in Headspace? That shouldn't be possible, he shouldn't be here!

Carefully, Abbi opened the door and sneaked inside.

Basil was tending to the plants near his bed so he didn't notice her come in.
She carefully sneaked past him and took a book from his bookshelf.

She looked at Basil guiltily knowing what she had to do. She slowly tiptoed her way towards Basil and held the book to eye level.

'Sorry...'

When he turned around she bashed him hard on the head before he could even shout. Basil fell limp to the hard wooden floor in a matter of seconds, completely unconscious.

Abbi dropped the book on the floor.

Quickly she looked around her for something to hold Basil in case he would try to escape and tell anyone.

She dumped his unconscious body on a chair before taking notice of the rope hanging on the wall.

There were pictures clamped to it which showed pictures of... oh god the whole gang was here.

She tore the rope off the wall and placed the pictures on the table. Abbi then used the rope to tie Basil to the wooden chair.

It felt wrong to her. Basil is Sunny's best friend and here she was tying him to a chair.

'Sunny wouldn't mind.' She thought to herself, putting on a nervous smile.

After getting the deed done she took off Basil's flower crown and looked for some spare clothes.

If she was going to blend in she was going to have to play her part.

She put on Basil's overalls and placed the flower crown on top of her head. The vibrant colours immediately drained the moment she readjusted the flower crown. Just like magic.
The flowers turned into plain white while the blue overalls turned into a dull grey.

Basil was starting to stir into consciousness so she took the time she had to explore the place.

She noticed one of the floorboards was loose in the middle of the room. Before she could open it Basil was already awake. She frowned as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Huh... what just...?"

Basil looked around him groggily before trying to stand up from his seat. He was surprised when he couldn't.

Abbi watched him try to get out of his binds and fail miserably. She gulped when he finally looked at her.

He frowned. "Why am I tied up to a chair?"

She put on a smile and ignored him, unwilling to give an answer. She shifted her attention to the loose floorboard. Basil didn’t like the lack of answer at all.

"H-hey! You didn't answer my question- What are you doing?"

Abbi yanked the floorboard and placed it next to her. She was surprised when she saw nothing but pitch darkness.
She looked at Basil.

"Do you know what's down there?"

Basil looked at her confused and tried tilting his chair to see what she meant.

"What- No?"

Abbi took the floorboard and dropped it inside. It disappeared into the black abyss below and left a small splash.

There was water underneath the house.

Maybe it was from the mangroves, maybe it was from a different source, she didn’t know.

She stood up and approached the confused boy. He backed himself to his wall by scooting his chair backwards. He was evidently starting to shake.

“Pl-please don’t hurt me…”

She tilted her head. “You? Get hurt? You’re Sunny’s best friend, why would I hurt you?”

“Sunny? Whose that?”

Abbi started to grow curious. That was strange, this Basil didn’t seem to know who Sunny was.

She walked towards the counter and showed him the pictures she got from his wall.

“So you’re saying you don’t know… Sunny. Then who's your friend over here?”

She showed him the photo of Sunny, well a look a like of Sunny, reading a book with Basil. Basil seemed uncomfortable sharing it to someone who had just barged into his house and knocked him unconscious.

Abbi sighed.

“Fine. Don’t tell me anything then, it’s fine.”

She paced towards the room innocently. Basil watched her in horror as she picked up a plant on the floor.

‘Flower boy. Sunny was right.’

She tried hiding her smirk. She knew exactly how to pry information out of Basil thanks to Sunny. You could say it was a good thing they were the best of friends.

“This yours?”

Basil gulped.

“I’m not a plant person but I think it needs more sunlight… don’t you think?”

She walked across the room holding it dangerously by the stem. Basil watched her in horror as she placed it by the window. She walked towards the other side to pick another plant.

Basil quickly caved in.

“Stop, please- please no! You’re hurting it! The- the dirt is going to fall off and- It’s Omori! The boy- T-the boy in the picture, his name is Omori! Please stop holding it like that!”

She dropped the stem and silently triumphed over the information she had gotten.

Omori… what a dumb name.

Now it was time to get serious.

“So… you do know Sunny after all. This Omori of yours is my friend, Sunny. So tell me, what’s with the sudden name change?”

Basil sighed in relief when Abbi walked away from his poor innocent plants. But then now he had to worry about himself.

“I… I don’t know. It’s always been Omori. I never knew he went by a second name.”

She walked towards him to examine the photos once more but she miscalculated her footing and she accidentally placed her foot inside the hole of the floorboard she took off.

Her right leg went in and she almost fell down.

Basil looked at her worryingly.

“A-are you okay?!”

Abbi chuckled and got up immediately. It embarrassed her, but she refused to show Basil any form of weakness.

“You should really fix that. I mean the hole underneath your house it’s kind of a hazard you know.”

Basil flushed from Abbi’s very keen observation. That was until he got a bright idea.

He smiled and tried to remove his binds. “Well I could… if you untie me.”

Abbi laughed and gave him a very knowing wag with her finger. She smiled. “Hahahaha… no.”

She moved away from the hole and tightened Basil’s binds.

Abbi wasn’t letting go of him that easily just so he could rat her out to his friends.

Basil sighed, his attempt to get out had failed.

“So tell me, how did you get here in the first place?” Abbi asked, getting straight to the point. He looked at her quizzically.

“I’ve always been here?-”

“That’s impossible. How did you get here?”

Basil gave her a shrug. “Believe what you believe but I’ve always been here. I really don’t know what else to say…”

Abbi frowned. Not only did Headspace reset into a whole open world, now the entities actually think their occupants of Headspace. And not only that the pictures proved it as well. It was as if everything had been carefully staged to seem real enough to be confused with reality.

It was as if it were some play.

She looked at Basil as he swung his legs to and fro from underneath the table.

He was innocent, unlike the girl from the picnic blanket. He played no part in the sinister motive of resetting headspace other than living in it.

It was already getting kind of uncomfortable for Abbi to pry out more information from Basil when she knew he was just an innocent person. Main 5 yes, but he’s the first one she’d met that surprisingly did not want to eradicate her from sight.

After coming up short with more questions, Abbi decided to drop it and leave for the others.

“Hey! Where are you going?! Aren’t you going to untie me?” Basil squeaked, trying to stand up from his chair to stop her only to end up back on it.

Abbi walked towards the bookshelf and opened the cupboard underneath it, scanning through the various planting equipment and seeds. She took out some garden shears and placed them on top of the bookshelf.

“If you want to get out I’m placing this here, but if you rat me out you better think twice.”

She walked towards one of the plants and placed it on the table, Basil already knew what she meant. He gave her a meek nod.

With a final goodbye Abbi walked towards the door. She could hear Basil struggling to get up the chair and move it close enough to the cabinet.

She stopped before opening the door handle.

“Oh, by the way. Where’s Omori again?” She asked. Basil came to a halt.

Abbi was disappointed when Basil refused to answer her.

She left the house leaving Basil to his attempts of escaping.

She had to find Omori by herself it seemed.

Walking towards the park, Abbi took on the role of Basil knowing full well she’d have to play it for a long time to survive.

She hoped that it would work, and the others would be gullible enough to fall for it.

--

When she arrived at the park she was much less surprised when there were other people playing in it. It was lively, there were people playing by the slides, some were exercising, and the other’s were playing a game of hide and seek.

In the topmost corner was the fabled picnic blanket, and on that picnic basket was… Mari.

She frowned. So it was Mari all along.

She was sitting by her picnic blanket as if she was expecting Abbi.

With a gulp, Abbi put on a smile and walked towards her.

Mari gave her a warm smile and scooted to give her space on the picnic blanket.

“Abbi, how wonderful of you to be here.”

Her eyes widened a little bit from Mari’s sudden greeting, how did she know? but she ignored it and put on a smile.

She must have known her name after all, she was the one who caused this all to happen after all.

Abbi started feeling uneasy when Mari inspected her outfit. Mari's smile didn't change and it bothered her. She knew her name, and she technically stood out from everyone around her so why was she not saying anything?

Mari frowned when she noticed how still Abbi had become.

“Aren’t you going to see the others, Abbi? They’re waiting for you in the neighbors room.”

Abbi scampered up on her feet and gave a nervous chuckle,

“Y-yeah… sorry kind of spaced out for a little while. Thanks for reminding me.”

Mari smiled again. “Oh Abbi, it’s alright. It happens to the best of us.”

She patted Abbi on the shoulder and ushered her towards the direction of the neighbor’s room. The two of them walked towards the entrance of the park and Mari allowed her to go ahead.

Abbi took the offer and happily got out of her way.

“Don’t forget to tell them to come up any time! I got cookies and it’s a shame if it’s going to be left to stale.”

Abbi gave her a thumbs up and walked away with a wave.

‘Thank god…’ Abbi muttered to herself, wiping a bead of sweat that had formed on her temple. Surprisingly she was able to fool Mari… a little too easily, but she didn’t care. She was still alive and that mattered the most.

She made her way towards the center and entered the cut forest stump.

Mari’s smile turned into a frown once Abbi finally left her sight.

---

When she entered the neighbor’s room it was way more bright and colourful than the forest above it. There were playing cards scattered across the floor and the room was empty other than a note written on the counter.

The yellow cat watched her enter and walk down the rainbow stairs. She was surprised when she noticed there was a live white snake at the bottom of the staircase. It hissed at her when she jumped over a step missing it's tail.

She quickly moved away from it and paced herself quickly towards the counter and tried to steady her breath. With a final hiss the snake curled itself into a ball and fixed it's beady red eyes somewhere else.

With a relieved sigh she took the note from the counter and opened it.

It read...

Gone out fishing, Kel won the bet.
-Hero

Abbi thought of it indifferently and placed the note back. She supposed it was a good thing that she was the only one there.

She decided to take the moment to explore the room before the others come back from their fishing.

Abbi found nothing interesting other than a white door on one of the sides of the multicolored, changing wall. She walked towards it and felt the huge cat stare at her from behind.

There was a small peep hole near the doorknob so she decided to take a look inside.

Inside she saw a white void.

'Headspace. They didn't take all of Headspace.'

She stopped looking and reached for the knob but was stopped by a cold breeze behind her.

Abbi turned around and saw the yellow cat's stare turn more into an icy glare. She let go of the doorknob.

Looking down on the floor she walked her way across the room and moved towards the staircase avoiding the yellow cat's eyes. At least now she knew the parasite didn't infect all of Headspace. She was also overjoyed by the lack of Sunny as well.

Abbi left the room in a hurry and exited the stump before anyone could see her there.

She took another route back to Basil's house knowing full well that Mari would be waiting in the park.

---

"H-hey! It's you again!"

Abbi opened the door to Basil's house and found him lying on the floor. He was nowhere close to the bookshelf.

Abbi sighed and fixed the chair up.

"What were you doing on the floor?" she asked, earning a nervous laugh from Basil. "Nothing... nothing important I guess."

She walked towards the shelf and took the shears and held it up for Basil. Slowly, she placed it on the second row for him to see. "Happy?"

Basil muttered a 'good enough' under his breath but Abbi could still hear it.

Afterwards she made her way towards the hole. The water had gotten a little bit higher from the first time she had dropped in the wooden plank, and even if she couldn't see it that well she could hear it splooshing.

She turned to Basil for a source of an answer but Basil didn't have anything.

Abbi came back to Basil's cabinet and started rummaging through his gardening supplies for a flashlight.

Basil watched her in confusion. "What are you doing now?"

She shrugged. "Looking for a flashlight."

"Well you won't find it there, try underneath the bed."

She raised a brow from his sudden helpfulness even with the situation he was in. "Wow... Sunny wasn't wrong about you being too nice, huh?"

She checked underneath the bed and felt for the flashlight.

"I-I'm not too nice..." Basil exclaimed defensively, his face turning red.

"Really now?"

Abbi gave him an unbelieving look when she found the flashlight underneath the bed.

Basil winced. "Okay maybe I am."

Abbi turned it on and checked the hole underneath it, showing a light on the water.

No wonder why she couldn't see, the water underneath the house was pitch black. She put her head inside and tried to reach out for the water with her tendril but in the end it was still too far.

"Dammit."

Abbi let the flashlight roll on the floor and put her head out of the hole.

"I'm really sorry for asking this but... why are you doing this?"

Abbi tilted her head towards Basil. "Doing what?"

"All of this.. you know. My head tells me your a bad person, but at the same time deep inside of me, it's telling me you're not."

Abbi gave him a teasing grin. "You see the bright side of things, don't you Basil? Even if you're put up in situations such as this."

"Haha... I guess you can say that. Though I'm not always positive I still try my best to be positive."

She took the flashlight off of the floor and placed it on top of Basil's bed, a bittersweet smile on her face.

No wonder why Sunny chose you...

Abbi could hear Basil's stomach start to grumble.

"Oh. Do you want something to eat? Sorry, I didn't really realize how long I kept you there."

Basil started getting worried. "Oh- I-I'm fine I don't need anything, really."

Abbi walked towards the door and opened it. "No, you must be hungry. I'll go get you something just wait here."

Before Basil could protest she had already exited the house.

Abbi fixed some strands of her loose hair and gave a breathy sigh.

'Sunny, what have you gotten yourself into this time?'

She walked towards Mari's picnic blanket hoping the cookies Mari said hadn't gone stale for Basil.

Chapter Text

Kel was quiet on the car ride home, tasked to think about what he had done to Kim. He thought it was unfair, why could Kim and the Hooligans get away with everything?

From what he knew, they were the ones beating up random kids and all he did was break Kim's nose. They were the ones who deserved it! So why him?

Why did no one speak up when the principal asked them whether or not the abuse was real and why was Basil refused to speak?

Why did the nurse from their school's clinic say nothing about the children she sees on a daily basis being beaten up by their own schoolmates and whose bruises she would usually tend, betray them with her silence?

Why was Kim the victim in all of this when she's caused more harm to others rather than others harming herself?
Kel learned something that day as his parents scolded him throughout the car ride about him overstepping someone else's boundaries and going too far with everything.

In this world, there are no such things as heroes, and heroes never win.

---

The last time Aubrey saw Kel in school was 4 days ago with his parents storming out of the school entrance with him behind them.

She's heard of the rumors that he had been suspended for 14 days because of Kim, it was originally 7 but her parents decided to extend it. Kim was also out of the picture for a moment to heal from Kel's insubordination and Aubrey was left to take charge of the Hooligans. Aubrey still couldn't believe it happened until this day. Kel? Punching Kim?

Aubrey took her bat from her backpack and hit the tree next to her as hard as she could. Birds came flying out of it as the leaves shook violently.

It was 4 pm and the other members were down by Faraway plaza drowning their sorrow for Kim away with gooey melted pizza. Aubrey decided to take a walk.

A walk, she said, it was honestly more of a hit and run for every tree she had not dented with her bat.

She just didn't understand, why did Kel do that to Kim? It was a fair win for them.

Aubrey walked deeper into the park and moved swiftly from the barriers. Maybe she'd take some time to cool off in their hangout spot, somewhere more secluded.

When she got to the lake her eyebrows raised a little bit from surprise when the flower boy was sitting alone on the docks. He was humming a small sad song as he skipped rocks across the lake.

Her surprise turned quickly into anger when she noticed what he was doing.

She shouted. "You."

Basil quickly turned around in surprise as Aubrey tightened her grip on her bat.

"What are you doing here? Ruining more photos of your former friends?"

Basil said nothing and turned to look at the lake again. He took a rock from his bag and threw another rock in. Aubrey was getting impatient.

"This lake doesn't belong to anybody, Aubrey. Not to you, not to me, not to-"

"Sunny?"

Basil stiffened for a little from Aubrey's sudden answer, but soon enough he was back to skipping rocks again. "Yeah. Not to Sunny."

Aubrey rolled her eyes and put her bat on the dirt floor below her, leaning on it as if it were some sort of pillar.
He was ignoring her and it was starting to become irritating.

"Then why are you here? Still moping for your loss at dodgeball?"

Basil frowned and looked at her again. "Is that seriously all you could say after all these months? Dodgeball?" Basil dropped the rock inside the lake and stood up from where he sat. His sad face turned into one of controlled anger.
"Kel's suspended for 14 days just because of your stupid act and all you could say is dodgeball?!"

She scoffed as he made his way out of the dock. "Well if it isn't for your 'good old friend' named Kel, Kim wouldn't have a broken nose right now! I don't see why you think suspensions are worse than that. He deserved it. Besides, it's a good thing he got suspended because now he could see how much of a friend you are."

"Oh?! and you're more concerned about a broken nose. You've done way worse than a broken nose- you've bruised people until they were on the brink of unconsciousness! Do you really think you can justify all that with Kel punching one of your members on the nose?!"

Aubrey gave him an unbelieving look. "Kim told you to back off and you both were the ones who refused to back off. You were the ones who brought yourself into this mess because Kim-"

"I don't care about what Kim thinks, I don't care about what your stupid gang thinks! What is this all for YOU?"

Aubrey got taken aback. "I..."

"You've been hiding behind the Hooligans backs for too long Aubrey! You've been given the power to stop this all by using your position as a member of the Hooligans, but you've turned a blind eye to all of it and became one of them." Basil gritted, his eyes unwavering. "So tell me Aubrey, are you happy?! Because if you are, good for you!"

"Now listen here Basil..." Aubrey said, trying to keep her voice from rising. "You listen here, I don't agree with what the Hooligans are doing, roughing up other people just because they can. I used to think the same about you, and at one point I've even decided to bring it up to Kim but you were the one who made me change my decision. You tell me I'm hiding behind the Hooligans backs to protect myself from the likes of you when you yourself have been hiding behind Kel's back all along! You're a user Basil, unlike me. You're a user and you always will be one."

She covered her mouth when she realized what she just said.

Basil looked at her, unable to form any words from his mouth. Aubrey's harsh facade soon began chipping off.
"Basil I- I didn't mean that-"

"No. Just stop it. Don't say anything else."

Basil looked at her satirically. "It's no use anyway. You're NEVER going to listen. As long as there is the Hooligans you're nothing but someone who's desperately looking for a standing ovation."

He walked towards the dock and roughly took his bag and opened it wide. He took out something and zipped his bag with such force that the zipper almost tore off. He then walked to Aubrey and shoved the thing on her chest.
It was Basil's photo album.

Aubrey stood there in silence as Basil gave her a pained smile.

"And if you're wondering after all this time, why Kel went that far... Kel did this all for you, not for me. But it's not like you would care after all nor listen to someone like me. I'm just a user,right?"

He slung his bag on his back and walked out without turning back.

Aubrey could hear him sniffling along the way but she never heard him weep.

When Basil was finally gone she dropped the bat on the floor and opened the photo album. She dropped to the ground and started crying when she finally found out what was inside.

The photo album was clean from any marker stains and most of the photos were still intact.

Chapter Text

After that night, Hero waited for Mari by the treehouse, unaware of what was going to unfold the day afterwards. Her leaving was abrupt, yes, but she did say that she was still going to meet him that day. He wanted to ask her about the photo and know why she looked so afraid.

He kept looking at his watch wearily for it had become the 5th time he'd checked it. It was a weird occurrence; for months, Mari would be the one early up in the treehouse.

He waited for her, thinking his clock was wrong as it turned 10:39.

He waited, and waited, and waited... but he could only hear the sound of the ladder swinging gently in the wind.

Hero waited for 30 more minutes, but in the end he was met with the realization that nobody was going to come.

---
Class still hasn't started and Charlotte and Stephen were nearby talking to each other. Kel's action against Kim had made its way even to the upper batch faculty especially in Hero's classroom.

Charlotte, worriedly looking at Hero's naive expression, was the one who started the conversation.

"Hey Steph, did you know that Hero's brother got suspended a while ago?"

"Huh, Kel? What do you mean about that Charlotte?"

"He broke some girl's nose in their gym class, does… does Hero?"

The 2 of them looked at Hero as he let out a small yawn.
Stephen sighed. "Looks like he doesn't."

"Then whose going to tell him?”

After debating between each other, Stephen walked towards Hero with a nervous smile. He seemed fine which wasn't what he'd expected from Hero.

"What's that all about?" He asked innocently.

"Hey.... Hero. You okay there buddy?"

Hero shrugged. "Always have been?"

Stephen chuckled and sat down on his seat. "Yeah... of course you'd say something like that."

Hero looked at him confused. When he met eyes with Charlotte, Charlotte gave him a sad smile before excusing herself to the bathroom.

"First Charlotte, now you, the other's have been like that to me as well. What's going on?"

Hero was genuinely confused. He completely didn't know what was going on. Stephen sighed.

"Your parents were here a while ago, Hero. They picked up your brother and they were looking for you."

Hero pursed his lips and sat down next to Stephen. It isn't everyday that his parents would take Kel home earlier when class wasn't done. "Tell me."

Stephen turned to the door but Charlotte wasn't there. "Your brother apparently got in trouble today and got suspended for a few days."

Hero's eyes widened. "Suspended? You gotta be joking right?"

He frowned when Stephen shook his head. "This isn't like him at all.. Kel isn't one to break rules." He paused. "Often."

"And I would know that as well, after all I'm his team captain."

Hero scratched his head. What did Kel do to get suspended like that?

Not expecting an answer from Stephen, he answered himself. "I'll talk to him later about that once I get home."

Stephen nodded and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Tell him that the team's going to be different without him. Seriously man, our 3 pointer shooter suspended? We've basically lost an mvp."

The bell rang and Hero's sleepiness dissapeared. He could only think of Kel and his sudden suspension. He just have to wait and see when he gets home, he thought. He looked at Stephen.

"How many days did he get suspended again?"

"12 or 14. I don't know."

Defeated, he slumped against his seat and opened his textbook.

Kel has a lot of explaining to do once he gets home. A LOT of explaining to do.

---
Hero got home to a silent household when he opened the front door. His parents were in the dining room talking in hushed tones, and Kel was nowhere on the 1st floor so Hero assumed that his brother was inside their room.
He walked towards his parents and greeted them before slinging his bag on one of the seats. His mom greeted him with the problem at hand.

“Hero, there you are! Your brother's at it again getting into fights at school. Talk to him! He won't listen to either of us and-"

"I already know mom. I'll go talk to him."

His father gave him a supporting nod when he looked at him. Hero walked up the stairs and approached the door.
Hero gave it a light knock. "Kel, you there?"

He pressed his ear on the door to hear if Kel would reply to it; he wasn't surprised when he heard nothing. He reached for the doorknob and opened the door.

Kel was bundled up from head to toe by his blanket and his bed was a mess. The windows were closed and his books were everywhere. It was as if a tsunami had occurred in that room and washed out a part of it. Hero picked up the books scattered on the floor and placed it neatly on his desk.

He walked over to Kel's bed and sat down next to him. Kel said nothing. He struggled to find words for a moment but decided to call his brothers attention.

"Kel-"

"Hero, I'm fine. Don't worry about me, I'll just be... here."

Hero pulled over Kel's blanket and saw Kel's puffy cheeks and red eyes. It was obvious that he had been crying but Kel was insistent on brushing it off. "Go do your school work and stuff... visit Mari or that Geneva girl for all I care. I'm fine and I don't need your help."

He took the blanket from Hero and put it on top of him again, moving away from him. Hero was surprised that Kel knew about his visits to Mari.

"How do you know that I visit Mari?" he asked.

"It's obvious you do. You're always in a hurry after dinner and you leave without telling anyone. One time, I even saw you sneaking out, but instead of telling you, I just pretended to be asleep. Now get out, Mari needs you."

Hero frowned. "Kel you're just as important as Mari to me."
"Well it doesn't feel that way anymore. Look man just go... get your 'happy' ending or something. At this point I'm just to tired to care."

"Happy ending? Kel really, I'm here to listen to you, just tell me what's wrong-"

"You! You're what's wrong!"

Kel stood up abruptly from his bed and towered over Hero. Hero's eyes grew wide. "You- You're out there talking to Mari, probably having the time of your lives while I'm stuck trying to knock some sense into Aubrey! I'm invisible to you as long as I say I'm alright!"

"Knock some sense into Aubrey? Kel you didn't tell me anything about that! I thought you were fine and Basil was- you're the one refusing to tell me things!"

Kel scoffed. "Sure, use that as an excuse! You're just too busy focusing on Mari that you barely see things anymore, you can't even- Gragh Just forget it! Leave me alone!!"

He took one of the books from the neat pile Hero had made on top of his desk and threw it at him. Hero moved left in time to dodge it.

"Woah- Kel just calm down-"

He shouted. "I'm not calming down! You're just one of them! You think you can help, but unlike Mari I'm someone you can't help. I... I'm just a dense idiot right? I have no feelings, right?!"

As Kel shouted louder, his eyes became more swollen and he started to choke on his tears.

"You... you have it so easy. You can make people listen to you with your charm and charisma but I can't even talk to my friend… You have it so easy that everything goes your way in the end and I-I I hate you for that! I really really do!"

He kicked the bed and made it screech a little. Hero tried once again to calm him down but Kel was too invested in his emotions.

"You're a terrible brother! I hate you! I wish you would just go back to Mari and leave me alone!"

Tears started forming in Hero's eyes when he heard that from Kel's mouth. He tried his best to block everything that Kel said but that one sentence got to him. Was he that neglecting Kel that his own brother had started hating him?
Despite this, Hero tried to approach his brother for a hug but Kel pushed him away. He remained insistent but Kel didn't need the comfort.

"Get off me! I said get off me!" He shouted.

With a hard push, Hero landed with a thud on the cold wooden floor. It must've alerted their parents because soon Hero could hear footsteps walking up the stairs. The door to the room opened and Hero was the first one they approached. He was immediately checked on by his parents instead of Kel crying behind them.

This was wrong. Kel should've been the one they were consoling not him!

"Hero, are you alright?! What did Kel do to you?"

"I should've known..." his father gritted. He looked at Kel as Hero's mother helped him up. "You're grounded for 4 more weeks! Don't you dare do that to your brother again or else-"

"No dad, stop! That isn't going to help Kel at all!"

Hero moved away from his mother and faced his little brother, wiping some of the tears that had formed in his eyes.

He looked back at his parents and gave them a smile. "Is it alright if I talk to Kel alone on this one, mom, dad?"
His mother shook his head. "No Hero. What if Kel does that again and-"

"He didn't mean to push me. I was the one who was insisting on giving him a hug when he didn't want me to, please don't punish him for that."

His father remained indifferent with his decision about Kel for a moment but he decided to drop it with a grunt. "Fine... just this once."

Their parents then walked out of the room dissapointed. When the door came to a close Kel sat down on his bed and covered his eyes with his hands.

"I'm... I'm so sorry Hero.. You- You had to see me like this..." Kel hiccupped.

Hero sat down next to him and gave him and a comforting pat on the back.

"It's alright Kel, it's fine, just let it out. Let it all out."

Hero sat there by his side and watched Kel cry to himself. He felt a wave of shame crush him as he patiently waited for him. Kel had gone through a lot without his knowledge and even if he didn't mean it, it was still his fault Kel had to keep everything to himself just because he was trying to comfort Mari.

It was ironic to say the least. He could help Mari with her woes of losing Sunny by being there for her when he couldn't do the same for Kel.

"I'm sorry Kel... I'm really sorry..."

Kel turned towards him, his eyes as red as before. "What why? I'm the one who lashed out at you and told you all those mean things... I should be the one apologizing."

Hero shook his head.

"I'm your brother Kel, I shouldn't have put Mari first before you. Because of that you've gone through a lot to the point you've... god I am a terrible brother."

Kel chuckled a little. "Yeah... you kinda are."

The two of them stayed silent for a minute until Hero broke the silence. He put his hands on Kel's shoulders and looked him in the eyes.

"Look, I know that I don't know what happened between you and Aubrey nor do I know why you did what you did, but Kel you can always talk to me whenever you need me."
Kel sniffled. "Even when you're worried about Mari?"
"Even when I'm worried about Mari."

Kel gave him a shaky smile. "Thanks... terrible brother."
Hero rolled his eyes and scooted closer to him and extended his arms. Kel looked at him confused for awhile until he realized what he meant.

"Hug it out?" Hero asked him. Kel started tearing up again as he nodded.

"Hug it out."

The two of them made up with a hug and Kel got the comfort he needed- no, he deserved, all this time.
___

"You owe me burgers now... two burgers." Kel said into the hug. "Two burgers."

Hero sighed and grinned from behind him. "Fine... I guess it's only fair."

He wanted to say something about how it was unhealthy to eat burgers at night, but he couldn't say no to Kel. In the end even if he was contributing once more to Kel's poor diet, Hero was just happy that he got his brother back.

---
Cardinal barred the window in Mari's room with something stronger than a wooden closet. Mari watched as he fixed a lock on it and hid the key in his pocket for safe keeping. Sunny was hiding next to her bed on the floor gazing at the floor.

"This is for you Mari, you know that. I didn't want to do this but you left me no choice. You need to learn how to self reflect, not drag other people into your mess. Only when you accept yourself are you allowed to see other people."

Mari said nothing and pursed her lips. She couldn't say anything when she was in this house, not to her mom, not to Sunny, to anyone. Cardinal was no help in adding to the mix. He pushed the cabinet back to its place and shook his head.

He then walked towards the door and opened it. He didn't walk out immediately but his hand was fixed on the doorknob.

He looked back at Mari and gave her a cold smile. "If you step out of this house one more time and go against what I say, Hero will be the one to pay for it."

He closed the door and left Mari inside the room with Sunny. Mari looked at the door shocked from what Cardinal had said.

She has never said anything about Hero to him, not even a single word.

Chapter Text

rattle. rattle. clank. snap- thump.

Basil groggily woke up from the sudden sound. It was 1 am and he couldn't see much from the faint light that came from his window. It took him a while to find for a light switch; the room was dark and he didn't want to kick the plant pots he's laid on the floor. When he finally felt for it, he opened the lights with a small flick.

His room has been a mess ever since Kel told him to leave the Aubrey situation to his holster. No, actually, now that he has thought about it, it has always been a mess. He's garnered a collection of paper and string combined with photos he took from his polaroid.

Most of the photos he took and the lists of people he planned on interviewing ended up becoming scratch. Without the guidance of Raymond nor Steve, he barely knew how to conduct a proper investigation, and it annoyed him to say the least. It egged him that much that he's stopped caring about cleaning up and decided to leave it around except for his workspace. Walking to the source of the sound, he carefully dodged the photos he had been cleaning on the floor the day prior, and looked out of the window.

The window was an inch open. He could feel the cold gust of wind outside of the crevice. After close inspection he was sure someone had tampered with it. But how? Behind his room was his grandmother's garden, and they couldn't have come around using the fence because Polly had the keys.

He opened the window and gave a glance or two to search for the perpetrator. Nothing.

With a shrug he scratched his head and closed the window; he was stopped when something caught his eye.

Basil opened it once more and walked towards the side. There was something carved on the wooden wall that he didn't notice from the darkness. It was slight, but from an angle, he could see a light carving.

On the wall there was a lightly carved circle with arrows protruding from its top and bottom.

--

"Kid, whatcha doing up there?! get down this instant!"

Out of shock, Basil almost dropped his notebook on the old man; he was about to fall off from the tree branch if it weren't for his quick reflex. Though he wasn't that high up the tree, he was met with Carlisle's familiar frown.

"Haha... Good afternoon to you too Mr. Carlisle." he chuckled nervously, getting down from the tree carefully.

"Look kid, A-hyeck! I didn't know you are a climber, but healthcare doesn’t come cheap around these parts, you know?" he reprimanded him. "I would know that myself, I have a- you know what? Nevermind. You get my point."

Basil nodded and stuffed his notebook inside his backpack. "Sorry..."

Carlisle sighed. "Yeah you better be, if you had climbed up any higher you might just end up with a broken neck. People die from these heights yknow? Even if it's just your plain ol' regular staircase. It's a shame if you wouldn't be able to see your friend again because of that."

He stiffened from the man's last words; he didn't really think about the possible consequences when he climbed up. His grip on his backpack tightened a little from fear. The man took another swig from his flask before putting it in his pocket.

When he noticed Basil's unamused stare, he mumbled. "You'll learn once you get older."

"Right..."

Somewhere in the distance, they could hear children shouting cuss words. Basil immediately recognized the annoying high pitched voice of Mikhael whenever someone would dare 'defy his name'.

Carlisle grinned. "Looks like your friends are here again. Go for it, I know ya want to."

"Go for what?"

"The lass with the red glasses and big nose. A-hyeck! She's the leader right?"

Basil gulped. "Y-yeah?"

He quivered from Carlisle's sudden dark smile. "Give her a punch on the nose and run for it. That'll teach her a lesson."

His eyes widened. "W-what?! I can't do that!"

"And why not?"

Carlisle looked at him impatiently as if he wanted to see it happen. To his dismay, Basil found himself running short on answers. "I... I don't know."

the voices were getting louder and he could see their shadows from the barriers.

The man frowned. "Really? Not even a jab to the ribs?"

Basil nodded.

Carlisle squatted a bit to see where they were before walking off towards the trees. "Suit yourself, 'I don't know.'"

He motioned for Basil to follow him and he did without any hesitation.

The two of them left the parameters before the Hooligans could even enter the lake's clearing.

---

"So this Sunny of yours... care to tell me the full story?"

Basil had no idea where they were going. They were still in the woods, but the turns has already become unfamiliar to him. He jotted them down on his notebook as they walked.

Carlisle watched him write in his notebook discontentedly.

"Hey kid, I've been trying to talk to you for 5 minutes now. A-hyeck! What's in that notebook anyway?"

"Locations... coordinates... At this point I'm not even sure where we are."

"What? we're not even that far off the lake, whatcha mean?"

Carlisle showed him his hand and waved it. Basil stared at it blankly.

"Well gimme it! An old man like me can't see shit if it's too far away."

Basil gave him the notebook and allowed him to snatch it from his hands. The man stopped for a moment to read what he had made.

He gave an amused huff once he finished scanning both pages. "Not bad, kid. Not bad at all."

Basil smiled from the compliment. "Thanks."

"Was that the reason you were up on that 'er tree awhile ago? Just so you can sketch 'em woods? It's way farther than that y'know."

Basil turned red out of embarrassment when Carlisle handed it back. "O-Oh... I see."

He's been working on that for half a month now and the man was really, really kind enough to share that with him.

"Well you're lucky you found the right person son. They don't call me the 'man of the woods' for no reason." Carlisle chortled to himself as he started walking on.

"They call you that?" Basil asked him. Carlisle didn't take any offense to it and seemed happy wearing that title.

'Good for him...' he thought to himself. Basil didn't really like the names they labelled him unlike the old man.

Silently, Basil kept walking behind him, downcast from the news.

A lightbulb suddenly flickered inside of Basil's head when he thought about Carlisle's nickname.

"You know everything about the woods, do you?"

Carlisle started grinning and continued walking, this time quickening his pace. Basil tried to catch up with him.

"So?"

"Then you can help me find Sunny!" he exclaimed.

"Hm... can I? A-hyeck! I don't really know."

Now the man was messing with him. He could clearly see it from the 'innocent' look on his face.

"Please?"

The man scoffed. "Not going to work kid. You blew your chances of getting my service for free when you didn't punt that girl on the nose."

"I-I can punch her! watch!"

Basil rushed towards a tree and punched it with all his might. He immediately regretted it once his hand started to sting.

Carlisle laughed, slapping his knee. "What kind of punch was that? You barely hit the center of it!" With a disbelieved scoff, he walked towards the tree and put his hands out of his jacket. He readied himself as if he were going in an actual fight.

"Take it from the expert, kid."

With brute strength, Carlisle punched the tree hard on the center that shook some leaves off it. When he was done he walked away as if nothing happened.

Basil's jaw dropped as the man strutted away from him with pride.

"And that's how you punch."

He stopped and turned around once he noticed that Basil had stopped following him.

Carlisle frowned. "I'm not that old kid."

"Yeah... I know."

"Never seen someone punch like that before?"

Basil stayed silent.

It wasn't that he was trying to imply to Carlisle that he was old and he shouldn't be doing that, he was just...

His old bandages started to itch when he thought about it, without him noticing he started scratching it.

Carlisle knew exactly what it meant.

"Hey, A-hyeck! Sorry for prying into your personal business, but regarding your friends… why don't you fight back against them?"

He walked towards Basil and examined the tree. Basil had left a mark on the right hand corner.

"It was a terrible punch but you can punch." He said. "I don't see why you have to hold back, son."

Basil looked down. "I... I don't know."

"I know you know, Basil."

He looked up at the old man.

"I just can't." he chuckled sadly. "I'm too weak."

"And who told you that?"

"Everyone."

Basil found himself sitting next to the tree for a moment. He was getting tired from standing and he needed a break. The man understood him and let him be.

"But that's not really it. I just- I don't know, I don't want to hurt anybody. Even if it means I'm the one getting hurt." he explained.

"And this isn't because of your best friend?"

He nodded. "It just isn't me at all."

Was it?

"You know, no matter how much I try hiding it, a part of me still blames myself for Sunny running away." he sighed. "What if I was a terrible best friend to him? what if I wasn't supportive enough or what if I annoyed him? What if I wasn't good enough for him that he decided to-"

he paused.

"This is why at times I let them do these mean things to me... because a part of me thinks I deserve it." He cut short.

"Kid no one deserves that treatment, even if you say you do."

"I know and that's why I don't let them get to me."

He stood up and gave the man a weary smile. "Once I find Sunny I'm sure it'll all be over soon. It isn't about me at the end of the day."

Basil apologized to Carlisle for keeping him long and continued walking to wherever he was leading them to. Carlisle was lost in thought.

"You know what kid, I told you I'd help you find your friend so... I'll give it to ya." he said nonchalantly. "For a price."

Basil quirked his brow. "And what's this price?"

---

No. This was a terrible. Terrible idea.

Basil and Carlisle were near the fish section of Othermart, and the man was sneaking looks at the prize while the lady wasn't looking.

"Mr. Carlisle-" he whispered frantically to him; Carlisle was touching the fresh fish with his bare hands. "Mr. Carlisle!"

"What kid can't you see I'm trying to do something here?!" Carlisle whisper shouted back.

Basil shook his head. "This is not a good idea--"

"Take it or leave it, all you have to do is distract the lady while I grab the fish."

"But this is wrong!"

The man kicked him on the shin when the lady turned around.

"你会说中文吗?" The lady asked them. Carlisle innocently walked a meter away towards the other side of the stall leaving Basil to do his bidding.

Basil grimaced.

"你会说中文吗?" she asked him again. Carlisle gave him a thumbs up from the side as he practically desanitized more fish.

Basil's silence was getting on the lady's nerves that she hoarsely spoke to him in English. "You want fish??"

He came to. "Oh uh! Y-yes? yes please."

The lady gave him a beady stare as he perused the stall away from Carlisle.

He couldn't believe he was doing this. Shoplifting?! Of all things!

Basil looked at Carlisle as he stuffed some fish inside his pocket. Internally, he wanted to bang his head on the wall and stop existing for being an accomplice to the man's schemes. And what pained him the most was that he didn't have any spare cash so he couldn't pay for any of it.

"We got tuna and salmon." The woman said while pointing at the selection. "Tuna and salmon, fresh from the market."

"Haha.. right... salmon and fish. I mean- tuna! Y-yeah! tuna. I love tuna."

The woman gave him a quizzical look as he continued looking around.

'Don't look at Carlisle- don't look at Carlisle-' he chanted in his head as he basically walked around doing nothing. He could notice the lady in front of him getting bored that she started to head to Carlisle's direction. Basil started to panic when she noticed Carlisle.

"我-我会说中文!" He stammered at the lady. The lady turned her attention to him from his sudden chinese. Even Carlisle looked at him. "我-我觉得你的摊位很好."

"Oh? 谢谢."

Carlisle looked at him with relief when the lady started walking towards him. Basil was lucky enough to remember a few of his lessons from his Chinese class. If he didn't, they would've been busted.

"老人家是你爸爸吗?"

"朋友." he answered quickly. "我父亲在国外."

"原来如此."

Basil was getting jittery. Carlisle was taking long and he didn't know how long he could stall her.

When Carlisle started walking towards them he felt a wave of relief upon him when he patted him on the shoulder. He smiled at the lady.

"I have no idea what you and the kid were talking about but I think that's enough for today isn't that right, Basil?"

He nodded. "很高兴和你聊天，女士，真的很好."

She smiled at him. "You too."

With a wave the two of them started walking towards the entrance of the store, not turning back.

"That was good kid. How the hell did you know how to speak in chinese?"

he shrugged. "School."

"Well I'll be damned A-hyeck! they should take me back."

Before they could walk any further they could hear the lady shout in the top of her lungs. "盗贼！盗贼！ I'VE BEEN ROBBED!"

"Run!"

Basil and the old man started sprinting for the exit with the stolen fish in their custody.

---

"Well that went well!" The man guffawed as he caught his breath. Basil covered his head. "Oh god... my grandma's going to kill me for that!"

"The good news is we didn't get caught A-hyeck! That's shoplifting 101!"

Basil looked at him unbelievingly. Oh what was he expecting- of course the man would shoplift.

He looked at the bulky jacket of the man as he waddled with their- wait why their? his stolen fish.

He walked towards the other side of the road and entered the woods.

"Well what are you waiting for kid? A deals a deal, lets go find your friend!"

"But you're carrying-"

"Yeah yeah, it's fine! A-hyeck! They won't notice it at all." The moment he said that a piece of tuna fell from his jacket. The man grinned. "See."

Basil looked up to the sky and gave it a pained smile. 'God, have mercy on my soul...'

"Now come on! Or I'm the one who's going to let you hold the fish."

With a squeak Basil followed the fish reeking man into the woods.

---

"Where exactly are we going?" Basil asked.

"A-hyeck! The police son. Where else are we going to get more information about your friend?"

Basil bit his lip. Baxter…

He said nothing and reluctantly walked on with Carlisle.

---

"Andddd we're here." The man yawned.

They walked out of the woods and into the semi-bustling sidewalk next to the station. Basil was frightened. He recalled the older detective's words to him that day on the street.

You have no friends here.

Basil trailed behind the old man and gazed at the floor the whole time so they wouldn't see the fear in his eyes.

"Just leave the talking to me and we'll get your friends information in not time." Carlisle said coolly. He fixed his beanie and put his hands in his jacket. Basil could see people stare at Carlisle from the corner of his eye. It must be because of the fish. Carlisle casually walked inside the station as if he owned that place.

Basil took a deep breath before entering the station.

The station was bustling as usual. There were police officers flocking around the building and people bringing in civilians for questioning. The receptionist was in her normal dull mood, and he could see Steve's bowl cut close to the fridge. He looked around to see if any of the police that were on duty that day were working their shift and saw 3 of them working swiftly on their desks. He removed the flower in his hair and placed it inside his bag just in case they would see him.

"A-hyeck! Excuse me- Excuse me lad." Carlisle said, stopping one of the officers. He was holding his stomach and walking limply. Basil winced when he realized it was Steve.

"Is there any problem sir?"

He coughed. "I was just wonderin if my good old friend Raymond's around here? He works here as a detective."

Steve frowned. "Oh, hello Carlisle. How lovely of you to grace us with your presence."

Carlisle gave him a toothy grin. "I knew you'd recognize me. Now where's Raymond?"

"After your last visit, Raymond directly told us not to tell you where he is."

"Oh help a poor old man out." He cooed.

"Not after you flipped off the whole district just because of that spat with the chief of police! I don't even know how you were able to talk to the man, but ohhh Carlisle has his ways, don't you Carlisle?"

Carlisle chuckled. "A-hyeck! lets not bring the past up son. This kid needs to talk to Raymond about something urgent, and I ain't fooling around."

Basil shielded himself behind Carlisle.

"Or not, probably just me. Where is Raymond?"

"For the last time Raymond does not want to-"

"Steve, that's enough."

And there he was, detective Raymond Baxter in the flesh. He walked towards them carrying files in his hands. Steve immediately backed off once Raymond entered the picture. He took the files from him and walked towards his desk, unaware of Basil's presence.

Raymond didn't look like Carlisle at all. Unlike the old man, looked like he'd been through hell and back. His forehead was creased and he had some noticeable eye bags underneath his eyes. Basil thought it was off putting seeing how much has changed in a few months.

"Well if it isn't John fucking Carlisle. The legend who almost got me fired from my job." The man grinned at him menacingly.

"Raymond."

The man gave a hearty chuckle before turning grim.

"What have you done now old man? Burglary? Shoplifting? Disturbing the peace?"

"Neither." Carlisle said flatly.

Raymond pursed his lips when he inspected Carlisle's bulky jacket. "Right... Gone fishing lately?"

Basil stood behind Carlisle quietly and watched the two of them go at each other. Although it was still surprising to see that Carlisle knew someone from the PD, he didn't want to show his face at Raymond.

"Look I don't have all the time in the world so spit it out. We got a lot on our hands right now and time is ticking."

Carlisle smiled at him. "A-hyeck! You don't have to worry about me this time. I'm here for the kid."

Raymond scoffed. "You're helping out some kid? Don't get me wrong Carlisle but that doesn't sound like you at all."

Carlisle rolled his eyes. "And you don't look like someone who'd be a good parental figure as well A-hyeck!"

The taller man sighed and crossed his arms. "What do you want from me John?"

"Information. That simple. The kid has been having a tough time because of it and all he needs is answers."

"Which kid anyway?"

He looked at Basil from behind Carlisle and pursed his lips. He was surprised, but he didn't let his shock overwhelm him out of formality. Basil looked towards the side and ignored him.

"I was wondering if I could take a little peep on his friend's files just to give this kid his closure. The kids missing Raymond. Not dead."

Time has repeated itself again. This time, Basil brought a parental figure. Raymond watched the kid glumly knowing how things had to be.

"From what I remember the kid committed suicide. He drowned himself in a lake after he and his sister had some huge argument. Hate to say this but you're hoping for a lost cause."

"Sunny isn't dead!" Basil gritted.

Raymond gave a beady stare at Carlisle. "What have you been telling this kid?"

"What I know." Carlisle said smoothly. "I've worked with you for I don't know... 20 years and I know that most of you are a buncha pricks with your evidence. Minus you of course, you're a fucking angel."

Raymond tilted his head side to side from that as if he was saying 'fair enough' from the compliment.

"And I know you have a soft spot for kids ever since you've gotten to this PD, so I gotta ask you for the love of God- give this kid a chance. That boy may be dead to the world but not to him." 1

"But John... you know I can't do that. You don't work here anymore. I can't share private files to someone outside of the PD."

"Then as a friend to a friend. Look, you've got me off the hook a lot of times and this is the last time I'm asking you to do that."

"Carl."

"A-hyeck! You're not one of those bozos right? You're Raymond Baxter! The face of this PD-"

"Carl!"

Carlisle stopped.

"Look... You were a good detective back in the day and you always did what was right, but I can't risk losing my job again!" he exclaimed. "You told our chief to go fuck himself and that almost cost me my job. Why? because I was the one who pulled some strings for you!"

He sighed when he realized Basil's reaction. "I have a wife and two children, Carlisle. I can't allow them to starve because of your brashness."

"Then what about me Raymond?" Carlisle asked. "What about me? I live in the fucking streets without any food to eat! Don't you dare forget how much this district owes me."

Basil could see some of the officers working staring at the two friends as they argued with each other and dragged some names in. Steve, finally realizing he was there, asked if he could wait outside since they might take a long time.

Basil decided it was best to leave Carlisle and Raymond to handle their dispute. He followed Steve out of the district and waited for Carlisle. His thoughts were crowded but one remained constant unlike the others.

The old man used to be a detective, and he wasn't just some shoplifting homeless person.

---

It was already 6 pm when Carlisle had gotten out of the PD with defeat painted on his face. Basil looked at him as he immediately reached for his booze and started to drink it in a gulp. He turned around and gave the PD a middle finger before walking towards Basil.

"A-hyeck! sorry kid... that Raymond fella was hard to crack at. Wouldn't give me even the tiniest bit of information about your friend." he said with a sad smile. "Yet on the bright side, he didn't notice the fish." He opened his jacket and took out a piece. Basil wondered to himself how it remained fresh after all the air and pollutants it was exposed to.

"You're a detective, Mr. Carlisle?" he asked him as the both of them made their way back to the woods.

"Was a detective. A-hyeck! But they couldn't handle my caliber, it seems." he chuckled. "I'll tell you about it one day. But now we're looking for your friend. That's way more important than some homeless guy's sob story."

He patted Basil on the back.

"Anyway, sorry for keeping ya late kid. Your grand..mother? must be worried sick about ya." he said. "Let's get you home."

---

"Basil! What on earth are you still doing outside in this hour?! it's 7 pm!" Polly exclaimed. She looked at Carlisle. "And who's your friend?"

"S-sorry Polly..." Basil chuckled nervously and looked for his grandmother. His grandmother was watching television on the couch and he could hear some woman shouting in Chinese how someone had the audacity to steal her fresh fish. He could hear Carlisle snicker from behind him.

"Oh, this is Carlisle! He's helping me with... something."

"And what is this 'something' Basil?"

"Something very important." Carlisle butted in. He gave Basil a nudge and tipped his hat at Polly.

"Well I'll be on my way now kid. If you need me I'll be out in the woods searching for ya friend. A-hyeck! Left something in that bag of yours as well; think it might be useful."

With a last toothy grin he walked away from the house and gave Polly a flying kiss. Polly looked at him disgustingly.

"Jesus Basil... of all your friends, you had to choose that old stinky man? He smells like fish." She complained.

Basil gave her a small smile. "That's Carlisle for you."

Saying nothing more he entered the house and looked one last time out of the window.

He wished he could do something for Carlisle. The old man had also been through a lot just like him and he's suffered way worse. But then his grandmother wouldn't like strangers inside her house so that was going to be a problem as well...

Basil walked towards the table and sat on a chair to check what Carlisle had left him.

Inside he found a note and some tuna.

'Half of the fish for your share of our little heist together. Sorry you had to see me get into a fight with some dumbass short man in the PD. Hope it pays a little for all you've done for me.'

Basil gave a wry smile as he put the tuna on the table. He flipped the letter back to see if there was anything written there.

'PS. Regarding your friends, I get you don't want to fight. You're a kind hearted kid and you're not like them, but even with that you have to fight back in some way... those shits won't stop at anything until something gets to them. Form a group, you and your other friends; all the other kids who've been bullied by them Hooligans. Then when the time is right, strike them at their lowest point. Still have to aim better though. Your punch was terrible.'

With a sigh he placed the note back in his bag and zipped it safely with all his other belongings. He'll think about Carlisle's suggestion about learning self defense.

He waited for Polly and his grandmother to react to the free tuna Carlisle graced them.

Though they would've usually had vegetables for dinner, they ate tuna and so did Carlisle that same night.

Chapter Text

One day while Abbi was busy sulking inside of Headspace, she was graced with the sudden presence of an old friend. Headspace doesn’t exactly have any doors or exits, so she was quite sure that he appeared out of nowhere. He didn’t change that much in appearance from the last time she saw him; in fact, other than growing a few inches he still was pale as ever. When she met his eyes she could tell that he was nervous as he approached her. He looked like a child being coaxed by their parents to apologize to someone after doing something stupid.

“Hey… Abbi.” Sunny chuckled nervously. “Long time no see.”

Abbi frowned and let out a low indifferent hum.

The atmosphere between them was awkward, and Abbi didn’t dare say anything to him. Sunny caught onto her aloof behavior and frowned, putting his hands in his pockets. “You’re mad at me, are you?”

“Oh no, I’m not mad. Why would I be mad at you? How long has it been since we last talked… two years?” Abbi spoke up, obviously being satirical.

Abbi sighed when the boy began fumbling over his words for an explanation. “You know a simple ‘sorry’ would do right? I’m not as petty as you think.” Sunny looked at her guiltily before giving her a proper apology. She put up a worn smile. “That’s much better. So what brings you here, prodigal child? Left something behind?”

She invited him to walk with her through the white void. Sunny wasn’t saying much so Abbi took it upon herself to take the lead. Damn, this kid was spoiled rotten, Abbi thought to herself. They didn’t talk for so long, but she was the one engaging the conversation for him.

“Just wanted to visit.” Sunny explained. He looked around the white void and fiddled with his fingers. “There’s nothing much for you to do here now that I think about it.”

“Oh don’t worry about that, I've had plenty of things to do here. A lot of thinking, solitude and white static… I’d make a good monk, honestly.”

Sunny chuckled awkwardly. “Right… thinking… I’m sorry, I should've left more for you before I left.”

Abbi chuckled grimly. “You better be. If I was a human and I was put through this solitary confinement, I might’ve gone insane by now.”

They walked some more, probably a few meters away from where they’d last been talking. The void made them seem to go through a never ending loop. When Abbi realized how dull their previous topic had become she decided to change it. It was probably best for them to not open up old wounds. “So, what have you been doing this entire time? You seem busy.”

Sunny was hesitant at first but decided to push through with it. “Fine,” he replied. “We’re going to the beach next week because Mari wanted to celebrate Aubrey’s birthday early.”

“Mhm…” Abbi hummed. “That sounds nice. Care to elaborate more about it?”

Only through her cue did the boy start unraveling bits and pieces about his life outside of Headspace. Abbi listened to Sunny talk about his friends half-heartedly. Sunny seemed to be having more fun out there with his friends compared to him staying recused in Headspace.

“Are you alright Abbi?” Sunny asked. The sadness in her hums was beginning to show, and Sunny was getting worried. She smiled and shook her head. “Oh it’s nothing. I was just thinking about how nice reality must be. I can see why you chose to stay there more often rather than here.”

She probably hit a nail because Sunny stopped talking. From his solemn expression alone, Abbi could tell that his guilty conscience had finally caught up to him. “You know, Abbi… I’ve actually been thinking for quite some time now. What would you feel if I gave you free reign over this Headspace?”

Abbi’s mouth slightly quivered, but she recollected herself. She turned to Sunny, “I’d probably be honored but mostly concerned? Why, what’s with this all of a sudden? You shouldn’t be joking about these things, it’s dangerous.”

Sunny shook his head. “I’m not messing around though. If I gave you my Headspace you could practically do anything with it. You can build castles, cities, amusement parks… maybe you’ll be able to meet other people.” He turned towards the void. “You’ve been here for a long time now, and this place barely feels like home if I’m not around… You honestly deserve this space more than me.”

“Can’t you just think of someone else to accompany me while you’re not around?” Abbi asked, studying Sunny curiously.

“I can’t.”

“You haven’t even tried yet. You thought of me back then, surely you can pull it off again now.”

Sunny scrunched up his forehead as he thought hard to conjure up something. Nothing extraordinary happened. He turned to Abbi and frowned. “We’ve been together for so long that I can’t seem to think of anyone permanent other than you, Abbi. You’ve been with me throughout all of our adventures, remember? All the people we’ve met disappear after we go on a different one or try again.”

Abbi recalled those instances like fleeting dreams. Sunny was right, for some reason these people didn’t seem to stay for long in Sunny’s Headspace compared to her.

“Could it be ‘cause you’re attached to me?” Abbi said in a half joking manner. When Sunny’s ears slightly turned a tinge of pink, she couldn’t help but tease him. “Awww, you should’ve said so earlier! If you told me that I was the only being you wanted around in Headspace, then I would have not gotten mad at you.”

The boy cursed himself and covered his ears. He muttered, “Yeah, yeah whatever floats your boat… So are you on board with me giving you Headspace or not?”

Abbi smiled and put her hand on Sunny’s shoulder. “Sunny, I really appreciate you for trusting me with your Headspace. It’s tempting and I’m sure anyone else would’ve taken it gladly. But this trust that you have is too much for me. What if I screw something up and permanently damage your Headspace while you’re gone? I’d rather be stuck here doing nothing than causing you any harm.”

It was supposed to be a sweet moment for them, seeing how proper Abbi’s response was to Sunny. The boy was supposed to say ‘Ok…’ like the bashful kid that he was, but instead he started laughing out of nowhere.

Abbi frowned. “What’s funny?”

“I knew you were going to say that.” He gave her a sad smile.

Sunny sighed and turned to walk the endless loop of Headspace again. Abbi followed behind him. “I guess that really leaves me with no choice…”

“Huh? What kind of—”

“Why don’t we make a deal then? ”

This time it was Abbi who stopped at her tracks, “A deal?”

“50 50. I’ll still give you half of Headspace while the other half I’ll keep it. That way nothing can really go wrong.”

Abbi was about to butt in but Sunny stopped him. “In addition to that, since I’m giving you half of my Headspace you’re free to leave whenever you choose to. I… I’m not sure where you’ll exactly go. I’m not sure if me leaving for reality is the same for you, but hey, who knows? Maybe you’ll be able to access another greater Headspace where you’re less limited. You may be bound here because I technically “imagined” you, but that doesn’t mean you have to be here all the time.”

“So… I’d be like those guys we’ve come across in our adventures then.” Abbi asked.

“Something like that, yes. But you’re welcome to come back anytime.”

Abbi thought deeply about Sunny’s proposition. She couldn’t help but look at him wryly though. The ideas too thought through, she didn’t know that Sunny could be so deep if he wanted to. To be honest, her existence in that space was conflicting to her. Sunny did call for her, but she didn’t exactly know how Sunny’s imagination was able to come up with her.

The thought of a greater headspace beyond this white void though…

She looked around her surroundings bittersweetly. It sounded nice to say the least.

When Sunny saw her starting to smile slightly, he couldn’t help but sigh in relief. “Is that a good enough deal now? You’ve always been there for me whenever I needed it and I know that I can count on you whenever I get in trouble. So please do me a favor and be selfish for once. Think about yourself as well and not only for my well being.”

“I… I actually don’t know what to say.” Abbi said. Should she laugh? Should she cry? Abbi couldn’t cry, but something inside her sure did want to.

“Maybe it's a yes?” Sunny said, hope evident in his voice.

Abbi nodded. “Maybe that’s the word I was looking for.”

She wrapped her arm around him and started ruffling his hair roughly. “You idiot, you didn’t tell me that you were a salesman out there in the real world.”

Sunny simply smiled at her and tried to get her off. Abbi was too happy with her current situation. It took her minutes before she could finally stop.

“Go home, Abbi. Once something goes wrong here, you’ll be the first to know.” Sunny said, fixing his hair. The boy walked a few meters away from Abbi and stood still. He thought to himself once more and summoned a large portrait in front of him.

Abbi looked at the portrait with confusion. “What the hell is that for?”

“Some sort of backup cloud, I don’t know what to call it. But if ever something goes wrong, it's best to be prepared.” he explained. “It’s basically a copy of my 50%. You know, splitting it in half is basically costing me half of my memories.”

Abbi frowned. Memories? Sunny didn’t mention that. “Then let’s just cut the deal off—”

“Too late, you already agreed to it.” Sunny grinned.

‘This bastard...’ Abbi grimaced. Sunny wasn’t always this cheeky.

Abbi walked towards the portrait to examine it for herself. It was larger than her by more than a few inches, and it was emitting an ominous red light from its blank frame. She walked close to touch the black frame but didn’t feel a partition in between it. It was also very cold to the point that she had to pull her hand out.
Sunny hummed, content with himself. “I know that this is probably a possibility, but if I ever return and by chance—” he restated, “ By chance we lose either one of our percentages, I want you to dump me in there.”

Abbi frowned. “You know, I would’ve agreed by now and gotten everything over with, but you haven’t even explained the percentage thing yet. What exactly am I getting here?”

“Do I really have to?” Sunny asked naively.

“You know what— nevermind, sure. If for some reason things go terribly, I’ll dump you in there.”

She walked back to Sunny and crossed her arms. Sunny chuckled sheepishly. Abbi huffed at him in disbelief. “Well?”

“Well what?”

“Don’t you need someplace to store it to keep it safe? It’s your memories we’re talking about after all.”

Sunny gaped his mouth like a goldfish. “Ah right. Yeah, good idea.”

With a snap of his finger, a barn started to form in front of them.

‘Idiot… Of course it's a barn.’ Abbi smiled to herself wryly. Sunny used to talk about this playset his sister gave him for christmas that he couldn't seem to let go of. Sunny smiled to himself, proud of his work.

—

“Well I better get going now Abbi, it was nice to see you again.”

Abbi gave him a light shove on the shoulder. “Next time, give me a heads up if you ever plan on disappearing again. It’s really not funny.”

Sunny chuckled nervously. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

After saying their final goodbyes, Sunny disappeared into the void. Abbi watched him disappear with a knowing smile on his face, most likely satisfied with how their deal went. It would be a long time until they would meet again, Abbi figured. For some reason she felt something heavy settle on her chest. Sunny being here made it easier for her to cope with what she was feeling, but now she was once again plagued by loneliness. Abbi sighed. “Sunny, you never fail to surprise me.”

She locked the doors of the barn with the chain Sunny had kindly left behind for her and sealed the portrait inside with a small key. After tucking the key inside of her pocket, she decided to finish the walk she and Sunny were not able to complete.

Abbi was finally free being. If Sunny wasn’t lying about the 50% share she had in Headspace, she could easily head out of this damned place and find another. She could also write things into existence by simply imagining it just as Sunny did, which was something that she’d been very curious about even before the deal.

…Surely thinking about one or two small things couldn’t hurt Sunny, right?

With bated breath, she stopped walking and thought to herself deeply. Something small… nothing grand… maybe something sweet?

Poof!

A vintage wooden table appeared right in front of her. On top of it, she saw a brass tea set and a plate of biscuits. She slowly made her way towards it and felt the surface of the wooden table, knocking on it thrice to see if it was actually genuine. It resonated throughout Headspace with a full sound. She took a bite off of one of the biscuits and poured herself a cup of tea. It scalded her tongue a little but she couldn’t get over the sensation she was feeling. It had been so long since she drank something like this, too long. Abbi’s lips tilted into a smirk as she looked at the white void. Now she was getting excited.

What else could she do with her 50%? Should she summon a castle? A ferris wheel? A large— Abbi smacked herself.

“I knew it!” Abbi cursed herself, dropping her teacup. “He put too much trust in me after all. I’m just as terrible as everyone else!”
She wiped away the crumbs from the corner of her mouth and tried to compose herself. This was Sunny’s Headspace and not hers. She wasn’t willing to lose his trust just when she’d finally gone along with it.

Abbi turned towards the table and thought it would be better if it disappeared. The table vanished right in front of her. At least she now knew that her 50% worked.

“Go home, Abbi. Once something goes wrong here, you’ll be the first to know.”

Abbi pursed her lips. It was now up to her if she wanted to choose the former action then. She found Sunny’s word choices vague as she wasn’t sure herself if she had a home outside of his Headspace. She shrugged. If she didn’t try it, she would never know. Just like Sunny, she waved the white void goodbye and freed herself momentarily from her eternal prison.

She was going to find her home. Wherever it was.

---

"This place is driving me insane." Abbi groaned.

She still couldn't pry any information from any of the outsiders. The main group was starting to grow wary of her, and Abbi's current facade has done nothing to help her. She thought to herself, 'what if I scare them away with my anti-social behavior?' But clearly it was backfiring on her. Mari must have told them something that she wasn't briefed on, since they seemed more in sync with each other as time passed by.

Weeks of tending flowers, pulling out weeds, and playing poker in the neighbor’s room has only wasted Abbi's time. Though the takeover wasn't necessarily perfect (seeing how the shoe house served as a blindspot that the entities weren't alert of), Mari had successfully warped Headspace beyond any point of recognition. She had turned it into a utopian playground. Abbi couldn't understand her intentions, but it was clear that Mari wanted everyone to play a part of it whether they wanted to or not.

With an exhausted sigh, Abbi clawed for another wooden board and threw it in the hole. She looked at Basil who had his head laid on the table; the boy had already given up finding means to escape. He was just as bored as her, whistling songs to his plants. The board fell in with a small plop.

"Oh Abbi~"

Suddenly, a voice rang through the other side of the door. Basil started shifting in his seat when Abbi looked through the curtains. She cursed herself when she saw the person behind the door. Abbi fixed her flower crown and emptied her flower basket. "Where are you going? Basil asked. "And who's at the door?"

Abbi lied through her teeth with a pained smile. "No one, just going out for a while."

Taking the basket with her, she quickly slipped through the door and locked arms with Mari.

"Abbi?"

"We'll talk along the way."

Cheerfully, she paraded Mari away from the clearing, far away where Basil couldn't hear.

—

With haste, Abbi led Mari towards the tulip patch. She needed an excuse to get Mari away from the house, and Mari didn't seem to question it. Mari helped her pick some of the fallen tulips on the path while Abbi watered those that remained standing. Abbi sighed in relief. Thrashing the place earlier for preventive measures wasn’t a bad idea after all.

"You know Abbi… unlike everyone here in Headspace, I can't seem to read you." Mari suddenly exclaimed off-handedly. They'd been silently picking up tulips for a while now, and Abbi was lured into a slight sense of security because of it.

Abbi snapped out of her trance and pursed her lips. Mari took one of the tulips for herself and pushed the basket into Abbi's hands. "What do you mean by that?"

"I just don't know why I can't seem to know what's going on in your mind." The girl said sweetly, rolling the tulip with her fingers.

It was a taunt. Abbi could spot the malice hidden behind her innocent remark, and the question itself was too direct. Thinking about it though, Abbi found it strange as well. Ever since she took Basil’s place, no one could seem to differentiate the two of them. A slight realization dawned on Abbi. Maybe it had something to do with her 50%? With the guise of a naive smile, Abbi responded back. “Oh, I think I’m honestly pretty easy to read. Maybe you're not trying hard enough?” she joked.

“Is that so?” Mari asked, a grin tugging on her lips. “Tell me if I’m mistaken, but are you challenging me?”

When Abbi didn't respond, Mari clapped her hands. “How wonderful, you know how much I love games. I'll take note of that.”

She pulled on the tulip's petals and one by one they ended up into a heap on the floor. Mari walked towards the proud Abbi and gripped her tightly on the shoulder. Abbi shivered when she leaned in and hoarsely whispered to her ear. "I don't know who you think you are, but I will find out what you're hiding eventually. I take my games seriously Abbi, and I'm not fond of letting go of my opponents so easily." She dusted her shoulder and smiled at her. "Don't forget your place. Little brother is coming here soon."

Dropping the tense atmosphere, Mari made her way towards the direction of the park.

Clutching her heart, Abbi was left to catch her breath once Mari disappeared. If Mari spoke the truth about Sunny, she really was running out of time. As Abbi gathered what was left of her composure, she found herself stepping on something once she came out of the tulip patch. Beneath her laid a broken, deadheaded tulip.

—

Running back to the shoe house, Abbi closed the door with a slam. She ignored the startled Basil and quickly dropped her flower crown on the floor.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" Basil shouted.

Abbi was now approaching the large hole on the floor with the intention of jumping in. "I'm saving Sunny." She said, taking a deep breath.

"What do you mean by saving Sun- miss?!"

Once Abbi jumped in the hole she could no longer hear Basil's protests. She could only find herself swimming deeper into the darkness.

—

Black.

As Abbi swam further into the abyss, she could only see darkness. She could no longer see the familiar light of the shoe house as she followed no direct path to the bottom.

The dark water that surrounded her acted like a magnetic current, repelling her back to the surface the further she swam. It was as if it didn’t want her to reach the bottom, but she persevered against it. She struggled with its magnetic flow, and as if it were a miracle, Abbi found a slim opening she could pass through. The pressure that suspended her in place died down once she had passed it and she continued swimming.

After swimming for what seemed to be minutes, Abbi saw a dim white light in front of her. She was confused for a moment, thinking that she had somehow managed to swim back towards the shoe house. She reached towards it but as she swam closer, she was met with the same repressing current. Abbi turned around from the sudden force and was propelled towards the light. The light had disappeared when she surfaced on the other side, and she was met facefirst with raging waves.

It was a stormy sea. As Abbi got hit by the waves, inconsolable wailing and groans pierced through her ears.

"You'll never be good enough." One voice cried. "Why can't you be like her? Why can’t you be like anyone?" Chimed in another. A myriad of voices ganged up on each other like broken records. As she was forced to listen to the voices, Abbi thought they sounded familiar. She had clearly heard of these voices before, but she couldn’t exactly pinpoint when. They grew in multitudes as Abbi swam away from them, each of their wailing louder than the last. Her head was starting to hurt and it made Abbi want to puke. What exactly was this place? This definitely wasn’t part of the former Headspace Abbi was used to.

Dizzy from the overwhelming sensations, she tried to survey the area for anywhere safe to stay. She saw a small island in the distance and didn’t hesitate to paddle herself towards its shore. Once she got there she laid motionless on the sand. She would’ve drowned from the waves if it weren’t for this place. With heaved breaths, her vision started to blur once more. Abbi found herself fainting from her exhaustion.

---

When Abbi woke up, the voices were gone. She could tell that the storm was clearly not subsiding from the large waves that formed away from the island, but it didn't seem to affect the shore she was on. Abbi gazed at the rushing waves beneath her feet and slowly backed away from it. She felt her back hit something hard which didn't resemble the wooden bark of a tree. She turned around and saw a white door which seemed to be glowing an eerie white-- just like the light she saw before the storm. She found it weird. Why would there be a door in a place such as this?

She stood up to examine the door and found something hidden in the sand right next to it. With pursed lips she uncovered it and found a black laptop with some weird insignia on its cover. There was a small circle with arrows. As she didn't know the meaning behind it, she decided to open it instead. Booted up, Abbi was met with a game of Hangman.

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Abbi frowned. The laptop was missing all of its keys and she couldn't play even if she wanted to. She turned towards the door and tried to open it but neither handles (it was oddly double sided) wouldn't budge. There was something interesting she took note of. The door and the laptop seemed to be connected with each other as they bore the same insignia on their surfaces.

She sighed and looked at the laptop. It wasn't all that bad though. In the end, the place itself was shady and her hunch was right all along. Abbi turned towards the rushing waves and approached it, dangerously bringing the laptop with her.

"This wouldn't electrecute me right...? Surely this thing has been drenched before."

Taking the risk, she quickly dipped the laptop in the water and checked if it still booted. To her relief, the laptop wasn't damaged at all despite being drenched for a couple of seconds. Sighing, she turned towards the door one last time before entering the storm again. She'd come back to this place later, she thought to herself. If the hangman was really the key to opening this door she'd need to find the letters.

---

"You're alive!" Basil exclaimed when she got back from the hole. He was trying his luck again with the garden shears, but to no avail. "Oh, were you expecting someone else?" Abbi asked.

She quickly hid the laptop underneath the quilt before Basil could suspect something. Sunny would be arriving soon and her scavenger hunt couldn't wait any longer.

Basil smiled at her wryly. "Maybe I was waiting for someone to untie me, nothing wrong with hoping right?"

---

Two days passed and Sunny did arrive in Headspace. From the picnic blanket, Abbi could tell that something terrible did happen. He looked at the place with the wonder of a child and settled easily with the outsiders. It was as if he wasn't Sunny.

'He couldn't even bother to explain what's happening...' Abbi grimaced.

He looked at Abbi like a stranger despite all that they'd been through together. Was he mad that she allowed these pests to infiltrate his Headspace? She wasn't the only one caught in the bargain! He also had his 50%! Or maybe... Abbi turned to Sunny. Could it be that he was just pretending to get along and assess the situation? With that in mind, she decided to drop the sweet act in front of him. Dumb Sunny, not even leaving a note a sign or something...

She groaned in frustration and looked at the list of keys she had to look for.

---

"I propose we have an adventure!" Kel exclaimed out of the blue. Abbi's head began to hurt again, and she felt a nerve bulge on her forehead. Since when did going on an adventure come into the equation? Worse of all, why was Sunny going along with it? It was as if he wanted to make Abbi's job even harder.

Forced to go on their adventures, she decided to make the most out of it. She wasn't willing to sit put by Mari's picnic blanket and endure the daggers the entity glared at her.

---

26 keys. She was able to get 26 keys. In the fear of losing everything, she decided to keep the keys with her seeing as she'd hidden the laptop by the tulip patch and they were in Otherworld at the moment. Now the problem would be Sunny's newfound attachment to his friends. She could barely find an opening to separate them from each other.

She glanced at the entities as they slumbered peacefully by the blanket. Mari made her way towards her with a smug smirk as she stalled by the entrance of Cattail fields. "Better not do anything out of character Abbi. Who'd know if the eggshells your stepping on are sharp?" Mari said. "Now go back to sleep. You still have a long day ahead of you."

Abbi pursed her lips. Beyond her, she could see the barn Sunny had created long before Headspace had been currupted.

She felt a sharp sensation on her feet and saw black oozing from it. She glared at Mari as she turned her back on hers.

---

"Go. Take it and run while you still have the time. I've collected all the keys so all you have to do is solve the hangman puzzle on the laptop. I've hidden it inside of the tulip patch, you'll have to figure it out." Abbi said breathlessly, shoving the pouch into Sunny's hands. "It's all connected to a white door... once you've answered it you'll probably wake up in the real world. I don't know how the hell these 50 50 things work but you ought to give it ago."

She paced towareds the door and peered out to see if anyone had followed them. Sunny looked at her grimly as she urged him out. "I'm sorry Abbi..." he said, putting the keys inside of his pocket. "I should've known better."

"I've got a lot of things I want to say to you, but sadly we don't have enough time for that." Abbi chuckled. "Just go while you still can. Mari will probably be alerted now that you're no longer under her command."

"But what about you? Join me, Abbi. It's not safe here-"

"I'll be fine Sunny. Someone has to fend Mari off when she starts looking for you."

"But Abbi..."

"I'll be fine alright? Don't worry about me, I'll be fine!"

"Abbi... you're crying."

"Huh...?" Abbi felt the side of her face. How could she not have realized? She felt something cold brush her skin and drop on her fingertips as she examined it closely. Why could she only cry now?

She gave him a troubled laugh and wiped it. "It's just... I'm glad that you're back Sunny, that's all."

Sunny smiled at her, he seemed to grow emotional too. "I'm glad to be back too."

He raised his pinky towards Abbi and looked at her. "You promise to be safe?" he asked.

Abbi laughed. "Sunny, what are you a 5 year old?"

"Do you promise?"

Abbi mustered up a smile and locked pinkies with him. "I promise, Sunny. Now go home."

With one last nod, Sunny ran into the cattails without turning back. Abbi turned towards the barn and bolted it shut. She locked it one last time and threw the key. It was useless now. Sunny knew the truth and she no longer had to safeguard this place.

For once she felt scared. She was scared before, but it couldn't compare to the fear she was feeling now.

"Oh Abbi!" A voice rang out from the clearing. As Abbi had predicted, Mari was there. "I told you to play along but you didn't listen to my warning. You already know what's going to happen now right?..."

Abbi bit her lip hard enough that it started to bleed. The girl smiled. "Where did you hide Sunny? I can't seem to reach him anymore."

"I don't know, why don't you ask him?" Abbi taunted her.

"Play fair, Abbi. I won this game and I deserve my prize. Where is Sunny?"

When she didn't answer, the smile on Mari's face quickly turned into an ugly scowl. She realized how powerless she looked without it.

"This is life or death Abbi, take this seriously. Hey, how about we make a deal? You seem like a person who'd like those sorts of things. If you tell me where Sunny is, I'll allow you to leave this Headspace. Sunny's been a terrible friend to you after all, look at him forgetting all that you've gone through... Don't you want to be free of this place again?" She asked.

Abbi stood firm and gritted her teeth. She knew full well not to make deals with the devil and she wasn't going to fall for it. "You're nothing but a liar, Mari. Why would you go through all of that when you can just keep me and Sunny here? With this deluded fantasy of yours, Sunny will never be happy."

"But he is happy! He's happier here than the outside world-"

"And who are we to determine someone else's happiness?"

There was sourness tinged in Abbi's voice. For some reason she couldn't help but feel a sense of deja vu as it lolled in her mouth. This would've been her exact conversation with herself as she waited for Sunny to come back in Headspace. The open wound was sharp, but she decided to hold it in.

"I see... How selfish of you Abbi." Mari said. The constellations that cascaded over the fields turned into a dim shade of red. She had clearly vexed Mari to the point that Headspace was showing its true colors. Abbi wondered if Sunny could see it all from the Cattails. "One last chance. Where is Sunny? Let's see where he's truly happy."

Abbi looked towards the Cattails and smiled.

I've fulfilled my side of the deal Sunny. I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise.

She spat on the ground.

"So that's your decision. Mari sighed, clearly dissapointed. "And here I was thinking you'd actually agree to it."

Red arms surrounded Abbi encasing her inside of a large circle. As they grew in number, Abbi found it hard to breathe and she started grasping for air.

"It was nice playing with you, Abbi. I hope we get to play again."

---

Once the deed was done, Mari took the flower crown off of Abbi's deceased body and brought it with her. She wore it like a prize on her head despite no one being able to see it. She could no longer sense Sunny's presence. She knew that he couldn't have gotten that far so she could afford to linger a little.

"Such a wasted opportunity, really. She knew how much I love games, I thought we were on the same wavelength."

Mari opened her picnic basket and took out a worn laptop.

Chapter Text

Run, Sunny, run.

That was the only thing that actively played on Sunny's mind as he desperately ran through Cattail fields. Despite him being physically active as Omori the strength he had built up throughout his adventures depleted him. He was less agile than his Headspace counterpart, and he was very much Sunny at that point.

He grimaced as he pushed through the cattails. He'd regained his 50% but he couldn't afford to use it. If he did, Mari would've came running towards his location as he fought for complete access.

It didn't help that he'd given Abbi the memories he had during his time in former Headspace. He should've just copied her 50% to the portrait instead.

He reached the ladder and quickly climbed down. He couldn't delay any further, if he checked for the other entities near the picnic basket they'd use his stalling to their adventage. Abbi couldn't keep Mari distracted for far too long.

As he reached the bottom, he saw the sky turn a shade of red for a matter of moments. He gulped. That was a bad sign.

He made his way towards the tulip patch near Basil's treehouse and was shocked by the dilapitated state it was in. Mari was there. Save for one lonely tulip standing in its place, the basket was scattered on the floor. On its lid, Sunny found a polaroid of a familiar door inside the neighbor's room.

She didn't exactly give Sunny a choice when he didn't find the laptop anywhere. Sunny's palms were white in agitation as he turned towards the park's clearing.

---

The journey going to the neighbor's room was too silent. Too silent even for his standards. He'd expected the entities he came across prior to Abbi to start hurling rocks and sticks at him but they all seemed to have vanished.

It was foreboding and Sunny didn't like it at all. To think that he'd been playing along to this charade only for this to be the result of it. He had to admit that they were all good at acting though. He'd given into his childish temptations without even taking a look back to see how detached from reality it was. It gave him the taste of the Headspace he'd long since abandoned and showed him how great it was had the facade continued on.

He turned towards the direction of the pastel tree. Why did he stop exactly? He wondered to himself. He'd been given such a gift and he barely used it ever since he chose reality's harshness. He pursed his lips and thought back to the fun times he and Abbi used to have before: A castle... A city... this Headspace was everything that he'd wanted. The people here embodied the euthopic perfection he craved as well.

His train of thought stopped when he saw Mari. Mari stood there by the tree as if she had been waiting for him for a long time. Sunny was surprised to her calm demeanor. He was expecting her to go on a tangent on how 'worried she was' or berate him from running away from her.

"You're late." Instead, Mari did none of those things.

She beckoned him to follow her towards the neigbor's room.

---

He descended the pastel stairway and examined the drastic changes inside of the neigbor's room. The sky he'd seen prior was still tinted a shade of red and he could feel eyes staring at him from every crevice. He quickly made his way towards the door and tried to yank it open. He peered through the keyhole and could see true Headspace behind it.

Mari chuckled at him as he demanded her to open it. "Oh dear brother, what fun would it be if I let you pass that easily?"

"This isn't time for games Mari, open this door."

"But you looked so happy playing this game, I thought you might've at least grown to appreciate it as time passed by. This game was made for you, after all."

She made her way towards Sunny and looked at the door. Sunny frowned. Mari's attitude was far too extreme compared to her real-life counterpart. He'd always hated her for this, but this was just mocking him at this point.

Mari hummed. "You know you can always use your 50%. I've figured that a part of my access to this Headspace was missing anyway. Why don't you use it to open the door? There's nothing to lose."

"I don't want to."

"Is there a problem?"

"I know your tactics Mari. Looking at your face, I can tell that you're not telling me something."

"Really?" Mari gave out an exacerbated gasp. "And I was so sure that I was good at hiding it."

Sunny gritted his teeth. "What do you want from me?"

Mari smiled. "I want to play a game with you, that simple. It's been so long and we haven't really played any games since the others keep taking your time."

"Weren't you the one who allowed us to go on adventures?" Sunny asked.

"Those adventures made you happy so I didn't interfere with any of them. I'm not as selfish as you think."

Sunny laxed his grip from the door and turned towards Mari. "And what do I get in return if I play your game?"

Mari sighed. "You get to go back to your Basil, your Mari, and all the friends you've left behind in Faraway. To be honest, I still think you're making a terrible decision by going back. He has given you the ultimate mercy by creating this utopia for you, you know..."

She stared at the door behind him with a knowing look. "Now here's the deal. I may or may not have placed your precious gift behind this door. The question you have to answer is whether or not it's the real thing." Mari turned towards the picnic basket nearby and took out a black laptop. It resembled the one he had seen before entering Headspace.

"You know of the hangman game, am I correct? Clearly that girl has told you about it. I will allow you to solve the puzzle from one of these laptops in exchange for you giving me 10 keys. I'll be nice and tell you that the answer is 19 words in total."

Sunny listened to Mari's words closely. This was too easy. He knew Mari hated open-ended gambles and this was going down that direction. Feeling the urge to taunt her for more information, he braved a step towards her. "And what if I don't play along?"

"Well..."

Mari fixed her hair to reveal a bronze key hanging on her neck. Sunny didn't need to think twice where it came from. Anger coursed through him and he resisted the urge to grab her lapels. "You-"

"You finally figured it out? When I say games, I mean business. And oh! Abbi was just as cocky as you where back then..." She pushed the basket harshly which caused the contents to drop on the floor. A flower crown slid its way towards Sunny's feet. Sunny's breathing ragged and his vision started to blur.

Mari tsked at his reaction and shook her head. "She took many gambles to get you to this point, Sunny. I indulged her for a time since I found it entertaining, but I didn't expect her to be a rule breaker. Do you really want to know what happens once you break the rules?" She asked. "You might as well leave your questions for the dead."

Sunny's blood ran cold. He picked up the flower crown and caressed its petals. They weren't comforting but somehow its soft texture seemed to be whispering apologies to him. Abbi tried to keep her promise but she couldn't keep it.

"So, will you take the gamble Sunny?" Mari asked once more. Her hand was fully extended as if she was expecting him to hand the keys. Wordlessly, the boy reached inside of his pocket and took out the pouch Abbi had given to him. Mari's lips cracked into a smile.

He stared long and hard at the white door in front of him and tried to put himself in Mari's shoes. Did she replace the laptop with a fake one? After a while he took out the 10 keys and faced her. "I'm done." he muttered.

"Good, now be a good little brother and hand it over."

Sunny walked towards her and reluctantly gave her the keys. Mari grinned and put it in her pocket. "And the laptop?"

"Oh don't worry Sunny, I'm no con. Which laptop will you settle for?" she asked.

Sunny pointed towards his answer. "I see..."

Mari walked towards the door and took out Abbi's key and held it in the air. It turned from bronze to a blinding red. Then she opened the door.

Now it was his time! Sunny made a running start and pushed Mari away, unleashing the 50% he had with him. This was former Headspace. If he made a connection, he wouldn't have the need to play the game of hangman. Mari laughed and leaned on the doorframe. "Oh, how idiotic! Just because you have a copy of your 50% doesn't make you a free person. You can't escape from White Space that easily." Mari cooed at him.

"But this is a part of former Headspace! I should be-"

"A void is just a void until you fill it, Sunny. The moment we've arrived here, it didn't matter if you or Abbi shared custody in this space." Mari said. "The moment you've stepped through this door you've surrendered all of your past access and handed it to me. And now I have..."

"150%" Sunny frowned. "You took away my extra 50%."

Mari smiled at him apologetically. "I'm sorry little brother. I thought you've caught onto me."

Sunny grimaced and turned towards the laptop on the ground. Now the terminal was the only way he could escape. He booted the game and worked his way with the keyboard. He tried to recall the exact order of the letters as his life depended on it.

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He inputted the keys. Even with the bargain he'd got from Mari, he only had 6 chances to get it right. He recalled playing hangman a lot with Basil in the real world and tried to channel his best friend. Basil always won with only 3 guesses.

"You start with the vowels." He recalled Basil saying. The key to winning these sorts of games is the basics.

Sunny was relieved to see that some of them had registered inside of the terminal.

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'This is somewhat easier than I expected…' Sunny thought. He only managed to get one mistake. Mari did not seem affected by this and continued to watch him close by. With a silent resolve, the boy continued on.

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Sunny grimaced. He spoke too soon. "What a shame brother, you were doing so well!" Mari said. It took him 3 turns to guess for some of the consonants and now he was left with two more. With clammy hands, he fumbled with the keys. No… he was so close!

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"Two more to go!" Mari exclaimed. From her spot next to the doorframe she was getting ecstatic. When Sunny made another mistake Mari's smile grew even wider. "One!"

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"Welcome to White Space!" Sunny shouted. He looked at Mari and pointed at the laptop. "The answer is, 'Welcome to White Space'."

Mari didn't answer. A chill crept up Sunny's spin as she approached him from the doorway, the void seemed to cave in and he found it hard to breathe.

"Little brother..." Mari sighed. As he struggled, she knelt down and enveloped him in an embrace. Red hands circled them both and Sunny begged for his life.

This was unfair, he should've won!

Mari patted Sunny on the head and removed herself from the hug. She scavenged for something inside of her pocket.

She held out a single black key with the letter 'S' labelled on it.

"Looks like I've won."

Chapter Text

"Kel."

His father reprimanded him, rolling the window down to address him sternly. "Don't do anything stupid."

Having been slightly reformed from his recent solitary confinement, Kel laughed glumly. He turned towards his father and smiled. "Of course, dad. Why would I do anything stupid?"

With a grunt his father cleared off of the road. Kel sighed and adjusted the straps of his bag, shying away from the glances and murmurs that came his way as he entered the building. He knew how the word spread quickly among the juniors, it was probably their doing in the first place. For once school was a scary place for him. If this was the exact thing Basil felt everytime he came there, he could tell why he hated it with a burning passion.

There was a tight security around him as people did their best to avoid him. It was strange. To think he'd only punted Kim in the nose to get people to act that way. When he got to class he didn't bother to check in with his classmates. Their gazes were mixed from disdain and remorse, they were probably siding with their common evil.

Kel turned to Basil's seat and realized it was empty. The boy had switched seats with the person in the corner because of Aubrey. When Basil saw Kel he immediately approached him with hushed whispers.

"You alright, Kel?" he asked.

"Couldn't be any better." Kel sighed and took a seat.

"Really? I've heard that your dad suspended your..."

"No, Hero took care of it. I'll still be a part of the basketball team."

Basil smiled sightly, heaving a sigh of relief. Though Kel wondered how Basil recieved this information, it was true that his father wanted him to stop playing basketball as punishment, but knowing how this was his only healthy coping mechanism, Hero was kind enough to fight for a lighter sentence.

"And Aubrey?" Basil said. They looked at Aubrey's desk in front of the rows of sitting students. Kel crossed his arms and shrugged dejectedly. "I don't know, Basil. For once, I really don't know what I can say about her."

With pursed lips, Basil nodded solemnly, retiring to his seat.

---

"And so that's all that's happened during these past few weeks." Basil explained, scratching his bandages. "It's not that bad compared to what we've been through, but the Hooligans have grown more protective of Aubrey and Kim."

Kel and Basil sat side by side outside the canteen. They didn't feel comfortable with the glares they were getting from the Hooligans who, for some reason, decided it was best to take a table next to theirs. Kel didn't want a report in all honesty. He didn't want to listen to Basil's tangent report about the Hooligans and wanted nothing to do with it. Yet he stayed silent. He silently slurped his soup and hummed at Basil's words with a feigned interest. At least someone did care about the situation.

"Are you really alright, Kel?" Basil asked him with a worried expression. He'd probably taken the hint from Kel's lack of response.

"Yeah, sorry I just don't feel like it today." Kel responded. He looked above the tree they were sitting under and watched the leaves drop on the ground. School was almost over and it was going to be summer again. Technically it was nearing fall, but their school decided to extend. Before Kel could say anything more, he heard footsteps approaching them from the distance. He smiled wryly. He didn't need to look at the people who've approached them.

"Kim." Kel greeted her. The gang leader smiled at him sweetly and adjusted her glasses on her injured nose. "Glad to know you're not so dense anymore, nerd. Welcome back."

When the Hooligans started to surround them, Kel couldn't resist the urge to laugh. Basil tried to stand up in order to shield him but Kel shook his head and put a hand on his shoulder. "What do you want?"

Kim marched towards him and held him by the collar of his shirt. "Me? Why you know exactly what I want after what you've done to me." she gritted. "...You're just lucky that I'm feeling quite generous lately. If I wasn't, I would've told these guys to shove you in the broom closet already."

She huffed and dropped Kel on the ground. Kim took out a letter from her pocket and laid it next to him. Kel raised a brow and opened the letter reluctantly.

"And what exactly is this?"

"An act of good will, my friend."

"Act of good will?" Kel scoffed. "Since when did you do things out of good will?"

"Call it a peace treaty or whatever, just shut up and read it." Kim grumbled.

Begrudgingly, Kel shared the letter with Basil. On a specific date, the Hooligans were planning to throw an end of the semester party. It was a custom for them to throw events such as these, but this was the first time he'd been invited to it. He was sure that only the popular kids and the ones with something to name attended so he was practically out of place if he ever did attend. Like he'd attend in the first place. Kel couldn't help but smile when he saw the event's location. "Really funny, Kim. The lake?"

"Yes, it'll be held by the lakeside. You got a problem with that, nerd?"

Kel scoffed. "And what makes you think I'll attend?"

Clearly this was a trap. He knew how petty Kim was, and the invitation was probably meant to get payback for her broken nose. Kel pursed his lips when the girl smiled at Basil who was reading the letter.

"Oh you will. It's not your choice to make this time anyway, after all he'll be there."

Kel laughed nervously and turned to Basil. No, he couldn't have. Basil's not that foolish to join this party right? "I can see you lying through your teeth, Kim. Why would Basil attend such a thing? You won't be attending right?"

When Basil didn't answer Kel's inquiry a nerve buldged on his head. "Basil..."

Seeing the two friends consumed in discord, Kim harrumphed to herself. "Looking forward to seeing you both! Make sure to bring some punch for us will you?"

The Hooligans laughed. They left the clearing behind Kim murmuring something to themselves, probably their plan to make Kel's life miserable. Kel looked at Basil darkly. "Basil, what is this?" he said, trying to control his nerves. "Answer me. Are you going to that place?"

The blonde curled his fists into a ball. "I have to."

"Uh, no you don't? This is idiotic, Basil. After all she's done to us- to you- do you really expect this event to be some sort of peace treaty?! Kim even set the location to our hangout spot just to spite you!" Kel gritted.

"I know..."

Basil pursed his lips and fixed his lunchbox which irritated Kel. How could he be so nonchalant about this?

"Then why did you accept the offer? This is just a load of-"

"Because I can't do this anymore, Kel!" Basil snapped. He stood up and faced him, clearly angered as well. "I'm tired of hiding and being scared of the Hooligans! This isn't about Aubrey anymore nor is it about Sunny, this is about everything. This is for all the people the Hooligans hurt, led astray, and broken to the point of no return! If I don't come, nothing will change. Someone has to stand up to them, Kel. We've been doing this for the past few months now, why do we have to stop here?!"

Kel's frown deepened and he stood up from his seat. "I just don't see why you have to do it, Basil." He exclaimed. "The others haven't done anything up to this point, why do you have to martyr yourself for them when they've done nothing to help you?"

Basil stayed quiet. Kel thought it was because he had no answer to the question and he wasn't sure for himself, but he was severely mistaken. He looked at Basil's eyes and saw that he didn't have to answer the question in the first place. There was a hidden anger and sadness that welled up inside his dimming blue orbs and a yearning to be free from the oppression he had faced.

For once, Kel was taken aback. The others were lucky that they had Basil.

Kel sighed and picked up his lunchbox. "There's really nothing that can stop you, is there?"

"I'll have to go with or without you, Kel." Basil murmured. "I'm grateful for all the things you've done for me up to this point, but this time I'll be the one to make this decision."

The nerve of this-

Kel raised his fist and made his way towards Basil. The boy flinched at his sudden movement and braced himself for a punch, only for no punch to be recieved. Instead, Kel lightly punched Basil's chest and made his way out of the clearing. "Well you could've at least told me that earlier. Then I would've at least considered your suicide mission."

Basil blinked for a few moments before following him. "What? So you're coming?"

"Of course I will, like Kim said, I don't have that much of a choice." He laughed sourly. "Damnit Basil, what other things have you been hiding from me?"

"No-nothing much! Just this... and a few others."

"Jeez. Well you have a lot of explaining to do."

"That I do, assuming we'll come back alive."

"Hah!"

From the open window of the canteen, the two boys watched the Hooligans happily eating lunch. Aubrey was there sitting next to Kim with an inconsolable look on her face.

Basil sighed. "Oh, I really hope I didn't accidentally sign us up for an early funeral."

Kel smiled. "Basil, you technically did."

And so preparations for the final tide began.

---

Coming out from the woods, a drunk Carlisle stumbled across a quaint garden. It was larger than the average garden, with it being open access from the clearing he came from, and it was obviously maintained better than the rest he'd stumbled on. There was no gate that fenced it so the man decided to take a stroll around like it was his own. He thought himself as the king of the place and gazed at the plants like his peons.

It was better to be king of that garden than being king in the Plaza. The woman he'd stolen fish from beated him with her purse after getting her eyesight checked.

As he chortled happily past the flower beds, he stopped and peered at the window nearby. It was small and littered with small plants and flowers. This house belonged to the kid. He turned around to make his escape but stopped when something on the wall caught his attention. His heart stopped as he looked closely at the vandelism.

Carlisle's happy demeanor quickly shifted into horror as he squinted his eyes. He wasn't mistaken. He wanted to be mistaken, but the mark was clear as daylight. Overwhelmed from the knowledge he had recieved, he stumbled onto the ground and dropped his flask. He gritted to himself and quickly made his way back into the woods. From there he trekked the fastest route towards the lake and started examining the place carefully. He was relieved at first to see nothing, but his hopes were crushed when he came across the tree the kid sat on the first time they'd met.

Carlisle cursed himself and pulled at his hair when he found the very exact symbol lightly carved on its base. "Shit..."

Chapter Text

When the news about the senior highschool prom dropped, none of them could hold their excitement.

Chaos flooded the orderly halls and every day was a day to remember. From promposals to gossip to rejections, the amount of childishness found in a single building reminded Hero of his junior year.

The poor boy dodged through the restless crowd to get to class. It was early in the morning and the committee members were already active. There were posters and banners everywhere like it was some sort of national election. Why think of classes when prom was looming ahead?

"Hero, come to prom with me, why won't you?" he heard someone exclaim next to him.

"No, don't go with her! Go with me!" cried another.

Two students from another class flocked him like prancing peacocks, blocking his path without warning. Hero sighed and laughed them off, "Sorry ladies, but I'm not going to prom."

"What?!"

"Why aren't you?! I'm a better candidate than she is, I can- Hey come back!"

Using their shock as an opening, Hero darted past them and made his way to class.

When he arrived there a tribunal seemed to be happening between Stephen and Lizzie. Geneva was nowhere to be seen (probably for good measures) and they looked at him with a deadpanned expression.

"Not going to prom, huh?" Lizzie said, tilting her glasses.

Hero chuckled and took a seat next to them.

---

He learned from Lizzie that his fellow officers weren't exempted as well from the situation: Lizzie and Stephen had to go through the painstaking process of rejecting everyone who made advances towards them since they wanted to keep it under wraps, and Geneva had a whole line of admirers waiting for her.

They were dismayed from the way he handled the situation, but were even more dissapointed when it proved to be true.

"But why aren't you going, dude?" Stephen asked him.

"I was planning to ask out Mari. Without her, there is no reason for me to go." Hero replied sheepishly.

"But there's no guarantee that she'll be back even if you did ask her at this point..." Lizzie said with a downcast expression. "Do you really think that Mari would be happy to see you skipping prom just because of her?"

Probably not, he thought to himself She would've probably smiled at him and nudged him to go without her. He pursed his lips. "I guess not..."

"Then go." Stephen urged Hero, "I get that you want to go with Mari, but this is technically a once in a lifetime opportunity. Our prom's been very delayed compared to the last batch and summer's just a few weeks away as well. By then Mari should be fine now right? She can have all of your summer, but at least have a day for yourself man."

Hero sighed. They weren't this synced up with each other back then when they weren't a couple.

"I'll... think about it. But who should I ask then? Everyone's gone haywire at this point..." he shivered at the thought of the two girls who crowded him.

"Hmm... why not try asking Charlotte? You know, she's been holding off a lot of requests lately. 14 now, if I'm counting correctly."

Hero turned and raised a brow at Lizzie. "14?"

Before he could ask more about it, Geneva closed the door forcefully as she caught her breath. "Someone, please hide me- They saw through my disguise."

She quickly turned towards the three of them and sat a seat behind them.

---

"So, 14 huh?"

"What 14?"

Hero took a bite of his sandwich. "You've rejected 14 students already."

Geneva flushed slightly and fixed a strand of her hair, "And so what if I did? Is it something I should be proud of? You've rejected 5 yourself!"

Hero laughed. "Nah, I was just curious. After all, 'who wouldn't want to dance with Charlotte Geneva?'" he mimicked the saying he heard with a stoic expression. Geneva grinned.

The boy clicked his tongue and put aside his sandwich. "You have someone in mind don't you?"

"As if!" she sputtered. "I-I- so what if I do?"

"I knew it! Whose the lucky fellow? Mind if I interview him?"

"You wouldn't have to, it's you."

"What?"

"Youuu know, not really that important. Hey, would you look at the time, just remembered that Lizzie's asking for makeup tips." The girl chuckled nervously and stood up to leave the rooftop. "Nice hanging out with you! See you later."

Hero watched her dumbly as the door closed behind her.

---

When Hero got home, he felt slightly fatigued. He turned towards his window and peered at the house in front of it. There was still no sign of life from Mari. Maybe Stephen was right. Prom was just one day, and he'd probably dedicate his summer trying to get Mari outside. He fiddled with his pen as he tapped it lightly on the binder. But to be honest, that wasn't the only reason he didn't want to join.

"Kel." he addressed the elephant in the room. His brother had just returned home from school with a sullen expression on his face.

"Yo."

"Did they hound you again?" he asked him. When Kel smiled grimly, Hero stood up. "They did?"

"Yeah, but it seems as if they got to Basil first."

Hero frowned. "Basil? Is he alright?"

"He seems to be alright, but I can tell he's just holding on."

Kel laid on his bed and dropped his backpack on the floor. Hero turned his chair to face him. "So, what are you going to do then? You know I can easily interfere-"

"But I really don't want you to get involved..."

Hero sighed. They'd talked about this many times before, but Kel was really hardheaded. Instead of saying anything else to dissuade Hero, Kel took out Kim's letter from his pocket. "Here, see it for yourself. It's the pièce de résistance.”

Hero pursed his lips and moved his chair closer. As he scanned through the contents. He turned to Kel with a look of concern. "There's no way both of you are considering to join this."

"Be we are. Or well, Basil is. I really have no choice to go if he's going, that guy's going to be beaten up into a pulp." Kel scratched his head. "You know, Basil's like a watermelon. Firm, thickheaded on the outside, but cut it with a knife it's all soft." He said, waving his hands to emphasize his point.

When Kel saw Hero rubbing his nosebridge he chuckled nervously. "You're not telling mom about this, are you?"

"I'll think about it. But for the love of god, think this through before you answer. Those people are clearly dangerous and they've gotten you suspended once."

Kel laughed sourly. "I just wish that's how everything works, Hero. But I've learned that to a prove a point you have to go beyond wads of paper and practical reason."

Hero frowned realizing what his brother had meant. "This is about Aubrey is it?"

Kel sighed. "Of course everything has to do with Aubrey. It's Aubrey this, Aubrey that- you know, I'm beginning to think that it's all hopeless. What if this was the the life she truly wanted? Am I insensitive for wanting her to become a better person?"

Hero shook his head. "Not at all Kel. I think it just shows that you're really a true friend to her despite everything."

"Does it make her a true friend if she was the one who left me and Basil to deal with all her baggage?"

The room turned silent. Hero was lost in thought for a moment, unsure of what to say. Kel simply chuckled. "It's fine Hero, you don't have to answer. I need to answer that for myself anyway."

He stretched his arms and yawned, giving Hero a tired thumbs up. "I'll be fine Hero, I'm not as dense as I used to. I won't lash out like I did during dodgeball." He reassured him.

"You better not. But well... I wish things turn out favorable for you and Basil." Hero said.

He stood up from his chair and hit his chest lightly, worry still evident on his face.

Mari wasn't the only reason Hero didn't want to attend prom. He looked outside the window apologetically.

Prom can just wait a little bit longer.

---

"Hey Geneva,"

"Huh? What's up, Hero?"

"Can you stay in school for just a little bit longer?" Hero asked her.

They were by the school gate and Geneva was about to take a turn to her house. Geneva frowned and gave him an inquisitive look. "I'm sure it'll be fine, I walk home anyway. Is there something going on?"

"Well..."

"You're not making me confess to someone on your behalf right?"

"What? Why would I- No, this isn't related to prom at all. I just... I need your help."

Hero was clearly serious. Geneva sighed and calmed herself down. "Talk to me on the way."

With Geneva in tow, they made their way back to the building.

---

The trip landed them both in the principal's office, not for any terrible reasons but according to Hero's plan. Hero had requested a meeting with the principal a few days earlier and luck would have it that the principal was welcoming enough to free his schedule. There was a formidable silence in the room as Hero did the talking. His hands were clammy but he dared not address it. What matters now is how he pitched his idea. Both Geneva and the principal listened attentively to him with equal frowns on their faces.

"You want the board to run background checks on these students, Mr. Andres? Am I hearing you correctly?"

Hero nodded, pointing at the picture of Kim. "Yes, especially her."

The tabby old man frowned deeply and took a closer look at the picture. He harrumphed and shook his head, "I must apologize young man. Isn't that the picture of the innocent girl your very own brother assaulted? Why would you want me to run a background check on her? Ah, that is, if you mean for me to ask around for compensation."

Hero's eyelid twitched slightly. The guy wasn't even listening to him. "Unfortunately this is not for compensation sir. The girl has been running a gang in your school for a couple of years now without your notice."

"She's clean."

"And how can you be so sure of that?"

"Why there is no physical evidence associating her to anything. Perhaps this is just a scare tactic of theirs, don't you think? Children will be children, there's nothing wrong with a little rough housing."

Hero pursed his lips. "Sir, many students have been victimized by this delinquent group. If you want physical evidence, they're right there! Don't tell me you're going to turn a blind eye on this. My brother-"

"Is not a credible witness. This isn't the first time your brother has been brought to my attention, Mr. Andres." The principal rebuked him sharply. "Compared to Miss Flor, he has a long track record of being a trouble maker by the faculty. And son, what students are you talking about? None have come to me directly about this gang assertation of yours, and the last time this been brought up was the time your brother earned his suspension."

Things were getting heated from the two men and each argument led to another. Hero curled his fist into a ball, fighting the attempt to land a blow on the principal. Geneva saw this and quickly intervened by holding it in place.

She had been silently observing them the entire time, most especially their principal's reaction. She could tell that he wasn't constantly riling Hero up for no reason and he actually wanted him until he reached his breaking point.

Geneva examined the pictures in front of her once more and tried to connect the dots. When she recalled the surname the principal had dropped, her face immediately darkened.

"Miss Flor... is it?" She said, taking the picture for herself. "Sorry, I don't mean to intrude in your argument, but aren't the Flors' one of the school's biggest donors for many years?"

The principal turned towards Geneva and put on a calm expression, "Yes, they've been sponsoring this school since the late 90's. Is there anything wrong with that, my dear?"

"Yes, it's upsetting to say the least. So from what I'm getting, your establishment is shielding Miss Flor and her cronies because of nepotism." Geneva feigned a gasp and looked at Hero. "Hero, we should've thought of that in the first place."

A nerve buldged on the man's forehead. Suddenly he seemed to be sweating profusely. "Young lady, there is no evidence of such a thing! Therefore-"

"Therefore evidence must be presented actively right? Not from us, but from the school itself. This is a breach of your school policy isn't it, sir? If it's true that you're shielding these students because of their family status then you are basically saying that you are condoning assault among your students. That is, if you want to save face of course." Geneva smiled at him coldly.

"Just think about it, which parent would want to enrol their child to a school whose environment isn't safe and learner friendly? They'd probably opt for a better school far away from Faraway. Better go somewhere else than seeing their child being sandwiched every day right? What'll happen to this school now?"

Hero looked at Geneva wordlessly. This was the first time he'd ever seen her grill someone before, and he didn't expect her to act this way. She looked cold blooded. Her eyes were dark and there was an unfamiliar calculating aura that surrounded her. Despite all of this, she couldn't help but shake the feeling that it was slightly an act. The hand she had on his fist for support was warm.

"Young lady, who are you to lawyer me? You forget your place." The principal said sternly. His face was all red and he seemed to be grasping for straws. "I am the principal of this establishment! I can easily have you suspended like Mr. Andres' brother for talking back to me." He smirked, thinking the tides would favor him.

"But you can't, can you sir? Given how you've acted like that for the Flors' daughter." Geneva taunted.

The principal smiled. "And who am I addressing right now?"

"Charlotte Geneva, sir."

The principal's face paled.

---

It turns out, Hero was lucky to bring Geneva into the loop. Other than the Flors' the Genevas' were also one of the school's biggest donors, donating bigger sums than the prior family. Geneva's mother had settled for a rich man after her divorce, and said man held his alma mater in Faraway with great esteem. It went to the point that even if they came from the city, he made great lengths to pay back for his school years despite how successful he has become in life.

Hero watched the principal's pride be reduced into smithereens in front of Geneva. This wasn't an every day occurence. After taking a deep breath, the principal put on a formal smile and addressed them reluctantly. "I'll have a look into this matter..." he paused, "However, it would be helpful if I get to know these students who you claim to be violently assaulted by this 'Hooligans'."

Hero nodded. "Of course. We'll send you a detailed list if we have to, sir."

The principal hummed.

Thanking the principal for his time, the two made their way out of the office. The old man stopped Geneva from leaving for a moment. "Miss Geneva, if it is my place, might I ask if your family is going to withdraw their sponsorship if ever you recieve unfavorable results?"

Geneva smiled at him. It didn't match her dark eyes. "It depends if you don't do your job."

---

"How can I repay you?" Hero asked her.

He was still pretty dumbfounded from what he's witnessed, but he'd been meaning to ask that before they left. Geneva laughed. "You don't have to repay me with anything Hero, I'm just glad that I could help you plead your case."

Hero shook his head. "No, you've gone through a great deal for me. Without you, my brother's efforts would be for nothing and more people would've gotten harmed. Really, if there is anything I can do for you, please don't hesitate and tell me."

The girl stopped walking and looked at him. Her cold demeanor chipped off and she looked as bright as ever. When she figured out that Hero's intentions were true, she sighed and smiled at him. "Well then if it's just one favor... will you...?"

Her ears were red and she turned away. "Would you like to be my date for the prom?"

---

Hero found himself sitting alone inside of his bedroom again. He tapped Mari's binder with fervor as he stared absently at the window. He had agreed to Geneva's invitation in the end. What was he supposed to do? He really owed her.

The hand she had put on his lap however stinged from its bittersweet sensation. Strange, Hero chuckled to himself. And he thought it would've been with her.

Hero sighed and stopped tapping on the binder. Perhaps at that moment he wished to hear the sound of tapping on his window or the large crashing sound of a rock being hurled at his direction.

He dropped his pen and gripped his lax on the binder, saving up face before Kel arrived.

Chapter Text

As the day of reckoning slowly dawned on Kel, time seemed to drift slower and slower. At first, he felt indifferent to it, having bumped heads with the Hooligans countless times before, but with every passing day, Kel would find himself shuddering at the mere thought of the delinquents.

The Hooligans have been oddly lenient towards them for the past few days— too lenient for their final week of the semester. After their final examinations, there was no tracking, no locker graffiti, no taunting. It was as if everything had returned to normal. Kel knew not to trust this as the Hooligans were the most conniving and cunning bunch he had ever met. There was and always will be a reason for that sort of silence he was sure of this.

He felt like a convict being paraded through death row, who was left with a flickering faith that they had inflicted upon him the harshest punishment they could muster. Kel couldn’t bring it upon himself to tell his fears to Basil. He knew how prepared he was to become a martyr for the sake of other people. However, unlike Basil, Kel was no altruist or martyr. He had learned to grow selfish and think for himself.

Kel stared glumly at his bathroom mirror, soaking his face with clean water. His face showed clear traces of fatigue and his eyebags sagged from the lack of sleep he’s been getting. If he had been the Kel he’d known himself a couple of months ago, he would have smiled and tried to cheer himself on despite everything. Yet it was obvious that no amount of pep talks could get him through this circumstance. He and Basil were screwed. And what made it worse was the fact that they were screwed in just half an hour.

“Are you done, Kel?” Hero asked. Kel turned towards the door when Hero entered with a comb. “Yeah, I’ll be done in a moment. The question is, are you done?” Kel said, segueing the subject away from him.

“I suppose so. I hope it passes her standards at least.”

Kel huffed slightly and leaned his elbow on the sink. “Please, I bet it would definitely exceed her standards. Being handsome and charismatic is your strength.”

Hero chuckled. “Wow, okay then. Guess this will have to do.” He smiled gratefully at Kel. When he realized that Kel’s tie wasn’t fixed, his smile turned into a frown. “Are you not planning to fix that?”

“Oh, you mean my tie? To be honest, I don’t see the point of fixing it. Just recently I’ve had this premonition that it’s going to get messed up later anyway, so what’s the point in delaying the inevitable?”

Hero pursed his lips. “Kel…”

“Alright, alright, spare me the lecture. Don't say that I didn't warn you though.” Kel pouted. He could see Hero’s concerned look in the bathroom mirror. It wasn’t entirely his fault that he had turned out to be so self-deprecating, but the irony between him and Hero was a bit of a tough pill to swallow. A part of Kel wanted to remark on how he wished he could just join Hero during his prom but his conscience stuck with Basil.

Hero let out a sigh and watched his brother fix his necktie. “You better make it out alive of there, Kel. I’m counting on you.”

Kel smiled slightly. “I’ll try my best.”

“And no violence?”

When the boy didn’t answer, Hero admonished him sternly. “Kel, you know what’ll become of you if you choose that route. You’ll be as worse as-”

“I can’t guarantee that, but-” he paused, “I’ll try.”

Hero shook his head. He took a glance at their figures in the mirror while giving his brother a side hug, his lips uptilted to a sad, resigned smile. “We’ll make it through this. We have to.”

Kel could only nod.
—

“And so the party begins…” Kel sighed. The clearing of their former hangout was no longer theirs. The Hooligans had truly made a mockery out of the two of them, hosting their celebration at a suicide site. In the back of Kel’s mind, he wondered if Aubrey had something to do with it.

Basil was too busy prodding something inside of his backpack to respond to him. He had left the zipper of his bag’s front pocket slightly ajar, just enough to cater to a small unnoticeable gap in the corner. Kel raised his brow. “What’s that for?”

“Nothing. Let’s just get this over with.”

With nothing else to say, Kel and Basil walked towards the clearing like soldiers entering a battlefield, a sense of determination mingled with the dread they shared.

—

When Hero arrived at the entrance of the school, he couldn't help but shake the feeling that he was being watched. From the main gate going to the gym, he saw eyes glued towards his direction taking in all of his movements. The reactions were varied, split into disappointment, awe, and envy, for a reason that Hero was aware of but hoped not to be the case. He was truly the envy of the night for taking Geneva to the prom, but he didn't exactly find it thrilling compared to those who wished to be in his shoes.

'I wonder how Kel is doing…' he thought to himself. By this time, Kel would've already met up with Basil and would be on his way to the park. His worry for his brother overpowered that of his social anxiety, and there was an entirely different reason as to why he was sluggish as he walked. His thoughts clouded him to the point that he didn't realize that he had bumped into Stephen.

"Hero, there you are! You alright, dude?" Stephen asked. Stephen had just gone out of the venue to fetch him under the orders of Lizzie. He was a completely different person: clad in a dark blue suit and tie, he finally resembled someone worthy to be called a gentleman. His unruly hair was parted towards the side making him slightly unrecognizable to Hero.

Hero couldn't help but tease him because of this. "Now I am. I never knew that you had it in you to wear something formal."

The jock frowned. "Do I really not strike you as that kind of person?"

"I mean it lightly, of course, I guess I've been used to seeing you in a jersey."

"Well, it seems that you've underestimated me." Stephen huffed. "Lizzie says it suits me."

"It does. You better consider picking it up after this."

The blonde gave him a thankful smile.

Moving past the lockers, the two boys made their way toward the long line of people that took up half of the hallway. The prom committee had set up a small booth near the entrance.

When Hero was about to line up, Stephen dragged him out of the queue and pushed him towards the entrance. They'd reserved for Hero earlier as Lizzie was just a walking distance away from school.

The gym had been redecorated to look like a ballroom, with large wide drapes garbed on each side. Makeshift white stars dangled on the ceiling, and the room had been dimmed to set the tone. After a long heated debate, the students had settled for a 'starry night' theme in contrast to their previous seniors' prom. Hero didn't expect their batch to pull off the project in a matter of days but the result surprised him.

Stephen sat next to Lizzie, who was talking to one of their batchmates seated around the table. Lizzie simply moved aside which earned her a heartbroken look from Stephen.

Geneva was wearing a dark purple evening dress with floral lace and her hair was neatly tied into a bun. She stood out from the dim lighting as she was sitting close to the spotlight which emitted a soft blue hue towards the dance floor. The way her lips were curved into a smile vaguely reminded him of a certain person whom he'd wished dearly to be with him. His heart ached a little thinking about it. The girl stood up to greet Hero.

When she realized that Hero was looking at her dress, she chuckled. "Too much, is it?"

"No, not at all- it's very beautiful. It… It matches you, really."

He could see Geneva's eyes sparkle a little from his compliment. "Really? Thanks. I think yours suits you as well." She draped her arm around his and led him towards Lizzie and Stephen.

Though being with his friends was able to slightly relieve Hero from his previous commitments, the evening's splendor slowly started to wear off as time passed by.

His mind drifted back to Kel and Mari and he couldn't help but feel guilty towards them. After all, he still dared to join prom despite the events that had developed. With a sigh, he excused himself from the group to get some punch. Geneva stood up and followed him, pouring a cup for herself before shaking her head at Hero.

“Why don’t we get some fresh air? Just the two of us.”

Sipping from her cup, she ushered him outside of the gym.

They made their way towards the vacant rooftop. Compared to the fake starry night display of the gym, the evening sky could not be rivaled by the paper stars and silver Christmas lights they'd funded for the occasion. Geneva sat back at her usual spot by the side wall, watching Hero curiously as he swirled the punch inside of his cup. Hero was too dismal to address her so once again she took the lead. “What’s on your mind, Hero?” she asked.

Hero turned towards her, “Nothing much. Is there something wrong?”

Geneva frowned. “Really? And you think I believe you?”

“Probably?”

“You sound more defensive than usual. Something is clearly on your mind.”

After a minute of stalling, Hero sighed. “You’re very observant, Geneva. I have to give you that."

“You make yourself too obvious sometimes, even Stephen could tell.” Geneva chuckled. She hugged her left knee and leaned on it. “Talk to me.”

Hero returned to his unattended drink and shook his head. “No, it's nothing. I don’t want to ruin your night.”

“Selfish? Hero, you’re far from that. It’s fine if you tell me about it.”

Hero found himself drinking because of this, that he managed to empty half of his cup. After quite some time, he finally caved in and put it aside languidly. “It’s Kel. He’s confronting the Hooligans at the moment and I can’t help but worry about him… They’ve made an event of their own, and no one other than their batch knows about it. I’ve told Kel to think it through, but he’s so adamant about not getting me involved. I can’t exactly tell him to stay for his own good or tell him that it’s alright to get himself caught up in matters such as that. I feel useless.”

Geneva pursed her lips. “But wasn’t it you who decided to bring the matter up to our principal? You can’t exactly say that you’ve done nothing.”

“Let’s be honest, Geneva, you did most of the work. If you weren’t there I would’ve strangled him from where I was sitting.” Hero interjected. “You don’t need to think of ways to give me the credit I don’t deserve, but I do appreciate you trying so.”

Silence enveloped them once more. Though he was grateful for his friend’s concern, Hero felt like he'd been pampered long enough. Out of all his friends, he couldn’t compare to any of the pain they’d been keeping to themselves as he’s never experienced it. He was just there. Just there, living the ideal life everyone expected him to live. He's gone on with his life as if nothing had gone wrong and received the favor and comfort everyone else deserved.

If that didn't make him feel selfish enough, he didn't know what else could.

“I still think that you’re giving yourself the short end of the stick, Hero.” Geneva continued, “The mere fact that you still went all the way for your brother shows how much you’ll do anything for him. Sure, I may have been the one to bring up my father to the principal, but I wouldn’t have known about this situation if it weren’t for you in the first place. And if I were put in a situation where the person I care deeply about wouldn’t let me interfere, I too would worry a lot for them.” She turned towards Hero, giving him a sad smile. “But in the end though we can’t truly change the decision of another person unless they allow us to. At the end of the day, it’s up to them to do something about it. We can only act on it in a way that somehow respects their wishes. It’s a matter of trust.”

Hero frowned at this, “But how can I trust Kel after not knowing him for so long? Even though we talk now, it still feels like he’s a stranger to me sometimes.”

“Then you get to know him again. You learn how to trust this version of your brother is good and doing the right thing. After all that Kel has gone through, you can only expect that he’s also changed. All we can do now is to put our faith in his judgment. Plus who's saying that you’re ‘just’ sitting around?”

Geneva answered resolutely. She took out the small sheet of paper that Hero’s been hiding inside of his inner pocket and examined it carefully. The words were barely legible and looked like a dotted ant colony. “You’re still searching for those students, aren't you, Hero?”

Hero turned red from embarrassment. Ever since their encounter with their principal, he had been working hard to gather information about Kel's batchmates. He had used up all his tacit connections with the school faculty to compile a list of every individual student. Hero hung his head low in shame, “I’m sorry… I know I shouldn’t have-”

“I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but it just proves my point. Hero, you’re not useless at all.” She handed him the paper and let out a sigh.

Taking a look at the list he had created, another wave of guilt hit him. He could tell that she was hiding her disappointment, and his negligence had gotten to a point that they hadn’t even shared a dance. Yet even still here she was trying to show him kindness. After settling into silence, he decided to ask her, "Do I annoy you?"

Geneva turned to Hero, “Huh? What gave you that idea?”

"Instead of giving you the prom that you’ve wanted, here you are comforting me because of my troubles. No… you've always been comforting me since the incident. You should be dancing with someone else right now."

Geneva shook her head. She looked at the stars that encompassed them and finally dropped her passive front, slumping on the wall with a sigh. "Well… this situation you have is pretty much a hard pill to swallow, but you need all the support at the moment. I don't mind missing a dance or two if it means that you're able to express your feelings. Plus, the program flow in the gym was boring anyway so I feel like I wouldn't enjoy it as much." The girl joked.

Hero found himself grinning at the joke. He decided to go along with it. "So you've used me to escape prom, huh?"

"You? Escape? I'm just being a helpful friend! Is there something wrong with that?" The girl frowned. "And also, you should consider yourself lucky that you have such a considerate partner. If it were Lizzie or anyone else they'd probably feel as if you'd stood them up. I think I've done a pretty good job."

Hero's lips tilted into a small smile. "I suppose I am lucky after all."

Once she was finished with her drink, she glanced at her watch and gave Hero a small knowing smile. "Well then, shall we get going? I'm not sure how much longer Lizzie can put up with Stephen." She stood up from her seat and made her way towards the door.

Hero stalled for a moment and took a step closer to the edge of the rooftop. "Wait." Hero stopped her. He turned towards Geneva and prevented her from leaving through the door. Geneva gave him a confused look, and let go of the door handle. "What's up? Is there something wrong, Hero?"

"I think there pretty much is. I haven't exactly fulfilled my role as your escort have I?" He couldn't help but smile coyly at his incompetence. Geneva couldn't help but chuckle at this. "It's fine, Hero. You don't have to do anything, I'm just glad that you were able to accompany you tonight."

"But isn't it in everyone's code of conduct to repay someone once they've been given something?"

He led her towards the center of the rooftop and offered Geneva his other hand. "Geneva, will you allow me to have this dance?"
___

The Hooligans had set up a grand soiree inside of the clearing which surprised Kel to say the least. Given how rowdy they were at Gino’s, he hadn’t expected them to actually put in the effort to orchestrate something so organized, let alone a semi-formal event.

They had strung up fairy lights on large wooden poles which cascaded over a large part of the lakeside, and went through the extra lengths of hiring an actual catering service. Different groups circled the inner radius of the lake which Kel realized was composed of elite and popular students of their batch. They had put the outcasts and normies in the far-off corner.

In the Hooligans group, Kel saw Aubrey sitting next to Kim in a pink skater dress. The two locked eyes for a brief moment, but Kel looked away.

"Here, here! For the two men of the hour… Kelsey Andres and Basil Grey! Lovely of you to join us here, nerds." Kim exclaimed. She clinked her glass with a spoon and held it towards them.

The guests' eyes turned towards the two newcomers and they welcomed them with snide sneers and hushed murmurs. Kim smiled at this and leaned back on her seat, instructing two of her brutes to escort their guests. Vance and Charlene forcefully led the two of them toward the cramped table that was reserved for the outcasts. Aubrey sipped pitifully from her glass.

"Kel Andres? The brother of Hero, our upperclassman?"

"Why's he sitting with the outcast table? Shouldn't he be with the Hooligans?"

"Be quiet, you two! They might hear you. No, from what I heard, he bumped heads with Kim and he's gone all defiant on them for the past few months. He’s not a part of the Hooligans."

"That’s weird. He did strike me as the type to be one to be honest… but defiant for what exactly?"

"You see that blonde freak next to him? Yeah, it's all because of him. Kel has gone all the way to get him off the Hooligans' hit list, but the guy is just an ungrateful jerk. Kel needs better friends."

"He really does… I kind of feel bad for him!"

"Maybe the blonde guy can just get it over with and jump in that lake just like his boyfriend. I heard a rumor that this was the place where he offed himself."

“Poor Kel doesn’t know what he’s getting into!”

Anger coursed through Kel's veins hearing this from one of the tables. They were vehement enough to bully Basil plainspokenly. They didn't even bother to lower their voices. He turned towards the table where the gossiping students sat and glowered at them. Though he was outcasted, that didn’t make him any less of a treat. The three students quickly feigned ignorance and stopped gossiping with each other.

Kel turned towards Basil to check on him, but the boy didn’t seem affected. Instead, he played with his spoon and watched his reflection. Kel frowned at his indifference. When Basil noticed he gave him an unimpressed grin. “It’s fine, Kel. Let them think what they want to think. I won’t let people like these trample on my memory of Sunny. If I knew how to swim, hell, sure! Why not? I’ll go dive into that lake right now and show them that Sunny’s not in there.”

Kel’s mouth gaped a little from the sarcasm. He didn’t expect to see this side of Basil.

The festive mood truly made them look like clowns being mocked. The people sitting next to them were the gloomiest bunch.

Some of the tables occasionally threw insults at them at the beck and call of the Hooligans, earning a few laughs at their character. Kel’s heart sank knowing how these kids wanted to get the day over with. They probably were even forced to participate out of fear that they’d be hunted next year. He could’ve gone further on to describe their misery if it weren’t for some certain individuals with a different look on their faces. They all seemed to be focused on Basil as if he had something to say to them.

Aubrey was by the catering trying to inch closer to their table. When she realized that he was catching on to her, she smiled at the man who dumped some pasta on her empty plate. Charlene and Vance were quick to usher her back to their table.

When the catering servers had made their way out of the premises, Kim stood up from her seat to make an announcement, “Now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment you’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived.”

Fixing the lapels of her coat, she walked center stage where everyone could see her. Kel sighed to himself deeply and resisted the urge to scowl.

“However before we start, I would like to thank you all for coming this evening! This event wouldn’t be possible if our special guests did not come. Can we give them a round of applause?” She pointed towards the Outcast table. As the crowd gave their table half-hearted applause, Kim made her way towards Kel and made sure to savor his sour reaction. “You enjoying yourself, nerd?”

“Do I look like I’m enjoying myself?”

“Hmm.. I’d say you are, but not enough. Hope the next part of the event will fix that though.” She winked at him. Kim gave Basil a warm smile before making her way back. A cold sweat ran down Kel’s temple.

He anxiously turned towards the Hooligans’ table which was now garnering the attention of the entire crowd; All of the members except for Aubrey and Vance had stood up from their seats, folding up their sleeves.

“Now going back to the main event, I’m sure you all are aware that we, the Hooligans, are one of many groups who keep in check this entire school, most especially those who seem lost and don’t know their place… Well, recently, I’ve been thinking that this system isn’t working anymore since many of these individuals still refuse to accept our help.” She fixed her glasses atop her bandaged nose bridge and tsked to herself. “So to finally come up with a solution to this problem, we’ve decided to give these people the opportunity to prove themselves. We’ll give them the fight they’ve been itching for right here and now if it helps them finally learn their lesson. Don’t you all agree?”

Murmurs quickly erupted from all of the surrounding tables, and Kel could once again feel eyes scrutinizing him. Majority of the major groups did not feel scathed by the idea. It was as if they were egging on for the dramatic confrontation to be displayed in front of them. Aubrey seemed more disconcerted than ever, fidgeting from her seat as the Hooligans stood up. Kel scoffed at her as she remained in her seat. Of course, she didn’t want to sully her hands.

“Then it is settled,” Kim said. The Hooligans made their way towards the Outcast table, clearly confident with what was about to go down. Kel could tell that they knew full well that none of their special guests could beat them. Basil was the first to stand up to shield the other remaining outcasts. He wasn’t trembling compared to his previous encounters, and he seemed ready to step up to them. With a gulp, Kel soon followed afterward. He was surprised to see some of them stand up with him. Kim grinned at their foolishness. “Why look at you both, protecting those who’ve done you no justice at all. It seems like you’ve truly prepared to make a fool of yourselves this evening. You even made friends.”

Basil pursed his lips. “We’re not afraid of you, Kim.”

Kim grinned menacingly. “I was hoping that was the case. It makes seeing you suffer even more enjoyable.”

—
"Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!"

"Oh! What a blow from Vance, that'll surely leave a bruise!"

"Killjoy! Just when we're about to have some action as well."

“Why you little piece of— Hey! Why are you taking it out on me?! I’m not a part of the Hooligans!”

The entire clearing had turned into a madhouse. The tables were overturned and the fairy lights were askew on the floor. The outcast students were falling left and right as they tried to settle their rightful score. The fire that had left their eyes had turned into a fiery flame, all amassed from their pure hatred for their oppressors. Even the elitists who incited the confrontation were soon dragged into it after some of their fellow members began turning against them.

It was enough to keep the whole crowd riled up, but it was not enough to subdue the Hooligans. Just as Kel expected, neither of them was able to land a clean blow on their members, leaving most of them on the defensive. Strength overpowered numbers and the Hooligans had the upper hand.

"Kel! Behind you!" Basil shouted.

Charlene had gone into a running start. She had run from the edge of the lake towards his direction, raising her hands and ramming into the catering table. Kel was just an arm's length away from getting tackled onto the ground like the two others who unfortunately weren't able to hear Basil's warning. As Kel was able to duck just in time, he felt a throbbing pain bloom from his ribs when Kim punched him on his side. As he stumbled sidewards, Kim spat on the ground, "What the heck are you doing Kel?! You're not even trying!" The girl complained. Kel picked himself up and gave her a shrug. He resumed his awkward defensive stance and took deep breaths. In Kel’s mind, they were playing a game of dodgeball. He was dodging and weaving everything that the Hooligans threw at him, and failing miserably to counter them in the process. He couldn’t find the courage to pick up a ball.

Why?Why?

Why was he hesitating just now, now that everything was falling apart right in front of him?

Appalled by Kel’s lack of grit, Kim started pushing him toward the lake. “You wimp! This isn’t what I expected at all when I invited you here. Why aren’t you fighting? Why aren’t you doing anything?!” Kim groaned. Now Kel was getting hurt. Bruises were forming on his arms and Kim was kicking at him trying to get him out of balance. Kel realized her frustration penting up and said nothing about it. “Answer me, Kel! ANSWER ME!”

“Kel do something! Shit!” Basil cried out to him. His lowered guard gave Angel the advantage to hold him by his backpack. His backpack straps came loose and landed square into Angel’s chest. Angel raised a brow when he saw the blinking light inside of the gap.

Kim glowered at him and pulled on Kel’s collar. “You were the one who wanted to break the peace that we’ve created. This is everything that you’ve wanted! I gave you everything you wanted. I gave you a chance to redeem yourself and pay back your goddamn bargain!” She turned towards Aubrey. “And now that you’re here, you’ve put everything to waste. You’ve riled all these students up just to get back at her. Did you think your little stunt did nothing? Why, I bet in their stupid heads they’re chanting the name ‘Kel Andres’ at this moment. Go ‘Kel Andres’! Break something more than her nose.”

Aubrey was on the edge of her seat twisting her handkerchief. Students were getting injured left and right, and the chanting crowd had left her in a dizzying blur. Her heart was beating fast and she found herself standing up from her seat when she saw Kel’s horrible state.

“But do you know why despite everything you’ve done, you still can't seem to reach her?” Now that Kel’s back was dangerously facing the water, Kim pulled him closer by the collar just enough to hear her whisper. “That’s because unlike me, you’re dense Kel. You chose them over her by going against us. You’ve reaped what you’ve sown.”

“KEL!”

Meeting Kim’s cold gaze for the last time, he collided with the water with a resounding splash.
Water flooded his ears and everything went dark. It’s strange. Though he clearly knew that he should be in a state of panic, there was that feeling of emptiness again: It was the same kind of emptiness that he felt after hearing about Sunny’s death all those months ago, and the same kind of emptiness that he felt after confronting Aubrey, punching Kim, and getting suspended. He couldn’t find a reason to swim up. Did Sunny feel this way when he drowned? Thinking about it made Kel feel tired.

The crowd was blurring above him and he could see Kim’s figure getting smaller and smaller. Someone was screaming. Blowing bubbles from his nostrils, Kel closed his eyes.

Then after a few moments, Kel heard a crashing sound right above him. He opened his eyes a little and saw the floating fabric of a familiar pink dress. The next thing he knew, arms reached out towards him and dragged him towards the surface. Aubrey pulled him close and waded them through the water until they reached the eroded land by the side of the dock.

When they got out of the water, she laid him down and shook him frantically. “No! NO! Kel stay with me!”

She reached out to cradle his head as he faded in and out of consciousness. Basil pushed away from the crowd and joined them. After a while, Kel woke up with violent coughs. Kim was none the wiser as Aubrey glowered at her, eyes filled with a deep hatred.

“What the— hey, what the heck are you doing? Why would you help them?!”

“Kim, stop this. This is enough. You’ve taken everything too far.”

“But this was all for you! I don’t understand why you— you—”

“I SAID ENOUGH!” Aubrey shouted. Once she was sure that Basil was tending to Kel, she squeezed the water out of her hair and stood up. The whole clearing was silent. “This— everything, Kim. Kim this is wrong. This whole gathering was a mistake and no one deserves to get hurt from it! We’re playing and betting on the lives of people when we shouldn’t be messing with them in the first place. Look at this crowd,” she turned towards the onlookers. “We’re behaving like animals!”

Kim laughed grimly. “You’re shitting on me, right? What do you mean nobody deserves to get hurt from this? We’re setting an example to everyone right now to stop messing with the wrong crowd. They’re playing us thinking that they have the upper hand when let's be honest, they’re just lucky to even walk the hallways of our school. They’re the ones who are acting like animals that we have to tame!”

“You almost drowned Kel!”

“And who says he doesn’t deserve it?!”

“Kim!”

“He left you for dead at a time when you needed him the most! He chose the freak over you!”

“And now I understand why.” Aubrey gritted. Her fists tightened into steel balls. “And— and I don’t blame them at all for not wanting to be friends with me after everything that I’ve allowed… All this abuse I’ve condoned when I knew deep down that it's wrong. There’s no excuse for any of this, there’s no excuse at all for what I’ve done.”

The crowd's lack of response pushed Aubrey even further, “Is this the show that you wanted?! Seeing your classmates drop like flies just because you wanted some sick entertainment? 3 people are unconscious right now, more than half of the people in this clearing are injured, and you! I can’t believe you’re actually…! God, look at what we’ve done to ourselves, next thing we know–”

“It’s not your say on how things go, Aubrey!”

“someone might end up dead again!”

Kel felt Basil grip his shoulder a bit too tightly. Angel pried Basil’s backpack open and turned pale from what he saw inside. He pulled out the small metal box that Basil had brought with him, and called out to Mikhael who was helping Charlene by the broken punch table. The small red light continued to pulsate on its right side. “M-master… what is this?”

“What’s what? H-hey… what’s that thing you’re holding? Is that a…”

“N-no I don’t think so. There’s no way that the freak would—” Angel scrutinized the package more closely, hearing the slight whirring sound inside of it. He gulped.

“BOMB! SOMEONE’S BROUGHT A BOMB!” someone from the crowd shouted.

Angel dropped the bag and quickly ran away from the clearing. The people who were injured staggered and shouted as they frantically pushed and shoved at each other in an effort to get out. Kim looked at the blinking device and gritted to herself. She gave Aubrey a heartbroken look before rushing deeper into the woods.

Aubrey staggered backwards and her breathing ragged. “B-Basil you didn’t actually—”

“It’s safe.” Basil muttered. He walked towards the box and picked it up, fiddling with its bottom for what seemed to be a switch. In just a few seconds, the light on the right hand corner died down. With a sigh, he opened it and checked its contents. “What’s inside then?” Kel asked.

“Obviously not a bomb, but I’m going to have to check if it's damaged at home before sending it to Detective Raymond. Should’ve known to secure the cassette better before getting here.” he chuckled nervously.

Kel watched Basil with wonder as he pulled out a small translucent cassette tape from the box. He couldn’t contain his beam as he stood up to tackle Basil into a hug, headlocking him and ruffling his hair with his fist. “Oh you are insane man! What the hell! You had it recorded this entire time?!”

“Well we needed evidence, right? H-hey! Watch it, you’re going to get the cassette wet!”

“Ah– sorry, sorry, but this is perfect! We got the Hooligans right where we want them. If this thing has Kim’s grand speech a while ago and all that fighting then she’s practically dug her own grave this— you’re amazing Basil. I can’t believe you’ve thought this far.”

Basil turned red in embarrassment from Kel’s overwhelming flattery. He put the cassette back inside of the box and reached out for his bag before Kel could properly get his equipment wet. Aubrey stood there aloof, watching them celebrate. She couldn’t exactly speak out to her former friends or join them especially after what she’d done.

Kel was brought back to his senses when they awkwardly met eyes. Now that they were alone together, he still couldn’t grapple with the situation. Basil shared the same sentiments with him and refused to acknowledge her any further. He walked towards the exit after giving her a small nod.

Aubrey sighed when Kel refused to speak. “Look, I don’t expect you to forgive me—”

“I don’t.” Kel interjected her. “I can’t forgive you after what you’ve done.”

Her face soured as he gave her a sad chuckle. Aubrey really wasn’t expecting anything, but hearing it from him somewhat hurt.

“...good. I’m glad we agree on that.”

“Yeah…”

Though they seemed to be settled with his answer, he knew that their unspoken words went far beyond that. Kel wasn’t sure if the girl was starting to tear up or if it was just the water in her hair dripping down her face. She seemed incredibly lonely from a distance. The kind of loneliness that would’ve prompted Kel to immediately drop every ounce of baggage that he was feeling to soothe her by telling her how everything was going to be fine and how they’d get through this together. But things were different. In reality, forgiveness didn’t come easy, and Kel couldn’t forgive or absolve her just because he worked hard to get to this point. Worked hard just to reach her.

“But that doesn’t mean I can’t thank you for what you did now. Thanks for saving me and standing up for us. I… appreciate it.”

Aubrey smiled at him dejectedly. “It’s no problem, I’m just glad that I was able to help for once.”

Draping his soggy coat on his shoulder, Kel gave her a nod and moved out of the clearing. He shared her small bitter smile and didn’t look back.

—

Hand in hand, the two shared a waltz on the starlit rooftop. Having danced before in the past, it was only a matter of time before they finally settled into a steady rhythm moving side to side.

At first Hero thought it was going to be awkward. Despite rekindling their once sour relationship into an amiable one over the past few months, he didn’t know where he truly stood with her. He couldn’t understand why she had done all the things that she had done for him and why he was the person she’d chosen to open up to. Yet just one look at her made the night melt away even just for a moment.

There was something in the way that she laughed as they tumbled towards each other that made his troubles disappear, and he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. The wind was cold enough to send Geneva to shiver just a little that he removed his jacket to cover her shoulders. Geneva smiled slightly at the gesture before pursing her lips into a small thoughtful frown. “Is there something wrong?”

“There isn’t,” Hero moved to spin her around once more. “You just look happy. It’s infectious.”

“Really now?” the girl pondered. She took one good inquisitive look at Hero before flashing him a coy grin. “Well I’m glad I could help.”

She reassuringly squeezed Hero’s hand and silently resumed back to her own devices. It seemed that there was something in her mind. Hero could only regard her in the same manner given how his heart was starting to pump loudly in his chest. It was a strange feeling that he couldn’t place.

He had been around many people that struck a resemblance to Geneva, but when he was with her it was different. It was different from his usual encounters with the girls in school or with Lizzie and… Suddenly, he couldn’t help but feel downcast. Having promised to himself to stop thinking about it, he tried his best to be in the moment with Geneva. It was the least he could do for the both of them.

“Mari…” Geneva spoke up out of the blue. “You know, she’s really lucky to have a person like you. If only she had come today, I bet you both would look very lovely dancing together.”

The nervous pounding in Hero’s chest slowly evened out as he was brought back to reality. He could suddenly feel the cool breeze that floated through the open rooftop and the pallid warmth that radiated from his partner. She still looked happy, Hero thought. From the way she brought it up, it made Hero think of the times when she brought up Lizzie and Stephen. Yet there was something in her eyes that he couldn’t decipher that was enough to borderline loneliness. It was as if there was something that she wanted to say but couldn’t directly tell him.

Hero tilted an eyebrow, “Hm? What makes you say that?”

“Well where do I even start? You’re kind. Hardworking. Wise. You always stick up for the people you care about, and you rarely have a bad thing to say about others, and” Geneva added, “You’re fun to be around.” Geneva chuckled when Hero shot her a playful disbelieving look, “What? Were you expecting me to say handsome and dashing for your age? That’s already a given, I don’t have to say anything about that anymore.”

“I’m hurt, that’s what others usually think of first.”

“Well how shallow of them.” Geneva clicked her tongue. “There’s much more to this guy than his looks, people. Mari earned herself a keeper. What? Why are you laughing all of a sudden?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then stop laughing! Hey! I’m trying to compliment you.”

“I really just don’t know…” Hero said, composing himself. “I really thought that…”

“Thought that what?”

Hero simply shook his head, earning an even curious look from Geneva. With the red that was starting to bloom from his nape he quickly had to catch himself, “You were talking about yourself. You deserve so much more than compliments, Charlotte. You’re the one who needs all the credit.”

He could only get more nervous when he saw Geneva’s agape mouth, “What? Do I have to list it down as well?”

“No… not that,” Geneva replied, “This is the first time that I’ve heard you call me Charlotte.”

Hero blinked, realizing that it was true. His fondness for calling her by her surname had grown on him, that hearing it come from him suddenly sounded foreign. “I suppose it is.”

Geneva turned away from him for a moment, clearly embarrassed, “Well, i-it’s not a bad thing. I guess. Charlotte’s fine as well.”

Hero coughed, “you learn something new every day.”

The two of them resumed their dance. From the way she slowed down, trying not to make as much eye contact towards Hero, now Hero could tell that she was thinking about something.

“But the thing is, Hero… I really don’t deserve these compliments.” Geneva admitted, “I’m far from them and I’m not the right person you’re looking for. I can’t take them. You can’t make me.” She spoke sourly.

Seeing her speak to herself so poorly, Hero moved the hand on her waist to her shoulder to reassure her. He wanted to do something to make her see herself the way he sees her, but he didn’t want to do anything to make the situation uncomfortable. “If you can’t accept the others, then at least accept this. Despite how others treat you like you’re some sort of picture perfect deity that walks this school’s hallways, I’ve never seen someone so human. You’re human in every way when you show this side of yourself. That’s what I love about you as a friend.”

Geneva froze in place. Her once reassuring hand that slotted perfectly in Hero’s started growing sweaty and she was as pale as a ghost. She found herself stepping back from Hero, letting his hand fall to his side. It was cold. “Charlotte?”

“No. No, you’re not supposed to be saying that. Not you.” Geneva said, completely breaking off character. “I-I’m not human, you don’t know the things that I’ve done. You don’t know how much I’ve taken away from you— I’m a terrible person.”

Concerned from the way she started curling up to herself, Hero reached out to her, “Geneva, what are you talking about?”

“I’m a monster, Hero. I distracted you by giving you temporary answers to your problems, you— you don’t know what your saying…”

“Geneva-”

“Mari! Shit, what have I done?” Geneva cried, raising her hands to pull at her hair. Hero’s heart started racing as she grabbed onto him, looking at him distraught. “Look, Hero. I-I can’t explain everything to you right now, but Mari is in danger. She’s with a very dangerous person at this moment, and something terrible is going to happen to her if you don’t go. You have to go. Now.”

She pushed him roughly by the shoulder towards the exit, wobbling a little as her heels made it hard for her to move. Before she could open the door, Hero firmly held her by the wrist, glaring at her. “Where are they?”

Wounded, Geneva pulled at the handle. “They’re in your old treehouse. I’m sorry Hero… I should’ve told you sooner about this…”

She removed the jacket from her shoulders and gave it to him, urging him to go. Hero said nothing. After looking at her one last time, he paced for the exit.

Feet finally giving in, Geneva’s bottom lip trembled as she choked out a sob. She hugged the jacket that Hero had left her like a life support, thinking of how things could’ve worked out differently between them if it weren’t for this one night.

She was a monster. No, even worse— she was a fool to believe that she was a good person. Hero made it easier for her. She should’ve stopped playing when things were beginning to become genuine.

All she had to do now was accept it.

—

Questions raced through Hero's mind as he thought back about Geneva’s confession, and he couldn’t help but feel frustrated. This had to be some sort of sick joke. If he had known sooner about Mari’s plight, if his judgment wasn’t so clouded just because he was able to see her, then this would’ve been avoidable. He would’ve taken her away from there where she wouldn’t be in harms way.

The seam ripped as he forced it out, grappling for a breath as he finally made it to the clearing. He could see the mechanical light at the top of the treehouse. Collecting himself, he carefully climbed up the creaky ladder, praying to himself that the person inside wouldn’t hack it off. When he got to the top, he was met with a pleasant surprise.

There was a man by the table waiting for him with a camera. There was coldness to his seemingly amiable face.

“Why you’re!”

“Oh, Hero. Quick to skip formalities with an old friend? There’s no need to rush.” The man replied, moving to approach him. Hero shivered as he extended a firm yet cold hand to help him up. “Why don’t you and I have a good talk?”

Chapter Text

With a bit of resistance, Hero allowed the man to pull him into the room before he could properly lose his footing from the ladder. If Geneva was telling him the truth, then he couldn’t risk being caught in a vulnerable position. For all that he knows, the man could’ve easily pushed him off the treehouse and called it a day.

The man was everything his father couldn’t be even if he tried in the daylight— but the shadows of the mechanical light made him look twisted and convoluted.

The man seemed so different from the first time he’d seen him; Hero thought that he seemed like an amiable person. He couldn’t bring himself to address him properly.

Hero’s heart rate spiked when he realized that Mari wasn’t in the room. The man could only chuckle at his pale expression and sit by the lamplight, fiddling his camera.

“Where is she?” Hero asked, “What did you do to her?”

“Nothing a good father wouldn’t have done.” The man spoke coolly. “If I’d known sooner that my daughter was sneaking out to meet someone in these late hours, I would’ve taken action immediately. Spared her the disappointment.”

Hero looked at the man strangely, “Mari doesn’t have a father. Not anymore.”

“Well it seems you underestimate the passage of time, boy. It was about time that the family moved on from such a tragic accident.”

The man raised the camera to his eye and took a picture of Hero. Hero winced as the sudden flash illuminated the room for a brief moment. The man smiled as he inspected the picture, “You never really know the different reasons why a person chooses to move on until you’ve moved on yourself. Grief and hopeless anticipation will only ever keep you in one place. Isn’t that right, Hero?”

Hero remained firm. “Where is Mari?”

“She’s in her room packing up before the movers come in. She won’t be answering you now.”

“...What?”

“It’s better for her to be in a different environment that’s not Faraway. She needs a place where she can be properly monitored until she can get rid of her condition. You’ve been nothing but a hindrance to her progress.” The man deadpanned him.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about. Mari has been doing better.”

“Do I? Or are you the one who doesn’t know anything?” “Ever since she started seeing you again, she hasn’t been healthy at all.”

Hero frowned. He recalled the times he’d been with Mari for the past month and fixated on every detail he could remember.

He remembered the way that she smiled whenever she greeted him, and the way her eyes were beginning to get back its sparkle. The muted times when they were engulfed in silence were more pleasant than depressing.

Mari had promised to tell him everything in due time, and he wanted to believe that by respecting her decision, she’d take her time to get better together.

“I’m sure of it.” Hero insisted. “She doesn’t need to leave, she needs people to confide in.”

“Well, there are many reasons why a person moves on from grief. You simply aren’t one of these reasons much less the right person she should be confiding in.”

The man shook his head as he saw Hero back away towards the open latch, clearly trying to flee to see Mari.“Did you have fun thinking it was all over?”

He reached out for something in his pocket and tossed them on the table. Hesitant, Hero took one of them.

His eyes widened and his palms began to sweat when he saw the contents. There were photos of him talking with Stephen in the cafeteria and that one time he was comforting Lizzie by the shed. The other photos were of his outings with Geneva and a bunch of distant photos of them hanging out on the rooftop. There were also photos of them going to OtherMart and dancing at the plaza.

“Think about it, my boy! The truth of the matter is you don’t need Mari’s presence in your life, and she never needed yours. If you had decided to abandon her and she found her own resolve on her own, what you are experiencing right now with all your other friends could’ve also been hers. But no, you chose to cling unto false hope trying to relive the things that could be. You chose to dwell in the past when you could be looking towards your own future.”

There was something proud laced in the way he phrased it, despite how concerned he tried to sound for his daughter. It really rubbed Hero off the wrong way, “Leave her and move on.”

“I can’t do that, sir.”

“Sentimentality will be your downfall.” The man scoffed.

Having had enough of the man’s dismissive attitude, Hero banged his fists on the table. “Father or not, you have no right to weigh a person’s importance in life nor make such assumptions for them. You don’t have the right to say that Mari’s just some experience that holds no more relevance because of one bad thing that happened. Mari is an important person to me, be it in the past or the present, and I’d do anything to still have her in my future. But, if you say that Mari isn’t getting better if I’m with her, if I’m not contributing to any growth in her life, then I’d like to hear it from her myself.”

Hero moved away from the pictures and marched his way towards the latch. He couldn’t care less if the man wasn’t impressed, but it was everything he believed in.

Ignoring and praying that the danger wouldn’t follow him, he spared no time running back to the house's backyard and excusing himself from a confused and surprised Helen. Rushing up the stairs to Mari’s room, he opened the door and found it empty.

The window was open.

—

”Mari!”

“Hm, yes, Basil?”

“Can you teach us how to make flower crowns again?” Basil asked.

Mari turned to her side by the great tree and saw Basil holding his incomplete wreath with Sunny sitting next to him. Somehow, Basil was able to wrangle Sunny from his bug catching with Kel.

Mari beamed, “Why of course, Basil! Ah, would you like to make one for yourself too, little brother?”

Sunny nodded meekly. He reached out for the wildflowers next to Basil and raised it towards her. It lay in a heap inside of his palms.

“Alright, here’s what you do, first you take the long flower ends and braid them by crossing them together! Here, let me show you.”

She took the long wildflowers from Sunny and flawlessly braided them, taking the outside right and placing it in between the other two. She did the same for the left side until the flowers made a perfect, secure knot. When the chain grew longer and longer, Basil clapped his hands in delight as Sunny watched in wonder. “Now you do the same and connect both ends once you’re done. Do you think you can do it?”

Both boys nodded. As they worked, Mari couldn’t help but watch her brother curiously. It was a strange affair. Though it was sweet for him to partake in the craft she’d wanted to show him, she knew that he wasn’t always interested in such things.

The sun seemed to grow dimmer above the trees the longer he worked on his flower crown, and Basil seemed to have slowly faded from her vision. Feeling suddenly nervous, she unbraided the flower crown she had made to keep herself busy.

With the wildflowers, she made a loop at the end of her braids, tucking the long part of it through the loop. She flawlessly did the same for the left part of the flowers just as she did the right.

Once she fastened it securely, she placed it on top of her head, but realized that she’d made her crown too big. The flowercrown fell unceremoniously on her neck, and she suddenly felt a strange wave of fatigue. She stood up to collect herself and realized she was standing on top of their old toybox which she’d hidden by the side of the house.

“Is this how you make your flowercrowns, Mari?” Sunny asked her.

He raised the flowercrown in front of her which seemed to be in the due process of wilting. White Nightdress flowing in the wind and tears all dried up, Mari smiled and nodded at him.

“Yes. That’s how I make them, Sunny. You did it just perfectly.”

Saying nothing else, she pushed off from the lid.

—

Basil’s walk back home was a complete sigh of relief. After parting ways with Kel, he took his time to take notice of his surroundings; the loud chirping of crickets, the rustling of the breeze, and the occasional barking of his neighbor’s dog in the distance seemed more amiable now that the clearing was dispersed.

He didn’t expect it to work at all. Fighting against the Hooligans and leaving them something to remember seemed like a wishful pipe dream to him, and despite his aired confidence, he was afraid that he’d stand up to them alone.

To have things go so pleasantly for him was miraculous, and the events that proceeded afterwards seemed so vivid. If this was a dream, Basil didn’t want to wake up. All he needed to do now was send the borrowed cassette back to Steve and prove to Detective Raymond his capabilities.

With a small contented smile on his face, he turned to his side of the neighborhood and fought off the fatigue he felt in his sore shoulders and pinching left arm. He’d been mostly in the defensive trying to level the Hooligans’ playing ground for the other kids that he’d obviously received more than one blow from the former.

His luck couldn’t get any better when he found a familiar looking man lying down in the middle of the street. With pleasant surprise, he came closer to inspect him.

Carlisle was once again too inebriated to function. He was lying below a street light with his one arm at a weird egyptian looking angle and his other arm extended towards the gutter where his bottle of booze had ended up in.

The man’s grey hair shone from the pale yellow light, but he looked stoic instead of flushed. If Basil hadn’t known about his habits, he would’ve mistaken Carlisle as dead rather than asleep.

With a sigh, Basil shrugged off his backpack and put it next to the bottle. He squatted down to poke Carlisle on the shoulder in an attempt to rouse him. “Mr. Carlisle? Can you hear me? It’s me, Basil.”

The man didn’t stirr. His breathing remained even and his eyes were glued shut. Basil frowned and continued to poke him some more. “Mr. Carlisle, Mr. Carlisle, Oh for pete—” Basil muttered to himself, “If you don’t wake up right now, I might be forced to move you elsewhere.”

He glanced around to see if there were any cars taking to the curb or a nosy neighbor staring out of their window. Given the man’s size, he must’ve weighed more than one sack of soil in Fix-it, and his grandma wouldn’t allow him to do all the heavy lifting.

Trying to ease the soreness of his shoulders, he reached out to grab the man’s jacket and dragged him to the sidewalk. It was no easy feat as he gave up half-way into Carlisle waking up from his slumber. The old man complained as he adjusted from his relocated sleeping spot. “A-hyeck! What the heck, leave an old man to die in the streets, will you? I’m trying to get some shut eye here!”

A perpetual one that is. Basil pursed his lips into a thin smile. “Mr. Carlisle.”

“Oh, and while you’re at it, tell that Dolion dipshit to rot in his retirement home will you? Tell him he’s nothin’ more than an incompetent, greedy lil’ son of a—” Carlisle stopped mid sentence with a loud hiccup. It startled him awake enough to see Basil’s raised brow with the side of his face.

He chuckled nervously, “Oh, it’s you kid. What are you doing out and about at this hour of the evening? You know, kids like you aren’t supposed to be out during these hours.”

Basil let go of his arm, “Well, I would’ve gone straight back home if I didn’t see you claiming the entire road for yourself. The neighbors might think you’re dead, Mr. Carlisle.”

Carlisle didn’t answer. Instead, he dumbly reached out for his beanie and blew the dust off on it. Basil waited for the man to help himself up and sat next to his backpack. He grabbed the glass bottle in his hands and carefully stood it close to the streetlight. Carlisle frowned and looked at the boy intently, “Seriously, son. What are you doing out here?”

Basil took a deep breath. The story was longer than what Basil had previously estimated. Talking about the Hooligans came like second nature when it came to Carlisle. Basil gushed about the way the students fought back and parroted his defensive stances like a kid being taught basic karate without a hint of shame. The man’s smile reached his ears and he chortled with quips to Basil’s condensed narration.

He couldn’t be any happier. If it weren’t for Carlisle, he would’ve never had the confidence to rally against Kim and put this all together. Carlisle’s bottle of booze remained forgotten right next to the old man.

“So what’ll happen now then? To the girl you and this Kel boy were trying to stage an intervention with?” Carlisle asked. The topic of Kim’s ugly nose had slowly dwindled down and Basil had shown him the cassette inside of his backpack. “Does this mean you’re all pals again?”

Basil thought to himself deeply. Kel’s conflicted eyes flashed before him as he turned to move away from the clearing. He wanted to forgive her despite the pain she had inflicted on him, but his sores brought him back to the ground where the reality of things were present.

Carlisle was patient enough to wait for his response. He clearly wanted to see Basil’s judgment first hand.

“Well… honestly, I don’t know.” Basil admitted, clenching and unclenching his hands mechanically on his trousers. “It’s all up to Aubrey now if she’s going to change for the better and try to fix things between the three of us. I can’t say that I can forgive her for what she’s done, but I don’t believe that she’s an entirely terrible person. Maybe just misguided.” he looked at Carlisle, “Is… Is that too lenient?”

There was something in Carlisle’s eyes that made Basil nervous. He understood well enough to nod his head, but it felt like it was coming from a place of indescribable guilt and admiration. He could see the man reaching out for his bottle. “I guess it ain’t if you look at it. Just shows your character boy, always looking at the bright side of people despite em A-hyeck! Shadows.”

“I didn’t know you like poetry, Mr Carlisle.”

“I’m high, don’t get used to it.”

Basil chuckled. He leaned back and stretched his legs, sighing to himself as he gazed up at the street light. “At least now that everything’s calmed down a little, I can finally use the time I have to search for Sunny. Summer’s coming around, and I need to get back on track if I want to find him.”

The man yawned. “Sure, son. We’ll find him soon.”

Uncertainty. Discontentment. Basil didn’t want to overthink, but Carlisle sounded different. With a small thankful smile, Basil zipped up his backpack and decided to change the topic. Carlisle was on his side. He said that he’d help find Sunny and he could trust him.

“So, what leads you to uh… sleep in this side of the neighborhood?” He tried to ask him without meaning to be impolite. Carlisle laughed like it was the funniest joke he had ever heard. Basil wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be sarcastic, “Nothin’ much. Just passed from the back and found this part of the neighborhood scene more… amiable to sleep in, if ya get what I mean.”

He quickly picked up and took the bottle briskly into his hand and raised it to congratulate him. The booze swished around leaving a small vortex in the middle. “But if you’d tell me that there was gonna be a fight I would’ve sure as shit gone there— A-hyeck! Could’ve gotten a closer look. You better tell me next time when you start these things. I coulda helped.”

Carlisle smiled at him nervously. His feet were shifting on the cement which made Basil curious. The old man was hiding something from him. He was definitely certain of it.

“A…are you alright, Mr Carlisle?”

“Yeah, just the… the time, yes. Might’ve mistaken that big yellow sun yer there as a streetlight from how fun’s it been chattin’ about them Hoolishits. Think it’s about time you go back and rest. You’ve had a long day.”

“I… guess so.”

Carlisle shared his unease with a firm pat on the shoulder.

Wordlessly, he slung his backpack on his shoulders and stood up from his seat. Basil would’ve said goodbye properly if it weren’t for Carlisle’s sudden strange behavior. He walked slowly to his house and waited. Something was wrong and he had to do something about it.

After some uncontrollable awkward silence, Carlisle finally caved in with a sigh. “Alright kid, you got me. I… Look son, I think we need to talk.”

Basil’s heart began to hammer in his chest. He’d half wished it wasn’t the case and Carlisle would say something else, maybe allow him to get to his front door. Feigning a smile, he turned around, trying to make it look like he didn’t know what he was talking about.

“What do you mean, Mr Carlisle?”

Words bubbled in Carlisle’s mouth, but immediately died down. He muttered to himself a litany of curses before he finally got to the point. “I think I can’t help you anymore. Not with this.”

The smile on Basil’s face dropped. His coat sleeve suddenly began to itch and he had the urge to scratch it. “What?”

“I’m no one but a lousy, cheapskate, old man pretending to be a detective. I’m not the right person you should be putting yer trust in. You’re… look, you really are a good kid. I’m proud of you for finally standing up for your worth and the worth of those kids. Really proud. Heck, I mean here you are… your job still isn’t over and you’re still thinkin’ of finding your friend and all.” His hands were trying to find their way into his pocket, but the bottle he was holding was making it a hassle. He decided to ditch it in the gutter and stand up. “But I’ve been rethinking what Raymond said and…”

“No. Mr. Carlisle, you really wouldn’t, would you?” Basil cut him off. “I don’t believe it at all! I couldn’t care less if you say that you’re some third rate detective, I-I thought that you said that you didn’t care about what those people think. We made a deal, you said that he’s—”

“And I’m not saying he isn’t alive, son. He’s out there, I know.”

Basil shot him a hurt look and began scratching his arm some more. “Then wh-what’s with this all of a sudden? I… I just don’t understand.”

Carlisle frowned deeply. He held Basil by the side of his shoulders to stop himself from scratching his arms, but the damage had already been done. He shot him a stern glare to make him stop. Basil hugged himself and took deep breaths as he tried not to make a scene.

“Look, there are just some things you have to let go of, kid. He’ll come back, I’m sure of it, but think of yourself as well. If I allow you to lead yourself further into this wild goose chase, then you’d have wasted your life because of me and that’s the least thing I would want for you. You can’t keep looking for someone who doesn’t want to be found.”

Basil wanted to answer back. Of course he wanted to answer back, but he realized that he had used up every word that he could say to defend Sunny.

From the shadows that fell from his beanie, Carlisle looked like Detective Baxter. It was cold. He looked at the ground and shifted his shoes away from each other. He didn’t want to look at him.

“So you understand me, don’t you? Why I can’t help you anymore?”

Basil nodded. Carlisle sighed and let go of him. He didn’t believe it a single bit. “Kid.”

“I understand, Mr. Carlisle. Th..thank you for all your help, I really appreciate it.”

The words Thank you for believing in me died in his mouth. He didn’t want to second guess everything that Carlisle has done for him, he still wanted him as a friend, yet even as he stood there with him, he felt like he had no one. With a disheartened smile on his face, He moved to the other side of the road. Carlisle watched him. He had a distant look on his face as Basil scrounged for the extra house keys Polly had hid inside one of the potted plants.

“Keep the door locked after you get in.” Carlisle told him off for the last time. “And next time, don’t look around for your keys in front of strangers. They might get ideas.”

Basil turned back to face him. The streetlight that Carlisle was under was empty except for the bottle in the gutter. He didn’t drink it even once.

—

“Morons...Hecking morons! ” Kim gritted. Tears ran freely from her face as she maneuvered herself deeper into the woods.

The lakeside clearing was abandoned. The chairs were toppled everywhere, and the fairy lights were on the floor. Vance was calling out to her and shone a flashlight in her direction, but she ignored him. She turned right and kicked at every possible stone that she could find.

Frustration overwhelmed her and she wanted to scream. She had done everything, everything to get Aubrey to safety, to give her the comfort that they couldn’t give her, but she repaid her back by yelling.

Like that helps with anything, she’s sided herself with a dumbass and a suicidal bomber! She groaned. Kim didn’t know why Aubrey’s betrayal mattered so much to her, but thinking about it made her head hurt.

Tired of kicking rocks and beating up shrubbery, Kim sat herself underneath a tree and sobbed to herself. She wasn’t sore. She didn’t lose, she…

After coming to her senses, Kim only realized that she had strayed too far from the clearing.
She couldn’t hear Vance’s shouting or see anything else that mattered. She could only make out the shadows of trees from the moon shining above her.

There was something moving from one of the trees that got her on guard. She pressed her back on the harsh bark behind her and held herself closer. There was a person. She couldn’t make out what they looked like from her fogged glasses, but the smug toothy grin they had on their face was unmistakable.

“Hey kid, are you lost?” An old man’s voice sounded in the clearing. Something about it seemed cold.

The old man smiled.