Chapter Text
Sunny woke up, as he did every day, wishing he didn’t.
Who could blame him? His dreams were far more interesting than anything happening in real life. He had his friends: the funny, bouncy Kel; the strong, determined Aubrey; the kind, perfect Hero. They went on fun, interesting adventures, everyone was safe and happy and nothing was wrong. Real life was dull, monotonous. He brushed his teeth, ate at least once a week, ignored certain areas of his house, and went back to sleep. Always the same.
Except today, there was a knock at the door. A loud, continuous thump, thump... Thump, thump. A loud, achingly familiar voice accompanied it.
“Hey! Sunny! It’s me, Kel! Open the doooor!” Sunny thought he might be dreaming at first, but Kel would never call Sunny, well, Sunny in his dreams. So it was real. Kel was there. At his door.
Sunny debated opening the door. On one hand he could just go back to sleep and everything would be fine and good and safe. On the other… This was a chance to see the real versions of his friends. Kel, Aubrey, Hero. He’d missed them. He wanted to see them again. It had been so, so long. Surely he didn't need to hide away from them again. It had been years and he’d been fine, isolated but fine , there was no reason to be scared of it now.
Sunny opened the door.
“Ah! There you are!” Kel was taller now. Older, not in his pyjamas, still Kel. “My mom said you were moving away, and I saw the for sale sign… So I was wondering if you wanted to come hang out! For old times' sake or something.”
Outside. With Kel. Outside. A part of Sunny screamed at him to shut the door and stay far, far away from it. Instead, he nodded and stepped outside. The sun was far too bright, and the wind was chilly. He was out. His self-imposed prison was gone. It wasn't as dull outside as it was in the house.
“Yes! Let’s go!” Kel grabbed his hand.
He was warm. No one had touched Sunny in four years. It was… nice. Sunny had missed this.
“I’ve been… uh… kind of alone? For the past while. Hero’s away at college, he ended up going to medical school–” Sunny frowned. Was he never going to see Hero again? “–But he’s coming home tomorrow!” Thank goodness . “I was thinking of getting him a welcome home present. Maybe you could help me pick something out!”
Sunny nodded emphatically. He would spend all of his money to get Hero a present. It has been so long since he’d seen his friends, he would do anything to see them again. He hoped Hero hadn't changed his interests in the past four years. He couldn’t imagine that he had. Kel didn't seem to have changed, why would Hero?
Wait . Didn’t Kel say he was alone? What about Aubrey? Aubrey and Kel fought a lot, sure, but they wouldn’t stop being friends. Right?
“We can stop by the park first though! You look like you haven’t seen the sun in years” He hadn’t. “So we can hang out and catch up first”
***
"Hey, Aubrey!"
Aubrey's bat felt comfortable in her hands, a reassuring weight that promised protection. Her knuckles were white with the tightness of her grip, mouth twisting into a vicious snarl as she whipped around to glare at the source of the voice.
" Kel ," she spat. "What are you doing here?!"
"Hi," Kel beamed at her, seeming unbothered by her clear contempt. It was infuriating . "Well, Sunny and I wanted to–"
"Sunny?!" Aubrey blurted out before she could stop herself. "He's here?!"
Aubrey hadn't… She hadn't seen Sunny in years. Four of them. Four years of everyone leaving her, of being alone and so, so angry with no way to–
"Finally worked up the courage to walk out your front door, huh?" She rolled her eyes, bat swinging in hand. "I'm surprised. It's been a while, but you haven't changed a bit . "
Something in Sunny's eyes flashed– only for a second. His face was otherwise impassive, completely unreadable and seemingly nonchalant; a stark contrast to Kel's constant expressiveness.
He was thinner than he used to be, face a little paler, the indifference in his gaze almost corpse-like. But he was undeniably Sunny, and wasn't that interesting .
"How long has it been since you left your house? Three years? Maybe four? Must have been nice to live in your own little bubble ," Aubrey said venomously, taking a step towards him.
"Watch it, Aubrey! You don't know what he's been through," Kel frowned, crossing his arms.
"What he's been through?" Aubrey laughed mirthlessly. "Sunny's been just fine, hiding from everything. I faced it. I had to, because I'm not a coward. Ever since Mari and Basil died–"
"Basil ran away ," Kel interrupted immediately, a seemingly instinctive response. "He ran away because he couldn't– because Mari–"
"No, he didn't!" Aubrey hissed, taking another step closer. "Something happened to him, I know it did! He wouldn't just leave , that's not like him ! Basil wouldn't have run, he'd have stayed , because he– he… Basil would have actually cared enough to stick around. But something stopped him. Where would he even go ? And why would nobody have found him?"
"I don't know!" Kel exclaimed wildly. "I don't know, but Basil– he's not dead! He can't be, we would have found the body."
"Not if someone else didn't want us to," Aubrey glared daggers at him. "Maybe the same person who killed Mari. "
"Mari killed herself , Aubrey!" Kel burst out, eyes glistening. Aubrey hadn't seen Kel cry in years, and the sight of his tears was jarring. "She killed herself, and none of us noticed how she was feeling, and Basil ran away as a result. You can't keep lying to yourself!"
" I am not the liar here, Kel," Aubrey's pitch dropped, bat raising in preparation for a fight. " You are. "
"Let's not do this now, please?" Kel requested suddenly. "Not with Sunny here."
But Sunny was already holding a knife.
Aubrey supposed that he wasn't quite the same, after all. The Sunny she knew would have never used a knife against someone, least of all her.
"I think that Sunny would disagree with you there, Kel," Aubrey said scornfully. "So let's do this."
And Kel protested no further.
Aubrey landed the first hit, her bat hitting Kel square in the side. She didn't aim to do too much damage– she wasn't a monster . Kel fought back, swinging a first at her that Aubrey easily caught.
"Is this all you have?" She asked rhetorically, smirking. It felt good to be back in control.
Aubrey's grip only faltered when she was met with a sharp stinging in her side, a gasp tearing from her lips as she moved a hand to her new wound. It came back shining with red.
"You– you psycho!" Aubrey cried out, backing away from the two.
Sunny simply stared at her, deadpan. Uncaring of the blood that dripped off of his knife.
…Aubrey didn't have time for this. She was leaving.
"This isn't over," she growled, blue eyes glinting with fury and pain. "You're gonna pay for that later!"
She hoped that Kim had some bandages to spare.