"I have to tell you something."

Sunny stands calmly before his friends, all standing around an unconscious Basil. It's now or never. He takes a deep breath and says everything without stopping except to take another. Him cracking under the stress of the recital, throwing the violin down the stairs, pushing and killing Mari, his panic, Basil hanging her on the tree, his dad cutting it down and leaving, him scribbling out the photos, White Space, Headspace, Black Space, his alter known as Omori, his hallucinations only known as something, his knife "habits," his fight with Basil, his internal battle against his alter, everything. He might've even gone a little overboard with some of his descriptions. He keeps his stoic expression and awaits their response.

The looks on their faces... he would never forget them as long as he lived.

Kel's shock. He looks like he's seen a ghost. He has no idea how close he was to being one. It hurt seeing him like this, always being so upbeat and kipper.

Aubrey's disbelief. If she didn't feel conflicted and guilty before, she definitely did now. Sorry. He genuinely wishes the best for her after everything.

Hero's confusion... He still hasn't completely moved on, even before now. Hopefully he'll find peace of mind finally knowing it wasn't his fault after all.

Aubrey breaks the silence. "Sunny... I think you need more rest."

They don't have much more time to say anything as the door swings open behind him. Nurses rush into the room with a stretcher, asking him questions they wouldn't get answers to and speaking medical jumbo among themselves as they lift Sunny up easily and set him down on the stretcher with no resistance from him. He's wheeled out of the room, the door's closing mechanism doing its job once they're clear of the doorway before the group can muster anything to say back. They turn back to Basil and see he has woken up at some point during Sunny's confession, staring at them anxiously. He knows what Sunny just did. The door finally closes, and everything falls uncomfortably silent, save for the ticking of the clock on the wall.

Kel isn't sure what to think. He's usually the pillar of happiness, but now really isn't the time. He doesn't know if he wants to think Sunny isn't all there or if Mari's death really was an accident and they covered it up. That could be why he was so expressionless these last few days... no, he was never that expressive to begin with. Still, he said all that, every harrowing detail with seemingly no emotion behind his words. That boy was impossible to read. Honestly, he dreads both possibilities. Could he have caused their injuries indirectly by bringing him outside? No, that was ultimately Sunny's decision, but should he just never have knocked at all? Would that have been best for both him and Basil?

Hero's trying to rationalize. That wasn't right. There's no way all that happened. He must have had an extremely elaborate dream. He... isn't well, considering a lot of the more messed up details. They have no reason to believe he's in his right mind after what happened the previous night, or the past four years for that matter... But then, why is Basil so shaken? ...That's easy, he just woke up. He doesn't know where he is, and seeing Sunny with a bandaged eye most likely just gave him post-traumatic stress and a wave of guilt when he remembered what he did. This makes him feel a little more at ease. But if Sunny's really telling the truth... then... that would mean it was never his fault. It'd be Sunny's. He would've killed Mari in an accident. And Basil would've...

...There's just no way.

Aubrey's thinking similarly. Sunny's been acting strangely since she first saw him outside. He even carried a knife. Sure, she had her nail bat, but she never once actually used it. He got his eye stabbed with a pair of shears last night by his best friend during his first few days out of that house in years. That couldn't have done much for his mental health. After what felt like hours, She finally prepares to ask why he and Sunny fought, before conjuring up a question with higher priority in her head. She just can't shake the possibility. "Basil... is that true?"

Basil flinches at her question. Kel wasn't sure how much he was awake for, so he clarifies for her, "Did you... Did you and Sunny hang Mari four years ago?"

Oh no. They know. They know. They hate him. They hate Sunny. He'll be alone again. Basil fights to stay calm. His throat feels like it's closing as his breathing escalates, trying to piece together some semblance of a reply before Hero beats him to it.

" There's no way..." Hero mutters, trying to reassure himself. "Basil, please... tell me none of that's true."

Basil is afraid. He's trapped, he's going to lose their trust. Kel looks on in worry. Aubrey starts seething. Hero looks empty inside. Basil doesn't want to be here. He should've just...

His unresponsiveness is enough for Aubrey. "You son of a bitch..."

"Aubrey!" Kel scolds. "Seriously? He's on his hospital bed!"

"Shut up, Kel! What Sunny did was an accident. Not only did Basil almost kill him but he made all of us believe Mari killed herself!" She turns to Hero, "You should be angry too, of all people!"

Hero stares blankly and takes a deep, long, shaky breath. "...We don't know that. L-Let's... just hear him out, okay? There-There has to be a reason. Let's all just... calm down..." He wasn't going to blow up like he did at Kel again, as hard as he struggled not to. Aubrey backs down. Kel just watched, having nothing to say.

They at least deserve an explanation, Basil thinks. He had wished he could explain his position after he was gone. He wanted to leave behind a letter or something, but he could never find the right things to say since it would always leave on a sour note no matter what he wrote. If he drew a flower on it like he always did, would they then associate all the others with his death? That only makes it worse, doesn't it? Plus, he wouldn't want to burden them with the choice to keep it because it was their last piece of him, or destroy it for the bad memories. He really doesn't know, or care about for that matter, the morality of the situation. He just wanted everything to be over with. He was probably overthinking it anyway. Something would get him. They would all be happier in the long run. He settles down some.

He finally finds the courage to speak, breath harsh and unsteady. "I was there to see Sunny and Mari before the recital. I saw him throw the violin and push her down the stairs- B-But it was an accident!" he reassures quickly. "...She didn't wake up, and I didn't want him to get in trouble. M-My grandmother would watch these investigation shows on TV, and I had an idea..."

The silence weighs on everybody in the room, but nobody can bring themselves to break it. They can all fill in the blanks. Basil skips over that one part. His breathing gets heavier.

"After we... When we went back inside... I made him promise. Promise that... we'd always be there for each other no matter what... But now look where we are. Everyone... abandoned me..." And for good reason, he wanted to say, but didn't, "I had nobody left after Grandma died. Polly tried to help, but... I couldn't open up to her about what we did..."

Well, that much was true, Kel recounts. His parents were out on trips all the time, Sunny holed up for four years, Hero became so depressed he... barely got out of bed for a year and then left for college, Aubrey and her gang bullied him relentlessly and nearly got him and Sunny killed, and Kel, though he only ever meant the best, never actually noticed anything was terribly wrong. And now, his grandmother has passed away and the one person sharing his guilt of Mari is leaving forever. It's no wonder he felt so isolated... and alone. Kel's kicking himself for missing all the signs for so long. Nobody was there for him, to tell him things would be okay. Nobody understood just how badly he was doing.

Basil continues. "Sunny... the only other person that knew what happened, shut himself in his house. I waited for him... o-only to find out he's moving... and I'll really never see him again. He-He was leaving me, he was going to leave me to deal with this on my own... e-even though he p-promised...!" He finally breaks his composure, huffing out sobs and trying but failing to catch himself as his heart races.

"Hey. Hey, calm down, okay?" Hero's one to talk, visibly struggling too as he put his hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "Breathe. Take deep breaths. Inhale... Exhale... Inhale... Exhale..." Basil follows his instructions, and his heartrate starts to slowly lower back down. It seems to at least help ground him enough to continue. He looks up at Hero and meets his gaze. He sees... restraint in his eyes. And pain. He's the last person he deserves consolation from. Hero lets go of him gently and walks back to lean against the wall, head down.

"...There was no way out," he heaves through pained breaths, a look of utter defeat on his face. He looks miserable. "The thing I saw... was everywhere. It knows what I did. It follows me. Everywhere. You all knocked on my door, b-but I couldn't move..." He pauses to take deep breaths like Hero showed him. "I-I was ready for it to take me... I was so tired... b-but Sunny came in. ...I still didn't want to believe he really did it. He wasn't the one it should've been after, but it... surrounded both of us. He was scared, but I didn't let him leave... I-I couldn't let it get him too! I stabbed its eye... and... S-Sunny...!"

Kel struggles to wrap his head around what he was saying. He tried to shoulder all the guilt by himself? Is he projecting his trauma from the situation into this imaginary monster? Did he and Sunny both see this... thing?

Aubrey has to wonder why he took the rap for Sunny for so long. They were best friends, but Jesus Christ, Basil came off as clingy. Then again, maybe he was just trying to protect what he still had left. She ponders his possible motives for taking the blame for the photo album, and realizes he never even outwardly said he did it. Aubrey always just assumed because of how flustered he got and took that as an admission of guilt. She never even took the time to listen to him. He probably just couldn't bring himself to deny it and could very well have been just trying to compensate by being blamed for something he didn't do instead. If that was the case, he evidently didn't think that was enough.

Basil starts shouting, his voice cracking with his hiccups, "Why didn't he just let me go?! I've done nothing but hurt him! I deserved it!"

Aubrey freezes at what he said. She remembers shoving him into the lake. Him briefly bobbing back up before sinking steadily towards the bottom. She didn't even see him struggle or thrash around, as if he had already resigned himself to his watery fate. The realization makes her gasp hoarsely, all her anger suddenly turning to a mixture of regret and dread, before covering her face in her hands. Kel notices her emotional state and puts his arm around her shoulder, whispering words of comfort. She tenses up a little bit at the contact before settling back down. Any other day, Kel laying a finger on her would've earned him a punch in the chin. She needs it this time.

"E-Even at the lake?" Her voice muffles through her hands. "Did you not... I dunno, try to get back up? I didn't even see you moving... Were you- Were you just waiting for an opportunity to die all this time?"

Basil falls silent again, but deep down he knows the answer. He never thought about it explicitly, but maybe he was just too cowardly to do it on his own, at least until last night. Maybe he thought it would be easier if it were left up to circumstance. An accidental tumble into the lake... not the worst way to go, right? Nobody would know how he was really feeling. He knows that suicides hurt worse than accidents from experience, so it's a win-win. He wanted punishment for his actions, but just didn't want to cause more pain than necessary, nor did he have enough of a spine to do anything to himself until he finally got desperate enough. He'd already caused enough pain to last a lifetime and destroyed everyone's trust, but he was deeply ashamed of himself for being willing to make somebody a murderer. He's so selfish.

"Answer me!" She removes her hands and makes eye contact, snapping Basil out of his thoughts. Her eyes are red and shiny. "Every time we antagonized you. Did you just take it because you thought you deserved it?! Did... oh my God, did Sunny save your life last night?!"

Kel tries offering an easier question. "How did you think we would've felt if you had... done it?"

Basil... can't think of an answer. He thought nobody would care, and if they did, they would quickly get over it. Especially if they knew what he did. That wasn't where his mind was at anymore, though. The main thing he thought about was relief from the stress. But now, everyone's all here at his bed, even Aubrey.

Aubrey... cares?

The girl whose posse bullied him for four years?

He doesn't deserve pity or forgiveness.

He's a monster.

He destroyed everyone's trust.

He only deserves something eating him from the inside, but it won't come out now.

There's too many people here.

...

He can try to make a compromise for now.

"...Just hit me," he mutters.

Kel wasn't expecting that. "...Huh?"

"Hit me or something. I hung Mari. Just do it, please-!"

Aubrey drops back into her hands trying not to cry, her fears confirmed.

"Basil, we just want to know why you tried to-" Kel is cut off by Hero suddenly walking up to Basil and punching him square in the face as hard as he can, a surprised yell from Kel and Aubrey heard behind him. He spouts a quiet yelp on impact, his nose starting to drip red down over his lips. He winced at the pain, but not nearly as much as one would expect. He looks numb to it if anything, not even dizzy or dazed. Hero's taken aback by his startling lack of reaction.

"Wha- Hero, NO!" Kel screams, jumping up and grabbing onto his brother in an attempt to pull him away from the broken blonde. Hero briefly notes just how much stronger he had gotten, because he actually has to give some resistance to stand his ground this time. He holds on to the railing of Basil's bed against the force pulling him back.

He... really wanted that?

Hero's train of thought was hindered greatly by Kel tugging on him, so he fixes the problem. "STOP it, Kel! Get OFF me!" He pries Kel's hands off and shoves him away, making him lose balance. Aubrey rushes over and catches him before he falls backward. He can think now. Hero's anger has dissipated by now and was replaced with confoundment. Basil wanted that? Is he really that far gone? Has he beaten himself up that much over the years?

"The hell's WRONG with you?!" Aubrey yells at Hero. Kel looks on him with an unusual amount of anger and sadness in his eyes. Betrayal.

Hero gulps, panting. "He... fucking hung her, tricked the whole town into-into thinking... she..." he trails off, voice with as much malice as he can muster to try and justify his reaction to himself, which isn't much. All of his sudden rage was spent on that blow. He had so much he wanted to say, to yell, to scream, but he can't anymore. He had attacked Basil, and broke his promise to Kel.

He looks back at Basil. He's sobbing silently, tasting the iron on his lips. He doesn't bother wiping his own blood off his face, his whole body's aching too much. God, he's a sniveling mess, and he just made it worse. How bad have things gotten for him since he left?

"I..." His eyes whip around the room. "I need a minute." Hero walks out of the room and the door slowly pulls itself closed behind him.

Kel is dumbfounded. Did Hero really just do that? Was that even Hero? He turns back to Basil to see his face bloodied. Hero really did that. Holy crap...

He just needs time to cool off after that confession. That's it. He needs to let it out. He wouldn't do that on purpose. He's probably already going to the store to pick up sweets for Basil. That's so Hero.

Aubrey frantically looks around for something to wipe the blood off with, but there isn't even a sink in the room. Why isn't there even a sink in here? Screw it, she'll use her jacket. They don't really know how to treat a broken nose, but they can at least try and clean him up as best they can. She quickly takes it off, revealing her short black tank top, takes the sleeve and tries to sop up some of Basil's blood with careful wipes and pats.

"You're using your jacket?" Kel asks, a little disgusted.

"There's nothing else in here, idiot. I can get another one. Come here and help me sit him up."

We could've gotten napkins from the breakfast area downstairs, Kel thought about saying, but that was several stories below them. It would've taken too long. He sighs and drops the subject, still squicked out, and walks over to the side opposite to her and wriggles his arms under Basil to lift him up some. He hopes Aubrey isn't about to put that jacket back on afterwards.

Basil weakly tries resisting by tilting his head away. "Stob... I'm worhleth..." he utters nasally.

Aubrey tries to hold him in place, doing her best to avoid any red with her hand. "Hold still. And don't you dare say that."

"...I ruined eberything."

"Stop talking. You're... It's going to be alright." 'You're messing me up' probably isn't the best choice of words right now.

"Why... don'd you h-hade m-me...?"

Now it's Aubrey's turn to go quiet. She really doesn't know. It could be that they were only twelve and not in their right mind after what would definitely be a horrific sight, but what twelve-year-old thinks to hang their best friend's sister's body? That's not it. It could be that she felt guilty after treating him so badly for something that turned out to not even be his fault, or it could be the fact that she was almost in the same situation as them at that lake. She can't imagine what she would've done if Sunny and Basil drowned because of her.

"Aubrey? You good?"

She realizes she stopped wiping in her deep thought, unsure how long. Kel looks at her concerned and Basil stares at her with red eyes, getting more nervous the longer she takes to answer. The blood is in the process of scabbing, already having the consistency of mucus. She shakes her thoughts away and silently continues wiping until she's done.

"Y-You dond' hab t-to do this..."

Aubrey doesn't respond, only balling half of the jacket around the red sleeve and pressing the other against his nose, applying pressure to try and stop the bleeding. Kel pats his arm, giving his signature Kel reassuring smile. "You're gonna be okay, buddy. We got you! How's your nose?"

"...Fine." That's a lie.

Aubrey lifts the jacket a little to check, letting Kel see too. It doesn't look to be in the best of shape. Bruised by the punch, his nose looks a little flatter now. He would need medical attention for this too, as if all the other bruises on his face weren't enough. Basil didn't need to know the full extent of it yet though. She returns the jacket to his nose.

"Here, let's scooch him back so he can lie against his pillow," Kel suggests.

"Good idea." She can't believe what she just said. She rotates his pillow and she and Kel work together to push his back against it to where he's comfortable.

"Man... Hero shouldn't have done that. I'm so sorry. I'll... talk to him later. ...Can you forgive him?"

Even Kel knew that was a dumb question. Basil could never hold a grudge against another person. Knowing Hero, and judging from experience, he wouldn't be satisfied just being forgiven right away. He'll have to earn that trust back. Kel wasn't particularly upset he broke his promise, everybody has a freak-out. The problem is that he decided to take it out on Basil this time, and he got physical. He still can't quite completely fault him for that either though, honestly not knowing how he would fare in Hero's shoes. That doesn't mean they won't have a lot to talk about on the way back home, though. Hero's never hit anyone.

"...Id's ogay... I forgib him..."

"I guess I should apologize too," Aubrey states, looking down. "One, for snapping at you just now. Kel was right, we should be here for you at a time like this... and second, I thought you were the one that blacked out the photos all these years. I mean they were cleaned, but... but still! It hurt seeing Mari's memory-" defaced... just like her body...

She got stuck in thought again, then forced herself back out. "...It... just hurt."

Basil looked at her with sad eyes. He looked like a beaten puppy. His whole life has gone downhill since the incident. He'd beaten himself enough over his mistakes, never mind the beatings from herself and her gang. He'd lost everything and stewed in his suicidal depression with no one to go to. He's suffered long enough.

"I just wish that I tried to understand, instead of pushing you away." Her eyes got wet again. "I wish I just heard your side."

Basil muttered again, "...Id's ogay. Really..."

"No, it's not! I bullied you for so long! I didn't know you were going through... through this! I didn't even try to know!"

Kel steps up to give her a rest. "I'll take over. I hardly said anything yet." He chuckles a little, trying to lighten the mood some before continuing, "...I tried to get us back together again a bunch of times. It finally worked, but I didn't realize how much you were really hurting. We... We should've gone in and checked on you." He looks down. "I don't know how I missed all the signs. I was too darn innocent. I didn't even think something like this could happen. I'm so, so sorry I didn't help you."

Now it was Kel's turn to tear up. He wraps his arms around his friend in a hug.

"Just promise us... no matter how hard it gets. Stay here with us, okay pal?" He pulls back and reaches to tap Basil's forehead. "I won't leave you all alone in here again. None of us will."

Aubrey appears to have calmed down enough to go on. She sniffs, sighs, and signals to Kel to let her talk. He nods in understanding and backs up again. We had to wait for somebody to be hospitalized before he finally shut his trap, she thinks, grinning internally at her dark humor.

She got serious again, knowing she had to choose her words carefully from here. "You know, I felt abandoned too," she starts. "When... we all split up, I felt like everyone else moved on without me. Like everyone just... forgot... and carried on. I know now that everyone deals with things differently. Hero staying in bed," she looks back up at the boy across from her, "Kel keeping his stupid smile..."

Kel smiled and rolled his eyes. On any other day...

"My point is, you were never alone. We all went through stuff, but you're a special case in particular. You've had it worse than any of us, so we'll always be there for each other from now on. I'll tell the guys to lay off you. You can count on us this time, okay? Right, Kel?"

"Yeah! After all, we did promise, right? And that's some fine encouragement coming from you," Kel retorts as payback.

She can't hide her smile as much as she tries. "Oh, you shut up." Aubrey tries to reach over Basil and punch him playfully but the bed's too wide. Basil chuckles a little bit at their bickering. Whatever they're doing, it seems to be working.

"Seriously though, think about what we said, okay? And... think of us when you think about hurting yourself... I don't know what any of us would've done if we lost anybody else. Please, please don't try that again. You're still our friend."

Both him and Aubrey dread the thought of losing Basil to himself. He was always the gentle, sensitive one, tending to his garden and snapping pictures with his friends to put in an album and cherish the memories forever. He took great pride in his botany skills and could talk all day about different types of flowers and their meanings in different cultures. He would even get a little sad if one of his flowers died. To see him an utter husk of the sentimental, caring kid he once was, being put down by life constantly after a single mistake like this is heartbreaking to say the least. That was all it was, a mistake. Nothing can change the past, but they can change the future.

"Anyway, how 'bout a group hug?" Kel suggests cheerfully.

Aubrey smiles. "You know what, sure."

"Basil?"

Kel sees the tiniest smile creep up on Basil's face under the jacket. Kel takes that as a yes.

"Alright! Group hug!"

Kel throws his arms around Basil, leaving space around Aubrey's work. She checks his nose again, the bleeding seems to have stopped. She balls up her reddened jacket the rest of the way and sets it on the floor behind her before joining them in the tight embrace. His nerves begin to calm down, and for the first time in what feels like forever, Basil actually feels... warm, being surrounded by some of his friends again. Despite all he's done to them, they found it in themselves to forgive him? That's impossible. They should hate him. He hates himself. He feels so useless, having to be taken care of like this. He's always been such a burden. But, he also feels a semblance of joy emerging from his despair.

Mo matter how bleak the future seems, he can't deny how comfortable he is right now. He was genuinely enjoying his time listening to them talk and bump off each other, just like they used to before the incident. Aside from the throbbing pain all over him, everything felt perfect. He could lie there forever, in the company of his favorite people (minus Hero and Sunny, of course, but small steps). He didn't feel something's presence anymore. He fully takes in what Kel and Aubrey said to him... and realizes nobody he knows deserve the pain either. They really do care about him. Tears roll down his cheeks as he begins to cry, trying in vain to keep it together. There was nothing he could've done beforehand to soften the blow if he committed suicide. He had become so selfish, so uncaring that he stopped considering anyone else's feelings, only concerned with his own pain. All of his closest friends would be left scarred a second time, and they might not bounce back like they did again. Polly would be left wondering where she went wrong. His parents would likely blame her, or worse. His sobs at the thought turn into regretful bawling into his friends' arms. When he tried stabbing himself... he wasn't the only one he could've hurt. He's embarrassed to break down in front of them, but he can't stop. This is all too much.

"It's okay... let it out. You need it," Kel whispers confidently, almost as if reading into him.

It wouldn't be the first time, though. If total forgiveness were to ever happen, it would take a long time before things are normal again. Maybe the confession was a good thing. The process has started, at least. No longer did he have to bottle up his true emotions. No more secrets eating him from the inside. He could finally start to forgive himself without guilt. He felt... safe. Maybe things really can go back to the way things were eventually, at least for the most part. He's not alone anymore. He's smiling, genuinely, for the first time in forever. His crying of despair has morphed into sputtering tears of joy.

"Th-Thangs g-guys..."

"Don't mention it." Kel smiles wide. "What're friends for?"

"I'm... so sorry... I... wadn't thinging..."

"It's okay... You and Sunny are still here. He's gonna be okay." Aubrey reassures.

The two stay comfortably huddled around him in a hug for a few more minutes. They will do anything in their power to stay together now. They turn around at the sound of loud, fast footsteps approaching from the hallway outside and jolt up at the door swinging open. It was Hero, panting, face red, tears ready to stream down his face with another blink.

"Guys! Kel... Aubrey...!" He hurriedly stumbles toward the three.

"I hope you're here to give an apology," Aubrey snaps at him.

"I know, it's not that, it's... it's... hear me out..." He sounds like he just got finished running a marathon. He wipes his eyes with his sleeve. "Oh God..."

"Calm down, Hero," Kel said with concern. This was all happening so fast. "Basil's doing okay, what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, it-it's Sunny. Don't go outside... he just jumped off the roof."