I listened to Thrifted Tchoksnsvgejsinwdubxeus while writing this lol

Sunny it's been so long since you called please respond

"Are you..sure that Sunny called??"

"Positive! Just go through your history, it'll say that Sunny called at like- 12 at night."

Basil and Kel were sitting at the dining table, their bread and bacon untouched. They were huddled together, looking at the stream of unseen texts Kel had sent from last night to Sunny. Polly was busy at the stove making them eggs, sunny side up. (Haha, Sunny)

At first the texts sounded nice and polite, but soon they'd become increasingly more deranged-like and worrisome. (Courtesy of Kel of course)

Kel hadn't slept at all last night after that.

Basil didn't like the fact that Kel hadn't woken him up when it happened, though he didn't say anything about it. He was afraid he'd put Kel in a worse state than now.

"Kel...I'm sure he'll come around-"

"Y-you don't understand!! Sun-Sunny didn't want to talk to m-me-", Kel panicked.

"Kel.", Basil said firmly, picking up a fork. "He does. Not. Hate you. We've all been through a lot, okay? And what you're doing here is rushing everyone to heal. You can't do that."

Kel reluctantly picked up his fork and poked at his warm bacon, pouting.

Basil sighed and continued, "I know you want everything to go back to normal. I do too, but seriously...you need to give it a rest. Let them heal. Think things over. I'm positive they'll come back."

"I know I'm too pushy but-"

"Sunny will call again if things get too bad. We'll go visit on the weekend if possible, too. We just need to give him time. Now, our breakfast is getting cold, and I'm pretty hungry."

"O-okay-."

The next few minutes were filled with uninterrupted silence except for the scraping of plates against cutlery, and occasional chewing noises (Kel's fault). A telephone rang just as Basil finished the egg Polly gave them,and she rushed to get them. The could hear her conversation from the dining room.

Kel finished his breakfast and got up to keep it in the sink. Polly suddenly came in and sighed.

"Your mother wants you back home, Kel."

Kel froze.

"B-Back home..?"

"Basil told me what happened last night at your place. It's fine if you stay here or go home, I have no problem with either. But you must tell your mother about your decision."

Kel thought about it and started washing his plate.

He didn't want to go back home. He knew Hero would constantly apologize and give him attention after last night. And to be fair, Kel wasn't ready to forgive him yet.

Or was he?

He loved Hero. They were brothers, of course! But still....

He wasn't ready to forgive Hero, just yet. Last night's incident was still painfully fresh in his mind.

"Kel?"

"I don't know, Polly....", Kel said, unsure of his decision. "I have no problem going home, but...".

"Hero?", Polly finished.

"Y-yeah. I don't know... something about yesterday...I feel.... terrified.".

"Oh Kel...", Polly wrapped her arms around him, and embraced him with warmth. "Its alright. You're welcome here as long as you want. Always know that, okay?"

Kel returned her embrace, smiling slightly. "Thanks Polly."

"Now...", Polly let go, and took his plate. "I'll take care of that for you. Why don't you tell your mother yourself that you come home later? If she says no, I'll talk with her."

Polly ran her hand through Kel's hair, even though he was almost a foot taller than her, "Don't you worry a thing, sugar."

He smiled, trying to be polite, but in reality, he was terrified.

His mother could be stubborn at times, and he was afraid that she would convince Polly to send him home immediately.

Out of the kitchen he went and down the hall. The telephone was sitting there, gleaming.

He stood in front of it, daring himself to dial the number.

"Okay Kel...you got this..."

He punched in the numbers, his heart getting louder and more intense with each beat.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeep..

Hope she wasn't too mad.

.....

Beeeeeeeeeee- "Hello?"

Kel took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, "Hi ma."

"Do you have any idea how worried your father and I were?!"

Here we go...

"..Yes ma..."

"What would've happened in the dead of night with you all alone?? You could've gone missing, kidnapped, or anything! Why did you run away like that?!"

"I'm sorry ma-"

"I've been so so worried, darling, I haven't slept-."

"I'm sorry..."

"No- no don't be sorry, it's alright, baby. It's okay..."

A moment of silence.

"...How's Hero..?"

"He's doing much better, but I want you home right now, mister. Hero's not himself without you. Just come and we'll make things right."

Yeaa, no thanks

Kel was unfortunately, not in the mood to listen to Hero's constant apologies and self-deprecating remarks. He didn't even want to see him anyways, for now.

But how would his mother understand?

"Kel, mijo, are you there???"

"M-mom- I don't want to come home-"

He flinched as she heard his mother gasp in disbelief on the other side of the phone.

"W-what do you mean-?? C-Cariño, escuchaste eso?? ¿¡Él no quiere volver a casa?! Que-", his mother yelled at someone hysterically in the background.

(D-dear, did you hear that?? He doesn't want to come home?!)

"M-Mom- no- don't take it the wrong way- I don't want to come home now-"

"Kel, Kel, mi amado hijo, please- did we do anything? I want to only set things right with you- I'm so so sorry about last night, darling- I-"

"Mom, seriously, it's fine, I just need some time to think...", Kel said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Oh..oh of course, it's alright, I understand completely..", she replied, with pain in her voice.

Kel took a deep breath, calming himself before speaking again.

"I promise ma, I'll be home before six. I love you"

"I-I love you too, darling, tell Polly where you're going if you're going out!"

"I will ma. See you later."

"Bye dear, take care..."

Kel hung up after that.

Wow.

That was... surprisingly easier than he had thought it would be.

Time for a little relaxation, all to himself. He deserved some time off.

He headed back to the dining room, feeling much more relieved now.

______________________________________________________________________________

"He's not coming back now, Hero."

Hero's heart dropped from his chest right onto the floor with these words. He slumped onto the couch, and Sally pulled on his sleeve, laughing.

"N-not coming...back?", He stammered.

"Not now, Hero. Your brother said he needed time to think. He'll be back in the evening, okay?", She sighed, holding her head. "It's only understandable. We have to let him be on his own for now."

"He's with...Basil???", Hero asked.

"Yes, let him. He needs to relax a little, the both of them."

Hero didn't know what to think about that. His feelings about Basil were still scattered all over, but he decided to let it go.

He wondered how Aubrey was doing...

"In the meantime, Hero-", his mother said, l ruffling his hair as she headed to the kitchen, "Why don't you get some fresh air as well. Just take some time for yourself. You've gone as pale as crackers."

"M-Mom!"

"I'm kidding, but please, go outside for a while, without being cooped up there. That room is horrible. I need you and Kel to tidy it tonight."

Hero chuckled slightly, "Yes mom.", He got up from the sofa, and dusted his sweatshirt. Sally cried out, stretching her arms.

"Aw, you want to come too, don't you?", Hero said, tickling her cheek. "I guess we can go for a little walk together, sis!"

Sally gabbled happily in response.

"Alright then!", Hero scooped her up, laughing, "See you in an hour or two, mom."

His mother's face appeared around the corner, "Oh you're taking Sally? How nice, bring her back before lunch, alright? Keep her in the pram, alright?"

"Sure mom, I will."

He grabbed the folded pram, and took it outside. There, he undid it and fastened Sally to it. She laughed the whole time.

The sun shone brightly outside, dappling everything in a yellow hue. The trees danced happily in the summer breeze, showing off its emerald-coloured leaves. Hero looked at the sky, a beautiful shade of blue and smiled to himself.

It was a beautiful day today.

"Come on, Sally, let's go to the park.", Hero said to her. Sally giggling mischievously,

"What's up with you now, young lady?"

"Blah."

"Yea, it's a beautiful day, I can see that of course."

As they strolled along the road, on their way to Faraway Park, Hero began thinking to himself. He'd wanted to talk to Aubrey too, about this whole thing. Maybe she'd get it, once he got past all the yelling. There was a good chance she'd be at the park, with the other..uh..what was her gang's name again?

Rowdies..?

Troublemakers-??

Hooligans, definitely hooligans..

When he got to Faraway Park, he parked Sally under a tree and sat down next to her. He turned her so that she could watch what the kids there were doing.

Hero leaned back and observed too. Couple of kids were playing catch, laughing happily at each other. Two others were dribbling a basketball, and a game of Tag was happening too.

It honestly reminded Hero of a lot of his teenage years....

...........

"Kel, that wasn't fair!! You tagged me right after I tagged you! That's against the rules!!"

"Oh I'm sooorryyy, Little-Miss-I-Know-Everything, it's not my fault your reflexes are too slow to match my speed-"

"What did you just call me, you stinky dork?!"

"Hey I just showered this morning!!"

"Yea right!!"

A lovely summer's day, the sun was shining, flowers were blooming, birds were singing and and on days like these, of course, Kel and Aubrey were arguing.

Hero laughed to himself, the two could get so worked up easily. Basil and Sunny watched them, getting a bit more concerned by the minute.

"S-should we go stop them-?", Basil asked nervously.

"No worries, I got this,", Hero smiled awkwardly before clapping his hands and going over to them, "Aaaalright, what happened now?"

Aubrey pouted, pursing her lips and puffing out her cheeks, "Kel's not playing fair again!"

Hero looked at his brother, who was facing the other way, arms crossed.

"Kel, we've been over this."

"Well, excuuuuseee me but like I said, it's not my fault that you're such a slowpoke-!"

"Excuse me?! You take that back!!"

"Kel?", Hero asked sternly, "I think you should apologise."

"Heck no! She called me a stinky dork! She's the one who should apologise, not me.", Kel shot back, turning back to stick his tongue at Aubrey.

"He started it-!!", Aubrey shouted back again.

"Guys, guys...", Hero waved his hands to stop their arguing again, "Why don't you both apologize?"

"NO!", They both yelled in unison.

Hero exhaled a sigh. This was going to be a handful...

"Need some help?", A voice asked.

Hero turned back to see Mari, smiling at him, that same cute smile she always had on her when he saw her. She then frowned a little and looked at the two kids in front of them, facing their opposite ways.

Putting her arms on her hips, she then began in a stern tone, "You know Hero is right. You're both friends, and you need to make up. Shake hands on it and apologise."

Kel and Aubrey retorted in unison, refusing to do so, but Mari silenced them with a single stare from her.

"Or else."

There was a long minute of silence after that. Then Aubrey finally sighed in annoyance, then turned to Kel and stuck out her hand.

"I'm sorry...", She mumbled between clenched teeth.

Kel did the same, and shook her hand, staring daggers.

"....wanna play some catch?", Aubrey then asked.

"Sure I guess.."

The two of them ran off again.

"Don't fight again, you two!!!", Mari called out, laughing now.

"You got a bit out of character there..", Hero pointed out.

"Hmm??"

"I mean-uh-", he stumbled on his words, "You don't usually act that stern...?"

"Yeahh, I know...even my mom noticed. She said it's because I'm "growing up", or something like that? She mentioned 'hormones', whatever that is...", Mari said, scrunching her nose at her mother's quote.

"But you're just fourteen. We got wayyy more time to grow up!", Hero said in disbelief.

"Pfff- Yeah, but I kinda don't want to...", Mari trailed off.

"Hmm?", Hero looked at her.

"Maybe because being grown up has too many responsibilities. I want to stay here, having fun with you and Kel, and Basil and the others. I don't want Sunny to grow up either, he's just so cute..", Mari groaned.

"Well...we aren't going to drift apart are we? We'll always stay together!", Hero said happily, while holding her hands, "Tell you what, why don't we spend our future together? We'll get a place of our own, go to college together and even get ma-!!"

Hero caught on before he finished his sentence. His face turned beet red, and his heart raced. Mari looked shocked at first, but then slowly..her features changed to a smug grin.

"Oh? What was that last sentence, Hero~?", She said, pinching his cheek.

"U-uhhhh-uhmmmm...nothing-!! It's nothing, just a slip of the tongue-haha- that's it!!", Hero said incoherently, waving his hands frantically.

"Awww, you're adorable when you blush. Now let me tell you what," she smirked, "Let's pass our exams with top scores and get a good score so we can pick out decent colleges, and of course-", Mari flicked his nose playfully, "We'll get married too~"

Hero's heart beat faster and his face turned even redder, if that was better. He covered his face with his hands in embarrassment.

"M-Mariii...!"

"It's a promise then, isn't it?", She grinned happily, embracing him.

Hero chuckled at her and hugged her back, enjoying her warm presence.

"Yes, Mari.."

"A promise..."

He promised.

Hero was brought back to reality, from his flashback. He glanced at the sky, as if he would suddenly see Mari appear there.

"Our promise, Mari.."

Hero felt his tears pricking the corners of his eyes again. He'd lost his love, possibly his soulmate, his two best friends, one of them being Mari's brother lied to him about something so huge, and now his brother didn't want to look at him in the face.

"Whatever am I supposed to do now, Mari..?", He asked himself, still looking at the sky, "Everything in my life just fell apart again after three years of finally building it back together. Just- just noone understands..."

Sally giggled and looked back at Hero. She smiled and stretched her hands out to him.

Ah. The young lady wants her attention.

"Come here, Sal'...", He picked her up from the pram and say her on his lap. "At least you're here with me, aren't you? You won't leave me anytime soon, will you?"

"Bwaaaawaa!?", Sally giggled in response.

Hero tickled her cheek, sighing, "You're just a baby. You don't really understand what's happening, don't you? This is all so confusing for me to process...I don't even know what's right and wrong anymore.."

Sally blew a raspberry at him, not understanding a single word of what her brother just said.

"Ohh...Sally..", Hero said, cuddling his baby sister, "You're the only one who understands me..."

"That's a baby, Hero."

Aubrey, in all her bubblegum pink glory slid next to him. She didn't look like she was doing too hot for at least a couple of days. He hair was messy, her eyebags very prominent to those around her, and she was missing her jacket and hairband. She poked Sally who was already laughing, and she got even more excited.

"Woah- Aubrey, you look, uh-?"

"Yeah, I know. I look depressed. Kim said so too. In fact, Mikhael told me I look like a gremlin. He would've said more but didn't because I sucker-punched him.", Aubrey said, as she took Sally into her lap. Sally seemed to like that a lot.

"Ouch..."

"Yup. In fact, what's up with you? You look just as horrible as me. I'm surprised the parents here haven't given you the side eye yet."

"O-oh..me? I'm-I'm fine-really-I-"

"Don't even give me that bullshit, we are not fine.", She said carelessly, "After all, how could we all be, after what we just got to know..."

"R-right, you're right..", Hero agreed.

"Ugh, I feel so conflicted about all of this. And on top of that, I had Kel and Basil try to convince me to talk to them again. I swear to god, they should know better! I said some horrible things and-and Kel yelled at me.."

"Wait, Kel talked to you? When?"

"Yesterday. I was taking my anger out on Basil and he suddenly shoved me to the ground. We've had a lot of fights, but I think...that was the first time I've genuinely seen him angry..."

"Oh.", Hero said stupidly.

"Has Kel calmed down? I-I feel sort of terrible about everything that has happened. But at the same time...I can't look at Basil the same way. I'm just- just so disturbed-"

Aubrey played with Sally's arms, waving them around and making her giggle, having a wistful expression. Hero could understand her, after all, they were the only two who had the same opinion about everything that had happened.

"I had a fight with Kel too yesterday. He did seem a lot more persistent with everything, and he ended up saying stuff that I didn't like. I haven't seen him since last night...", Hero said dejectedly.

"Oh.", Aubrey said, as she held his shoulder, "I guess I'm partly responsible for his outburst. Sorry-"

"No no, I understand where you're coming from. It's just that- Kel is so, so naive. He doesn't understand this situation- I mean, yea, Sunny and Basil are our friends, but still..."

"I guess Sunny didn't realise what was happening when he- y'know...did that to Mari's corps-"

"Don't.", Hero said, clenching his teeth.

"Right. Sorry. I don't think Sunny was really conscious at the time...or else he would've stopped Basil. Basil, on the other hand...."

"I seriously don't know what possessed him to think that it was a good idea. Where'd he even learn to tie a noose?!", Hero said unbelievably.

"I don't know! I'm just- I can't believe him! Basil, our shy quiet friend, who doesn't look like he'd hurt a fly, did this."

Hero ruffled his hair in frustration, "I don't understand it either, and I went to college to become a therapist."

Aubrey shook her head, banging her first in anger.
"I'm so angry at everything right now! We just found out the truth, Kel is being