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The whole group had been hanging out at Sunny’s place today.
It was perfect - Hero was in town for the week, perhaps not with an overwhelming amount of free time, but just enough to humour the group’s invite to play games. Sunny’s mother was out of town taking care of some business, and she had encouraged him to invite his friends over (after he had completed a very long list of chores). Of course, Kel and Basil were invited, and whilst Kel was definitely the most excited to see the gang all together again, Sunny could tell the others appreciated the occasion far more than they let on.
Especially Aubrey, who, at the present moment, was bickering with Kel over some game Sunny had forgotten he even owned - a game adaptation of Captain Spaceboy, which Kel claimed was “vintage treasure” these days, whilst Aubrey said it “wasn’t that old” and that Kel should stop exaggerating. As much as the two “argued” over things that the rest of the group thought simply didn’t matter, Sunny’s time spent with Aubrey taught him that this bickering was mostly out of love - just like how she loves to tease Sunny and feign her annoyance. She and Kel are like siblings in spirit; all but blood, which is heart-warming to watch.
Well, Kel’s actual blood, Hero, was currently attempting to break the two up, all whilst Basil stared on with a mortified look on his face, momentarily shouting (albeit not very loud) “Guys, let’s not fight!”. He didn’t conflict very much, even if it wasn’t a serious one - he never has, so I suppose when you think about it, not a whole lot has changed since way back then. He’s always been a pacifist.
The sight of everyone together was nostalgic, and somewhat upsetting - some unpleasant memories began to stir within him; Mari… and everything which followed after that day. He swallowed them down, locking them away to deal with later. After all, his friends were here now; they wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
Especially Aubrey, who was set to stay the night for a sleepover, whilst the others were set to go home. They hadn’t told the others about their relationship, despite being together for a month or so already - it had been on Sunny’s mind, sure, and the pair had discussed it briefly, but the awkwardness of the conversation made them chicken out every time they thought that they had come close.
“WE’LL HAVE TO PLAN SOMETHING AGAIN SOON, YEAH?” Kel shouted, probably waking the neighbours up… it was already 9pm, and they had stayed for longer than expected. Hero had silently gestured, putting a finger up to his lips as if to shush him, but he didn’t seem too worried about it. After all, Hero knew better than anyone how excited Kel was to reconcile with his friends at last - he was just as excited, but perhaps more… subtle… about it.
“It was truly wonderful to see you all again, really.” Hero’s smile had a charm which Sunny was almost envious of - perhaps with a charm like Hero’s, he wouldn’t embarrass himself in front of Aubrey so often…
“Oh, um… thanks for the invite, Sunny. I really appreciated spending time with you all…” Basil said sheepishly, as if he thought it was weird that he was invited.
“It’s no problem. Hopefully Hero can join us again next time, too.”
“Hey, I’ll try my best!” Hero chuckled to himself, before noticing Aubrey still sitting on the couch. “Is Aubrey staying, or something?”
“Ah…” The boys were looking at him, puzzled. All but Basil, who seemed to wear a knowing expression on his face which spoke louder than words.
He knew. But he wasn’t saying anything.
“Ah… um… well, you know…” Sunny was racking his brain for any and every excuse he could make in this situation. “Aubrey’s mom… didn’t want her walking home alone… so uh… I’m waiting for her to get picked up!”
…
“Since when has Aubrey’s mom ever cared about anything like that?”
…
Kel, you’re way too observant for your own good…
…
“We-well, the world is getting more dangerous these days, so let’s not question it… plus, maybe Aubrey’s mom is having a ch-change of heart?”
…
“Basil’s right. Have you read the news lately, Kel? Once I become a doctor, I’ll probably be so busy, the only hang outs we’ll ever have as a full group will be on ‘bring your friends to work day’…” Hero joked (although, it was probably somewhat true), not paying much notice to Basil’s face.
Sunny had no idea Basil could or would lie like that. Nevertheless, he welcomed this discovery with open arms - Basil did just save Sunny from a probably futile explanation, followed by an interrogation which would probably be comparable to that of the FBI’s.
“True.” Kel seemed to just accept Basil’s words so easily - oblivious as always. “I suppose we should get back before it gets too late too, then. Basil, we’ll walk you back, ‘kay?”
“Ah… thanks… that sounds good!”
The trio then began to walk off into the horizon, turning back to wave with huge smiles on their faces. Well, all but Basil’s, whose wave had a somewhat eerie property which screamed “I know your secret, how could you not tell me?” But he’d never say that outright, and so Sunny chose to ignore it and return back into the house.
Only once he slammed the front door shut did the nerves begin to kick in. A girl was staying over at his house, for a sleepover. Despite them having had sleepovers before, this was different. All the other times, it was with the whole group - this time, it’s just them.
The gravity of the situation began to truly register in Sunny’s mind.
Sweat began to pool in his palms, as he stumbled over to where Aubrey was now sat, watching an episode of some drama he didn’t recognise - he wasn’t sure where to even start. Is she hungry? Is she thirsty? Is she tired? He hadn’t intended for everyone to stay over for such a long amount of time, and so he realises Aubrey’s nightly routine may have been disrupted.
“I’m so sorry, Aubrey.” He apologised, now sitting next to her. “I bet you’re hungry.”
“That’s fine, Sunny. Don’t be so worrisome.” She chuckled, bringing her hand up to cup his face as she spoke again. “I could eat.”
As if his brain short-circuited, Sunny choked out a “Ah… um… su-sure, I have some spaghetti…” followed by a “ONLYIFYOUWANTITTHOUGH!”
“Spaghetti’s fine, silly. Don’t be so nervous all the time.”
Sunny made a dash to the kitchen, prepared to fill out his “boyfriendly duties” - consisting of cooking the greatest portion of spaghetti Aubrey will ever taste, of course, to make up for neglecting her needs before. He had a sort of laser focus on the task at hand, the most concentrated he’s ever been on any task in his life; this was far more important than any piece of homework!
After ten minutes or so, Sunny dished up the food and presented it to Aubrey as if he were a Michelin chef - a proud expression to really top it off.
“Voilà!” He smiled widely, then put on a thick, potentially stereotypical French accent to really pull it all together. “I prezent to you, madame, de magnifiques spaghettis!”
“Oh là là, monsieur!” Aubrey picked up the bowl, cackling as she played along. “Zis is ze best spaghetti I 'ave ever seen, magnifique!” She giggled. “Monsieur, did you prepare zis recipe yourself?”
“Oui.”
“Très impressive.”
“Merci.”
The couple began to dig in, momentarily glancing at one another lovingly - as if nobody else in the world existed, as if it was just the two of them and their respective bowls of spaghetti. Sunny’s focus was entirely on her - he didn’t even care about his food. He cared about Aubrey, and how lucky he was to have her in front of him at this present moment.
“Chef’s kiss, Sunny, truly.” Aubrey giggled, motioning her hands.
What Sunny was not expecting, however, was the way she approached him gently and kissed him on the cheek after saying that.
“Au-aubrey?!”
“Whaaat? I said chef’s kiss! C’mon, can’t I give my little chef a kiss?” She put her hands on her hips and smiled. “God, you must really hate me, Sunny… are you disgusted by it?” The bowls were now discarded onto the coffee table, as Aubrey began to lean in a bit further.
“WHAT?! N-no, of course not! I liked it! I liked it a lot!” The embarrassment started to kick in. Whoops.
“Ohohoho… so you say…” A mischievous glint appeared in her eyes, as she began to kiss Sunny all over his face - it was a relentless attack, but he didn’t want to fight back at all. He was right where he wanted to be, and so he laid back and allowed the assault.
The show playing in the background had quickly become forgotten. Sunny had no idea what was happening in it - he wasn’t paying attention to it, only to Aubrey.
They were now laying on the couch, staring at one another. They had made themselves a little bit too comfortable, all of their teasing exhausting them as Sunny’s limbs spread out across the cushions lazily - Aubrey, at one point, had decided to give up and collapse on top of him, intertwining legs with Sunny as the two sighed deeply. Neither of them, up until this moment, had truly realised how calming it was to be so close with your partner - the two’s eyes became heavy, without them realising, as Sunny’s arms moved from their spots to rest on Aubrey’s back.
And, soon enough, they had both drifted off to sleep, sent to a new world.
Sunny jolted, and found himself in a familiar white room. He remembered it as WHITE SPACE, where he had spent years of his life battling his inner thoughts and trauma. He wondered to himself, why was it that this was brought up again? Why was he here again?
They say curiosity kills the cat (and I suppose he’d know all about that, huh), but Sunny was set on finding out why his mind brought him here, after he thought this side of him had gone away.
Luckily, the door was within close proximity - it didn’t require any tricks to leave, like many times before, and so Sunny (Omori?) set off on his, hopefully final, adventure in HEADSPACE.
The pointed signs led him to the, now desolate, landscape of the playground he had once spent years playing in with his friends. He didn’t really know what he was expecting, but I suppose a part of him was hoping he would have one final adieu to his childhood before leaving everything behind.
“SUUUNNNNYYYY!”
It was Aubrey. He turned around so fast he nearly gave himself whiplash as he searched for the source of the voice.
And there she was, teal nightgown, pink bow… it was Aubrey.
“What’s cookin’ good lookin’?” She spoke, catching Sunny off guard. Perhaps what Aubrey had said before about subconsciously wanting things was correct - she was flirting with him, aggressively, and as much as he liked it, he couldn’t help but feel that something was wrong. Aubrey was the only person around, he couldn’t see another life form nearby, not even a SPROUT MOLE. It worried him slightly, sure, but at the same time - Aubrey was here, in front of him, flirting with him.
What’s wrong with a little bit of indulgence?
“Nothing much, gorgeous.” Perhaps it was the way this was all a dream, but Sunny felt a newfound sense of confidence that he didn’t seem to have with the real-life Aubrey. Part of him wished that, like Hero, he had any grasp of charisma which would make him ideal, but he knew this would never happen.
He noticed a small dahlia blooming next to the entrance of the park, and so picking it up, he presented it to Aubrey in true childlike fashion - as if it were a performance.
“Aubrey… this flower is as beautiful as you!”
He thought for a second that he could see a different emotion flash across her face, but paid it no notice.
“Wo-wow! Thank you, Sunny! I am truly in love with you! I’m so glad I fought six other Aubrey’s for you!” She snickered slightly. Sunny thought this was getting a bit weird.
“Wa-wait- did you say…” She had been calling him Sunny this entire time! How had he not picked up on that? In HEADSPACE, he was Omori, right? So why would this version of Aubrey be calling him Sunny? Not only that, but she was speaking unnaturally, as if she was going to burst out laughing at any moment, and she spoke about… six… other…
“Hang on- you’re not…”
He shot up, sweat trickling down his forehead, short of breath - he had been in HEADSPACE, but the Aubrey in this dream (who was also the only one there) didn’t act like the Aubrey he usually interacted with in HEADSPACE. He began to question his whole experience, until he heard a soft giggle come from his lap.
And there she was, Aubrey, restraining herself from full belly-laughter as she got up and faced Sunny, with her messy pink hair and infamous shit-eating grin.
“Aubrey? What’s wrong?”
…
“Nothing much, gorgeous.”
…
For fuck’s sake.
Sunny wasn’t sure how it had occurred, but his life had suddenly become a fantasy novel overnight - he had dreamshared with Aubrey, and she had caught on long before him.
Unbelievable.
“HAH! I can’t believe it! That was so funny! You’re so lame!”
“Sh-shut up…”
“God, how’d you even catch on to that? I was sure I did a great job…”
“You spoke weird…” he followed this with a mumbled “...they didn’t call me that…” but he was sure she didn’t hear him.
“Huh? How come? What, did your other girlfriends speak differently? D’ya prefer their way, huh, Sunny?”
“N-no, that’s-”
“You’re so mean! Inviting me over, just to say you like other girls!” She thought for a second, then spoke again. “That flower was pretty though… I’ll forgive you if you buy me flowers!”
“Hah… I guess I’ll do that, then.”
“Let’s go back to sleep now.”
…
“No.”
“Awh, why not?”
“No more sleepovers.”
To say he was embarrassed would be an understatement.