Chapter Text
The city was different from Faraway Town. It was loud and busy, with bustling pedestrians and cars around every corner. The first thing they noticed when they got off the subway was its smell. Kel always said it smelled like “potential and opportunity”. Aubrey was quick to inform him it was actually cigarettes and urine.
But, when the breeze caught the scent just right, a hint of barbecue and nuts cut through the stench.
“I’m telling you, this place has the best burgers. I saw a review a few days ago!” Kel exclaimed, his voice easily cutting through the traffic. He was facing the group, walking backwards, beaming with that infectious energy that seemed to bounce off the skyscrapers.
“Watch where you’re going, Kel,” Hero sighed, checking the GPS on his phone again. He looked like a tired dad chaperoning a field trip, though a small smile betrayed him. “And maybe get out of the bike lane.”
“Relax, bro! Have you seen my basketball reflexes? They're basically a superpower.”
Aubrey rolled her eyes. “If you get hit, we’re not carrying you back to the apartment.”
“You guys love me too much to ever leave me!” he joked.
“Try us, moron,” she shot back, though it was without bite.
Right next to the chaotic trio were Basil and Sunny. Basil was clutching his camera bag close, looking up at the buildings with wide, fascinated eyes. Sunny walked beside him, his hands in his pockets and gaze fixed mostly to the cracks in the pavement beneath his feet. He was smiling.
They turned a corner onto a busier avenue. The sidewalk narrowed, and his friends were now arguing over the logistics of killing a kids’ commercial mascot.
“—I’m telling you, I could totally take the Life Jam Guy in a fight! Once the lid is unscrewed, it’s game over!”
“Okay, well I could win faster! Nail bat versus glass jar. It would be begging for mercy before the fight even started.”
“You two are putting too much thought into this,” Hero laughed. He added, quieter, “I think I’d just bring a big piece of bread from the bakery. Let it knock itself out. Daphne owes me a favour, anyway.”
The girl smirked, nudging the boy walking next to her. “Hey, Sunny. You lost.”
He looked up, startled by his name. “Huh?”
“Hero gave a boring smart answer to a dumb fun question, that was the bet.”
“You guys were betting on me?” a dumbfounded Hero responded.
“Last night,” Aubrey beamed. “On the phone. He was telling me I needed to be less cynical about you guys sometimes. I wanted to bet on Kel, but he refused, because Kel is Kel—"
“Hey!”
“—so I thought of the next best thing,” she finished, turning fully towards Sunny and staring expectantly. “So… pay up, sunshine.”
“Okay, okay. I concede.”
The black-haired boy sighed and took out his wallet, trying to ignore Aubrey’s teasing. He drifted slightly to the right as he sifted through coins and bills, his single eye focused entirely on finding a five-dollar bill.
THUNK.
Sunny’s hip collided solidly with a bright yellow, cast-iron fire hydrant. He stumbled, nearly dropping his wallet and tripping over his own feet.
“Oh, sorry,” Sunny mumbled instinctively, nodding his head at the object without looking up from his wallet. “I didn’t see you there. My bad.”
He righted himself, finally extracted the bill, and continued unbothered, matching his pace back to Basil’s.
Basil stopped.
Then Aubrey stopped.
Then Hero and Kel, sensing the sudden lack of movement behind them, stopped as well.
“I still think you need to have more faith in them, Aubrey… even though I was wrong last night. Here,” Sunny reached his hand out, extending the cash… to empty air.
“Sunny,” Aubrey said from behind him, her voice flat.
He looked up, turning around, blinking his one visible eye. “What?”
They stared at him. Then they stared at the fire hydrant. Then back at him.
“Did you…” Kel started, a grin slowly stretching across his face. “Did you just apologize to the fire hydrant?”
Sunny froze. He looked back at the hydrant, standing stoic and yellow, offering no forgiveness. He looked back at his friends. A sheepish expression grew across his features.
“I… bumped into it,” Sunny said defensively.
“It’s a hydrant, Sunny!” Kel laughed, slapping his knee. “It doesn’t have feelings! It’s not gonna hold a grudge against you!”
“It was polite,” Sunny muttered.
“It was inanimate!” Aubrey shook her head, cackling. “God, you’re hopeless.”
“I didn’t see it,” Sunny admitted, gesturing to the right side of his face. “Depth perception. It’s… tricky. And I was looking for your money!”
Hero came in, ever the diplomat, though he was stifling a laugh himself. “Okay, valid. But Sunny, you didn’t just bump into it. You apologized to it. Sincerely. You sounded worried you offended its ancestors.”
Sunny shrugged, looking away. “It’s just a habit.”
Basil, who had been quiet for miles, suddenly giggled. “You know, Sunny, I apologize to plants when I step on them. The other day I said sorry to a ladybug I almost squished—”
“See! Basil gets it!”
“—but Sunny… even I wouldn’t apologize to municipal infrastructure. It’s not a living thing! I’d probably kick it or something. Not ask it for forgiveness.”
At that, Aubrey cackled louder. “Oh my god! Even Basil is roasting you for being a pushover!” She paused, catching her breath in a wheeze. “No—no offense, Basil. It’s just—wow.”
“None taken. But I wasn’t roasting him!” Basil squeaked. “I just meant… Sunny is so nice! Maybe too nice?”
Hero’s amusement faded slightly, giving way to the furrowed brows of brotherly concern. “You’re starting senior year in two weeks, right? Senior year is stressful, and high school in the city is probably even worse than Faraway. People might be… aggressive. You can’t just go around saying sorry to everything that touches you, Sunny.”
“Yeah,” Aubrey crossed her arms and scowled at the hunk of metal, looking genuinely annoyed on her friend’s behalf. “If someone bumps into you, you tell them to watch it. You don’t apologize. If you apologize, they think you’re a doormat. And you’re not a doormat. We didn’t go through all that crap just for you to be a doormat.”
“I’ll be fine,” Sunny replied softly.
“I don’t know, man,” Kel chimed in, hooking an arm over Sunny’s shoulders. “Maybe I should transfer, as your bodyguard. I can look really intimidating if I want to.”
“No, you can’t,” Aubrey and Hero said in unison.
“I can,” Kel flexed a bicep that was honestly impressive, though the rest of him remained utterly non-threatening. “I’ve got reach!”
“Sunny,” Aubrey stepped forward, poking him in the chest. “Listen. If anyone gives you trouble about the eye, or being quiet, or… whatever. Don’t apologize. Just give them that blank stare you do.”
“This one?” Sunny stared blankly. He didn’t look at her; he looked through her, as though staring into her soul, or an endless abyss beyond. She almost wanted to shudder.
“Yes,” she replied. “That one. It’s creepy. It freaks people out. Do that. Don’t say sorry.”
He nodded dutifully. “Okay.”
“And if that doesn’t work,” Kel added in a tone that spelled trouble, “Just tell them your girlfriend carries a baseball bat with nails in it.”
Sunny felt the late summer heat grace his cheeks and suddenly found the sidewalk cracks more interesting than ever, looking down to trace over a particularly interesting seam in the ground. It started small and narrow, but grew more prominent along its length, with some moss peeking from the gap. It split into two eventually, running further down the street.
“—I am not his girlfriend!” Aubrey shouted as her cheeks went red. She shoved Kel, sending him stumbling back towards Hero.
“I didn’t say it was you! Maybe he has a secret nail-bat wielding girlfriend in the city! Some people find the ‘quiet and mysterious’ vibe attractive!” With a smile, he narrowly dodged a second, harsher shove, and added, “You would know…”
Aubrey snarled. “Shut up, Kel!”
Sunny wondered if the crack would eventually widen enough to let him sink through, if he squeezed himself tight. He was skinny, great at hiding in small places, and the concrete seemed like a comfortable enough place to spend the next few minutes.
Hero spoke up again. “Kel, leave it alone,” he sighed, reeling his brother in before someone ended up stepping onto a busy street. “Look, we’re like, a minute away from the restaurant. Let’s eat before we offend any more city property.”
“Alright, alright,” Kel panted. “Let’s keep walking. I’m hungry.”
As the chaos faded—Kel walking forward, Aubrey glaring but falling into pace with the others, and Hero checking the GPS again—Sunny stood there a moment. He tore his gaze from the pavement and looked back at the fire hydrant one last time.
He didn’t apologize. But he did give it a small, firm nod.
“Coming, Sunny?” Basil called out, waiting a few steps ahead, smiling warmly.
“Yeah,” Sunny said, cheeks still dusted a faint pink. A small, genuine smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Coming.”