A loud banging on the door woke Sunny with a start. Whatever dream he'd been having quickly vanished from memory, as they always seemed to lately. He sat up quickly, and looked around the room panicked. He was always disoriented waking up, and the sudden noise didn't help anything. He looked over and saw Basil who was sitting up too.

"What is that?" Sunny yawned, tipping his head at Basil.

"I'm… not sure."

Sunny slowly stood up, "Let's find out."

He was curious as to what it was. The light shining in through Basil's window proved it had to be early morning, why would someone be here this early? He felt nervous, but he trusted it was nothing bad.

He walked to the front of the house, Basil following close behind. He froze in front of the door, suddenly doubting himself. He shook it off and unlocked the door, slowly opening it.

"Sunny! When were you two gonna tell me you got here? I was waiting all day yesterday!"

Of course it was Kel. Only Kel would bang on someone's door like that.

"Okay, that's not true. I remembered last night when I was going to bed you were supposed to be in town. But still guys, Not. Cool."

Basil sighed, "We were gonna get you today. He just got here last night, Kel."

"Oh… well, still! You two should've come to see me right away!" He grinned at Sunny, "Doesn't matter, I got you two now! What're we doing first!"

"We weren't even planning on being awake yet!" Basil looked at Sunny exasperated, before sighing again and looking at Kel, "We were gonna get you and Aubrey and go to Gino's for lunch, does that sound okay?"

Sunny watched the two talk, when was the last time they talked at ease like this that he'd seen? He assumed they must have had some conversations over the last year, but before that? Sunny hadn't seen them talk as friends since… probably since the accident.

He couldn't hide a small smile seeing them together again.

"That sounds perfect, I think we should go get Aubrey now! What do you think, Sunny?"

"Um."

Basil and Kel both looked at him. Basil probably didn't want to bother Aubrey this early but he did want to see Aubrey again.

"We can go… in a minute." Sunny looked at Kel, "I just woke up."

Sunny yawned.

Kel laughed, "Yeah… I guess I didn't think about that. You two have still gotta get ready! Well don't worry, take your time. Do you mind if I hang out with you guys while you do?"

The three reentered the house, Sunny and Kel both sat down at the table across from each other.

"Okay, I'm gonna shower," Basil said, "You two haven't talked in a while, so I'll let you catch up. I'll be back soon!"

"See you!"

"Bye."

Sunny studied Kel. He honestly looked the same as he always had, maybe a little taller than last year. He still went around wearing his basketball uniform, his hair still long and unkempt.

Kel smiled at him, "Seriously, Sunny, It's good to see you again."

"It's good to see you."

The two sat quietly for a moment, but being one to never let a silence turn awkward Kel immediately picked back up a conversation.

"You and Basil kept in touch, huh?"

Sunny nodded.

"I understand, you two definitely always got each other the most. Still though dude, I missed you! You've gotta reach out more."

"Sorry," Sunny looked down, "I thought you didn't like me."

"Seriously! Aw, man." He sighed, "Sunny, of course I like you. I don't think I could ever not like you. You're my friend! You know that, Aubrey… Hero, we're all your friends still."

Sunny looked back up at Kel, and nodded. Was that really true? Had there really been nothing to worry about? He heard the hesitation in his voice when he said Hero's name. Kel wasn't even confident that Hero would be okay around him.

Still… Kel and Basil were enough. Aubrey seemed to be interested in seeing him again too. Maybe Kel wasn't wrong.

"I should've done more, Sunny." Kel lifted his hands apologetically, "This last year, yeah. But… before everything happened too. I never gave up on you, you know. I just couldn't come by every day like I did at the start. It was killing me."

He sighed.

"Still, I wonder what would've happened if I tried more. Maybe you would've come out sooner."

Sunny shook his head.

"Maybe not. But I wish I would've tried. I missed you, Sunny. A lot," he looked the other boy in the eyes, unusually serious, "Stick around this time, okay? I've got your back. We all do."

"Thank you…" he smiled, "You mean it?"

"Totally. You don't gotta stress about it anymore. I mean, look, we're all going back to Gino's today! I know Hero's not here yet, but he will be."

Hero's name brought back the silence.

Kel bit his lip, "I know Hero's a wild card right now. I think he misses you too, really. We've gotta trust him. He's been kind of distant with me too this year, it's not just you. It's everyone. Though, I guess that might just be worse."

He laughed apologetically.

"We'll figure it all out when he's here, okay? Today, let's focus on getting Aubrey with us."

Sunny nodded. He felt a little bit better about everything now. He was still worried about Hero, but that was just going to be a bridge they crossed when they got there.

Kel continued to talk about how school had been the last year, how he'd been accepted into a school on a sports scholarship, how he was going to be leaving the state just like Hero had. He said he was going to miss Sally a lot, and it would be hard leaving his friends.

"Still, Hero did it!" he flashed a smile, before it rapidly faded, "Well, I guess the circumstances were different, but… he did it!"

"Sometimes I wonder if I should've just stayed in town, gone to community, you know?"

Sunny nodded along to everything Kel said, he didn't seem to mind he wasn't talking much. He apparently had a lot on his mind he needed to let out. He supposed he might not have too many people to talk to. With Hero being gone, Aubrey would be his only option. For some reason he couldn't imagine Kel venting to Aubrey.

A chair pulled out besides Sunny, causing him to jump. Basil sat down and smiled, "Sorry, Sunny. Didn't mean to scare you there."

The boy's hair was still wet, clinging to the sides of his cheeks with drips of water traveling down his chin, splashing off onto his sweater. The same one he'd gotten him yesterday. He wore it. The boy seemed to glow. His chest felt warm for a second. He forced himself to get up.

"Okay. I guess I should shower too."

The group stood outside of Aubrey's house. The sun was much higher in the sky now, it couldn't be any earlier than eleven. Kel, Basil, and Sunny had all hung out at the house for a bit, though it took Kel a bit of convincing to not get her immediately. Sunny and Basil both agreed it made sense to wait to get her until it was closer to lunch. Besides, Kel wanted breakfast. Sunny skipped it.

Kel leaned down and whispers in Sunny's ear, "Aubrey still isn't super cool about having people over, but she actually let me come inside last week, for her birthday.. It's still not the best in there. I don't know what she's gonna be like this time."

Her birthday had been recently, Sunny sent her a text with a lot of confetti emojis. He always remembered his friends' birthdays.

With that, Kel knocked on the door, "Aubrey! Guess who's here!"

Silence for a moment.

The door swung open.

She stood as tall as before, which was a little taller than him, though a little less intimidating this time. A bright yellow jacket accompanied her classic black shirt. The only big difference was her pink hair had been cut short.

Her presence felt softer, a little more like it had when they were kids.

"Sunny," she smiled, "It's great to see you again."

He nodded, "It's good to see you."

She looked at them all, and sighed.

"Well, what are you all waiting for? Come on in."

She led the way back to her room, carefully navigating over trash strewn across the house. Her eyes were focused intently only on her destination, she never seemed to look around her. Before they knew it they all sat on the floor of her room. Her room felt like a different world compared to the rest of the house. A peaceful island.

"Look at us! All back together! Almost!" Kel said, "Awesome, or what?"

Aubrey laughed and shook her head, "You're too much, Kel. You're gonna overwhelm Sunny."

"Am not!"

She looked at Sunny and tipped her head, "How have you been doing, Sunny?"

"Okay. Better."

She nodded, her eyes softening, "Good. I like to hear that. Kel hasn't been trouble?"

"I'm right here," Kel muttered.

"No. He's been nice," Sunny looked at Basil, "Basil too."

"They better be."

"So! We were all thinking about going to Gino's for lunch, does that sound okay to you, Aubrey?" Basil interjected.

"Totally! That sounds awesome. It's too bad Hero isn't gonna be there, though he's kinda been a jerk this last year," she sighed, "Not that I can blame, him I guess."

"He's just having a hard time!" Kel protested.

"Yeah, yeah. It doesn't matter, we'll see him soon."

She looked at Sunny, "He better not be bad to you. You tell me if he's mean."

Sunny nodded.

Aubrey seemed really protective of him. She always did seem to care about him a lot. It made him feel a lot better knowing he had his friends on his side.

Kel looked frustrated with Aubrey but shook his head, "I guess we should get going then, huh? Gino's is waiting!"

Everyone nodded in agreement, standing up, navigating back through the house.

Now a group of four, they all walked together down the sidewalks of Faraway town. It'd been a long time since they'd been together like this. It did feel weird without Hero, Aubrey was right about it being too bad that he wasn't there. He didn't like the tension he felt between Aubrey and Kel, though Sunny supposed it was nothing new. Of course they were going to be a little on edge right now, especially around the topic of Hero. It is Kel's brother after all. Still, Kel seemed to move on from it pretty fast. He'd matured a lot in that way.

Before he knew it, they were all standing in front of Gino's. Sunny hadn't been there since the last time he'd hung out with his friends, though he didn't remember it all too well. He was excited to go back. It was always one of his favorite places they went as a group.

Soon they were all seated at a table, two large pizzas seated between them. Basil didn't think they needed more than one, but Kel insisted. Sunny was just happy to have anything at all.

"So, Sunny," Aubrey started, "How long are you supposed to be in town anyway?"

"My mom said I could stay for a while," Sunny said, "Around a month."

She grinned, "That's awesome! We're all gonna get to hang out a ton!"

Kel nodded in agreement, "We've gotta plan a bunch of fun stuff to do with Sunny! He probably misses a ton of things, like the beach! You miss the beach, don't you Sunny? It's been years!"

Sunny nodded. He did miss the beach, that was one of the places he was hoping he'd get to visit on his trip here. He was glad Kel already seemed to know.

"Sunny actually wants to have a picnic with you all too, once Hero gets here!" Basil said, almost proudly.

"Really?" Aubrey asked.

Sunny nodded, "I have the old blanket and basket with me."

"Whoa... it's been a while," Kel said, "I'm excited. I guess you're gonna be preparing the picnic then, aren't you Sunny?"

Sunny nodded.

"I bet you'll throw a great picnic. I'm in," Aubrey said.

Basil smiled at Sunny, and he looked down embarrassed. Basil had reassured him everyone would love the idea of a picnic, but he had remained uncertain until now. Now he was stressed about preparing it. They must all be used to a really high standard of picnic, how was he going to live up to it? He tried to shake off that thought as he lifted a slice of pizza from the box.

"By the way, what are you planning on doing this year, Sunny?" Kel asked in-between bites, "Are you graduating this year like us, or is it gonna take a bit longer? Totally not a bad thing if it does, don't think that! I'm just curious."

"Oh, I think I'm going to the community college out here," he looked at Basil, who nodded, "Basil said he was going to help me apply while I'm here. I missed being here, so..."

"I'm going there too!" Aubrey said, "Though... I kinda have to. Not that I don't wanna be here! I just kinda messed up my chances anywhere else. I don't mind though, you guys are gonna be there, and so is Kim. So it's no problem!"

Sunny remembered he'd seen Kim briefly while he'd been out last year. All he remembered was how she worried about Aubrey. Aubrey always seemed to worry about others, it was good someone was looking after her too.

"What? Come on!" Kel sighed, "Seriously? Everyone but me is gonna be going there?"

"Kel, I've told you," Aubrey said.

"I know! But it sucks even more now!"

"I think you're gonna be just fine, Kel."

He muttered something under his breath and kept eating.

"Do you have an idea on what you want to learn in college, Sunny?" Basil asked.

It was a question he asked him often, it was innocent but it always stressed him out. He didn't know what exactly he wanted to learn. He knew one day he was going to have to face reality, get a job, make money. That world felt so alien to him right now though. He didn't like to think about it.

Still, recently he'd had more ideas about what he wanted to learn.

"I like writing and drawing. So maybe things like that."

It really felt like an awkward family dinner, but he liked it. He felt like he was bonding with his friends on a personal level. They've never really gotten to sit and talk like this, as adults. Kind of adults.

"That's so cool!" Kel said, "I was never too good at those things."

"You're not too good at most things that aren't basketball, Kel," Aubrey said.

"First of all… you're not wrong," Kel sighed.

Sunny laughed a little, and Kel grinned.

Sunny leaned back a little in his chair, feeling full from the two slices he ate. Kel ate the most, grabbing the last slice. Though he made sure everyone else was full first.

Aubrey sighed as she watched him eat it and shook her head, "Anyway, Basil. It was nice of you to let Sunny stay at your house."

Basil shrugged, "It wasn't a problem at all! I love having him there."

She smiled, "I bet you do."

Basil glared at her and Sunny looked on confused.

Kel immediately stood up slamming his palms onto the table, "Okay! Let's go to the park!"

"Why do you get to decide?" Aubrey asked.

"Don't you all want to?"

Sunny knew he did, and everyone else's silence seemed to imply they did as well.

"See! Let's go!"

The four arrived at the park and Kel immediately began pulling on Basil's arm.

"Come on, Basil! Let's play basketball! You know how to play, don't you?"

"Uh… not really…"

"Come on then! I gotta teach you! I'm gonna teach Basil to play, then we can all play, okay guys?"

Sunny nodded, though he didn't exactly know how to play either. He knew he could never compete against Kel, still, it might be fun.

Aubrey motioned to the bench and he sat down beside her. They both watched Basil and Kel on the court, Basil was obviously having a hard time. It was kind of funny, really. He kept dropping it.

"Not much of a sporty kid, huh?" Aubrey commented.

"No," Sunny watched him fail at dribbling yet again, "I'm not either though."

"Don't worry about it, I totally suck at it too. Kel's tried to teach me a ton of times, I think he's just happy to have an excuse to teach someone else. I wouldn't be surprised if he tries you next," she paused, "Though I guess he used to try to teach you a lot, didn't he? Maybe he thinks you remember."

Sunny remembered way back when practicing with Kel on that very court. Kel really had wanted him to join the basketball team with him even though it didn't make much sense. Back then Sunny would've been barely five feet tall, if even. Which even for a middle-schooler was way too short to try out for really any sports team.

Still, Kel really wanted him to, so he tried to practice. Maybe it was just an excuse to hang out.

"That's true. I haven't played in years though."

"I guess we'll find out how good you are then, huh? You wanna be on my team? I assume he's gonna do two versus two."

Sunny really had no idea how a competitive game of basketball would operate, he'd only ever practiced throwing the ball and dribbling with Kel. He felt bad at the idea of going against Basil, but maybe it'd be fun! He hadn't done any kind of physical activity in a long time.

"So… do you like being back here?"

Sunny nodded.

"I like having you back here. Things feel more normal, y'know? Things never feel right when you're gone."

He nodded again.

"How's Basil?"

"He's nice," he paused, "I missed him."

"You two talked a lot, huh?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry I didn't talk to you as much."

"Don't worry about it!" she smiled, "Sometimes it's easy to focus on one person, I get that. I wouldn't have minded hearing from you more though. It gets lonely, only having Kel and Basil to talk too. Even Basil didn't talk to me too much."

Sunny nodded, "I think he was scared. I was too."

"I'd be scared to. But you don't have any reason to be, I promise. We're all your friends here," she sighed, "It's hard, you know? It's hard for me too. But you're my friend," she looked at him, "Besides, we've both made some pretty bad mistakes. I'd be a hypocrite to hate you."

Sunny felt tense, the conversation was getting a lot more serious than he felt comfortable with. It felt dangerously close to mentioning… her.

"I've already lost one friend. I can't lose another. For a while, I thought I had. That night I thought I had lost two," she pursed her lips, "I worry about you, Sunny. I wouldn't ever let you hang out with people you wouldn't be safe with."

She gestured to Basil and Kel, the former of which just accidentally launched a ball into the back of the latter's head, "I don't think those two could ever hate you, honestly."

Sunny nodded, "Thank you."

They both dodged around the idea of Hero. Sunny didn't know what to think of him still. In his dreams, he'd be happy and they'd all be friends again, but he knew reality was a lot worse than that.

"Alright! That's enough!" Kel cried, rubbing the back of his head, "You two! Off the bench and on the court! Me and Basil versus Sunny and Aubrey!"

Aubrey sighed and shook her head, standing up, "Well, come on, let's go! We got this, Sunny."