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The sun shined bright as a group of four children played together in the local park, the smell of fresh flowers in the air. They giggled amongst themselves, watching ants crawl around in the grass and butterflies circle the flora, enjoying the simplicity of just being kids.
“Hey! Where did Sunny and Kel go? They're supposed to be watching us!”
One of the girls, Mari, suddenly exclaimed, her twin tails tied by her brother bouncing with the momentum of swinging her head up too fast, she peered over at the bench where her brother and his friend were supposed to be sitting,
The bench appeared to be completely empty.
“Huh… That's strange… I mean it's just like Kel to get distracted but Sunny is usually very responsible…”
Aubrey suddenly piped in, standing up and dusting the dried dirt off her slightly bruised knees, snatching the opportunity to take a jab at Kel, earning her a deadpan look from his little brother, Hero.
She was correct however, Sunny took watching his little sister and friends very seriously, it wasn't like him to run off, and Kel had a tendency to follow Sunny around like a stray dog begging for food, their disappearance only sparked curiosity in the kids.
“I got it! Let’s play detectives and try to find them!”
Mari yelled out excitedly, hopping in place, her white skirt swaying in the light breeze, watching insects was getting boring anyway, she was looking for an adventure, and what's more fun than following the two older kids around? Aubrey seemed in on the idea instantly, face lighting up with enthusiasm, even Hero's interest seemed peaked, however, Basil expressed some doubts,
“I don't know guys… Maybe Sunny and Kel just wanted to hang out by themselves! They’re friends too! It's probably hard having to look after us all the time…”
Basil trailed off, an anxious look settled on his face, body tense and awkward as the other kids stared at him, he didn't like the idea of possibly upsetting Sunny or Kel, especially after all they'd done for him and the others…
“C’mon Basil! Do you think Sunny or Kel even have it in them to get upset at us? As if! Let’s go! The curiosity is killing me!”
Aubrey didn't seem to share any of these concerns, her face completely clear of unease. She’d do anything to get under Kels skin as he did to her! It was time for some revenge! Surely it wasn't that big of a deal, they only wanted to see what the older pair were up to!
Hero stood quietly, he decided it was time to settle this debate once and for all,
“Basil, I know you're worried but Kel and Sunny won’t be mad! Don't look so stressed, everything is fine! Just some harmless fun, right?”
Hero flashed a charming smile, easing Basil’s endless anxieties, his tense expression seemed to clear,
“Okay, guys… Let's go look for Sunny and Kel!”
A shy smile settled on Basil's face as the others cheered, Mari and Aubrey's excitement was contagious as always, as they skipped around giggling at the thought of annoying the two older boys.
“Yes! Let’s go! They’ve gotta be around the park somewhere… Let's check out the swings! Oh! And the big yellow cat!”
Mari called out as she began walking towards the rickety swing set, twin tails coming slightly looser with every jostle of her head. Bounding over, it was clear the two seats were empty but she continued forward anyway, Aubrey quickly ran to catch up, leaving a trail of dust in her wake, with Basil and Hero trailing behind, a lighter walk compared to the two girls dashing around like mad dogs. Once fully reaching the swings Mari peeked around looking for any sign that Sunny or Kel had been there, yet she found none, she sighed and shook her head,
“Hmmm… No sign of them here! To the Big Yellow Cat! It’s always been one of my big brother's favourites!”
Once Mari grabbed Aubrey's hand, the two girls took off, skipping towards the dingy, old, Big Yellow Cat,
“Wait up!”
Basil stuttered, hastily grasping Hero’s wrist and tugging him towards the girls at a brisk walk, huffing out air. It was like the girl's energy was limitless.
“Sunny! Kel! Hello? Are you here? Helloooooo??”
Mari was met with disappointment and yet again, another empty spot, with no sign of her brother or Kel around. The cat was empty, nobody had been there at all! This was hopeless! Where could they be? The park wasn't that big, right?
“What the hell!”
“Mari! That's a bad word!”
Basil cried out, disbelief etching his features,
“Sorry! I just can't believe Sunny took off without me!”
Mari whined out, stomping her foot on the arid ground.
This game was losing fun points fast, how could she enjoy herself when she was starting to wonder if her brother just went home and left her here?!
No… That wasn't like him at all… He had to be here somewhere, but where?
“I got it!”
Hero exclaimed, eyes flashing with recognition, the other kids turned towards him, quiet with apprehension,
“The lake! The one Kel found, behind those trees and bushes! Maybe they're there!”
Aubrey gasped, frustration in her stance,
“Huh?! Going to the lake without us! That's so rude! They know I love it there! Hmph!”
She scrunched her face up, turning her head to the left dramatically, pulling out the theatrics to convey her disdain, Mari giggled playfully, grabbing Aubrey by the shoulders and peering at her, a wide smile spread across her lips,
“No time to be upset Aubrey! Wipe that frown off your cute face! We have to go and find them! Maybe then we can express our frustrations at being left behind, towards Kel especially!”
A smug-looking smirk settled on Mari's face, her love for mischief showing clear as day, Hero glanced between the two girls as Aubrey suddenly grinned, he’d never felt such unease for his big brother, yikes!
“Well, should we be on our way then?”
Basil asked, a mellow smile adorning his features, the lake can be breathtakingly beautiful and this could be a chance to get a great shot of his friends for the photo album.
“Let's go! Chop chop, men! No time to spare!”
Mari laughed, marching toward the leafy entrance of the secret lake, her friends following behind her like soldiers on the battlefield, as they should, this was a serious mission after all!
As they reached the shaded opening they huddled together to protect themselves from the thorns hiding in the thick forest brush. Yuck! Hero hoped there weren't any spiders hiding in there, waiting to pounce…
“Alright! Let's sneak up on them, I wanna scare Kel so hard he falls right into the water, coming out looking like a drowned rat!”
Aubrey snickered maniacally, Hero and Basil glanced at each other, shuddering, glad to not be on the receiving end of that, Mari simply laughed it off, quietly hoping to see Kel fall too, it would be hilarious.
As the group of kids hastily made their way through the woods, finally seeing the cloudy, blue sky and glistening water of the slightly boggy lake, they were met with a completely unexpected sight.
Mari gasped, jaw-dropping with surprise, Aubrey barely managed to conceal a squeal, eyes lighting up, shoes tapping impatiently on the grass, even Hero and Basil were looking shocked, hands dropping from each other and settling at their sides with disbelief, there perched on the end of the dock, leaning on one and other, whispering, was Sunny and Kel, together…
Sunny's pale hand was resting atop Kels, settled behind where they were pressed against each other, his head resting on Kel's broad shoulder, black hair falling delicately, not a strand looking the slightest bit out of place, a wide, goofy grin spread across Kel’s face, gazing at Sunny, his eyes shining as he went on and on, all while a soft smile settled on Sunny’s lips, he stared almost dreamingly up at Kel, completely and utterly captivated by the other boy, it's almost like they were in…
“Love! Oh my god! They're so totally in love! What?!”
Mari burst out, hands flying up to her face with unbelievable speed, apparently not realising her volume level, startling Kel and Sunny, alerting them of the kids who’d been trying to watch them silently. They jumped away from each other and turned around to see the other four not quite hiding behind some shrubbery, a guilty smile made its way onto Mari's face,
“Whoops…”
“Mari! What are you- When did you- Why are you watching me!?”
Sunny squawked out, eyes wide with confusion, completely caught off guard, this is not how he envisioned his date with Kel going!
“Big brother! What is this?! No time for you to question me! What are you doing? Huh!?”
Mari was delighted at this revelation, trying to contain her sly grin, just what was going on here, she was dying to know!
“Oh! My! God! Kel and Sunny are dating?!”
Aubrey screeched, seemingly shell-shocked enough that if humanly possible, her jaw would be on the floor, everyone turned to her with various levels of disbelief written on their faces, until Maris slowly morphed into a sneaky smile.
Contradicting her playful mood, Sunny's stress levels seemed to hit the maximum,
“Quiet down! Oh my god, I’m going to be in so much trouble if this gets back to my parents…”
“Hey Sun, chill out! The kids won't snitch on us!”
An easy grin rested on Kel's face, he was hoping the others had the common sense the keep this on the down low…
“Just what is going on here, huh? Wanna tell me, lover boy?”
Aubrey teased, a smirk plastered across her face, eyes comical, yet piercing Kels very soul, how on earth was he getting out of this one!?
“Well… Uh…”
Being put on the spot was very obviously not Kel’s strong suit, as he was sweating bullets trying to come up with an excuse for his romantic behaviour. Sunny was always one for silence when in stressful situations so he wasn't going to be any kind of help. Typical, leaving this one on Kel, just like that time Aubrey asked how babies were made…
“Surprise!”
Kel stuttered out, face flushing with embarrassment as Aubrey began to cackle wildly, leaning over to heave air into her lungs from laughing so hard, Mari was still staring at her brother, who was performing eye contact gymnastics to avoid her gaze, Hero seemed to be blue-screening from the shock of his brother managing to successfully land a boyfriend, let alone the brother of his current crush, is this how betrayal felt? He didn't know the dating field was first come first serve!
Suddenly a click was heard, followed by a small flash of light, Basil stood off to the side, perfecting capturing the moment for his photo album, he smiled brightly as the picture developed in his hand,
“Yes! I got the shot!”
Basil called out, walking towards Kel and Sunny, photo in hand, ready to show them, Kel peered over the smaller boys shoulder, motioning Sunny to come to join him, they observed the photo together, it displayed Hero’s astonished expression, while also managing to fit Mari’s ghastly smile and Aubrey's asthma attack worthy laughter, not to forget Kel’s flustered face and Sunny hiding in his knees to escape Mari’s powerful stare.
Kel laughed abruptly, caught off guard by just how ridiculous they all looked at that moment, even Sunny snickered at the silliness of the photo, soon Aubrey came barreling towards them, yelling out about how she wanted to see the photo too, closely followed by Mari and Hero,
As the kids gawked at the picture, Sunny tugged on Kels sleeve to catch his attention, carefully signing something at him, then motioning towards the kids, ah… how could Kel forget, he spoke up once again.
“Guys! Look, there's something else I have to add, okay?”
Aubrey and Mari's smiles slowly faded at Kel's apprehensive tone, Hero and Basil looked over, seeming just as tense,
“Kel,”
Hero began,
“Why are you speaking like that… you sound uneasy and that isn't like you at all… I don't understand...”
Basil nodded along to Hero's words, why was the atmosphere suddenly so strained? He was starting to get a little worried.
“Look, little bro and comrades, me and Sunny are dating, but you can't tell anyone, you gotta keep this between us! not a word, okay?”
Kel's tone was unnaturally serious, only confusing the younger ones more.
“Huh? But aren't you happy to be in love? Why aren't you yelling atop a hill or something?!”
Aubrey exclaimed, sparing a glance towards Sunny, who was facing away, gazing into the lake like it was explaining the meaning of life to him. This was starting to get confusing, why don’t Sunny or Kel look happy at all, isn't that what love is?
“Of course we're happy! But…”
Kel looked away, instead observing Sunny, an out-of-character, almost sad look in his eyes,
“We’re both boys…”
Basil tensed up, boring holes into the floor with his stare, seemingly understanding what Kel meant, the other three continued to look mildly puzzled, what the hell does that have to do with anything?
“Ugh! Okay! It's like… a lot of older people in this town just wouldn't be very thrilled to see two boys holding hands or, uh… kissing and stuff!”
Kel hesitated, looking more frustrated with every word he said,
“Because of the church, or maybe just personal… uh… values or something, I don't know! I just know that one of the people who probably won't take it well is Mari and Sunny's father! And I'm not too sure how my mom would take the news either…”
He trailed off towards the end, a solemn expression settled on his face, eyes filled with anxiety that seemed unnatural with Kel’s usually carefree demeanour.
“That's stupid!”
Aubrey cried out, causing Sunny to look up, away from the gleaming water,
“Who cares what a bunch of old hags think, they're gonna die soon anyway!”
The tension seemed to snap as Sunny began quietly laughing, taken off guard by Aubrey's complete social unawareness, it was just like her to not have a single care about what anyone else around her she didn’t know thought.
“You can say that again Aubs!”
Mari huffed out, she had her arms crossed and her back straight, looking like she was about to start speaking some serious business. Sunny turned around, a soft look in his eyes as they met with his little sisters,
“Big brother, I would never snitch on your dating escapades! Ever!”
She laughed cheekily, before continuing,
“But… If dad isn't going to be happy about you being in love, then… he's an idiot! Okay?”
Mari beamed at her brother.
“I agree! Our mom too Kel, of course…”
Hero replied, looking pleased.
Basil’s eyes softened, looking up at Kel and Sunny, a watery smile on his face,
“I’m… Just so very happy for my dearest friends.”
The older boys smiled back, it seemed like they'd been keeping this a secret, worried about their younger friend's reactions, for nothing…
And then,
“By the way, Kel! You looked so dumb ogling all gooey and dopey at Sunny like that!”
Aubrey cackled, once again breaking the atmosphere around the friends, the others slowly joined her, laughing unapologetically, even Sunny was giggling at Kel's expense,
“Oh what the hell!”