Chapter 2: Roads Untraveled

Weep not for roads untraveled
Weep not for sights unseen
May your love never end and if you need a friend,
There's a seat here alongside me

The six friends all began to eat dinner at Kel and Hero's house. Although their father made burgers, Hero also ordered the pizza as he promised Kel. Despite dinner not yet being done, Kel's mother brought out dessert.

"So, Sunny, how's life in your new town treating you?" Kel's mother asked.

Everyone looked over at him, aside from Kel, who was chowing down on pizza.

"..." Sunny stayed quiet.

It quickly became awkward, and everybody started looking at each other.

"It's okay." Sunny replied after a few minutes of silence.

"Well, that's good! Of course, it's always nice to have you back!" Kel's mother said.

"I bet it's nice to be back with everyone, isn't it?" Hero asked.

Sunny nodded. Basil continued eating his salad.

"It's nice to see you all together again!" Kel's father said as he entered the dining room.

"Mhm!" Kel said as he bit into a slice of pizza.

"Save some for the rest of us, please." Hero requested.

Aubrey leaned back in her chair. "Yeah, or else you'll have to pay Hero back for that."

Kel swallowed his bite of pizza. "Hey, we never agreed on that before!"

"I know." Aubrey said with a smirk. "It's only fair."

She refrained from saying anything worse since his parents were there, and they all knew it. Kim laughed to herself as she bit down into her burger.

"Say, where's Vance?" Aubrey asked.

"Oh, he stayed at home today. Got grounded." Kim replied after a minute. She wasn't one to talk with her mouth full.

"Sorry to hear that." Hero said.

"Eh, sometimes it's nice to not be stuck to him."

Basil looked over at Sunny. Neither of them said anything, but Sunny did smile at him.

"Oh, Sunny! We got you a present!" Kel said, and he hopped out of his chair.

Sunny tilted his head.

"So... Why do you have a bat with nails in it?" Kel's mother asked.

"I just feel better having it around." Aubrey replied.

"Makes her that much cooler." Kim grinned.

Kel came back in with the gift, and he set it down on the table.

"I hope your gift is better than mine was." Hero said.

"Let me guess." Aubrey started.

"Yep. Another hero sandwich." Hero replied.

"Come on, open it!" Kel said as he shoved another slice of pizza in his mouth.

"Kel, at least wait until he opens it to start going to town again!" Hero said.

"Yeah, how can you just sit there and eat pizza?" Aubrey asked.

Kel swallowed his bite of pizza. "Hey, I'm still standing here! I'm not sitting yet."

Aubrey sighed. Basil smiled, and he handed Sunny the gift.

"I just want you to know that Kel originally wanted to get you a painting of the sun." Aubrey remarked with a frown.

"You at least have to admit that I'm thoughtful!"

"Sure..." She said sarcastically before sighing.

Sunny opened the present, taking out a necklace with a sun pendant.

"Kel wouldn't go without the sun." Basil said.

"How is it? Do you like it? Put it on, put it on!" Kel clapped.

Hero chuckled. "Usually, they say something else up at college..."

"Huh? Like what?" Basil asked.

"Oh, uh... Nothing." Hero replied, sheepishly looking at his mother.

Sunny put the necklace on and he smiled at Kel. Everyone stayed silent for a minute.

"Well? How do you like it?" Kel asked. "I'm gonna have to get more creative next year! Can't get you the same gift and all!"

Hero looked at Aubrey with one eyebrow raised. Aubrey had to hold in her laughter.

"I like it." Sunny replied after another minute.

"Awesome! Yes! I did it!" Kel jumped up.

"With my money..." Hero mumbled.

Aubrey couldn't help but smirk. Kim rolled her eyes, but she smiled nonetheless. Kel's parents smiled, then they left the room after announcing that they'd be heading to bed.
Hero and Kel went to go wash the dishes, while everyone else went back to the living room. Aubrey sat on the arm of the couch, and Kim hopped onto it.

"What's it like wherever you moved to, Sunny?" Kim asked. "Any other dorks like you there?"

He shook his head, though Kim didn't see him do so.

"... Buddy? You didn't just disappear on me, right?" Kim asked.

"No, he's here. Just as vocal as ever." Aubrey replied.

"Ah, right." Kim started playing with Aubrey's hair.

"It's busy." Sunny said.

"You living in the city or something?" Kim asked.

He nodded his head. Aubrey chuckled, and she looked down at Kim.

"He nodded."

"How you like it there?" Kim asked.

"It's loud."

"Don't like that?"

"I can't hear myself think there." Sunny sighed, and he sat on the floor.

"Well... That might not entirely be a bad thing..." Basil said.

"I can't relax there." Sunny looked down, and Aubrey frowned.

"Well, at least you're with us for now, right?" Aubrey hopped off of the arm of the couch, and she sat in front of him.

Sunny looked up at her, and he smiled.

"Yeah... I like it better here."

Basil wandered around the living room, not really sure where to sit.

"Hey, flower boy, just relax for a moment, alright?" Kim said.

"I am relaxed..."

"Jeez, I wouldn't want to see you when you're stressed."

Basil looked over at Sunny's eyepatch. "No... I don't think you would."

"It's not horrible in the city... There are people there, but... They aren't really like the people here."

"You should still try to make some new friends." Aubrey put her hand on Sunny's shoulder.

"I did."

"And?"

"I didn't really like anyone."

Aubrey sighed, and Kim laughed.

"And why not?" Aubrey asked.

"They're just... I don't know..." He started shaking, and Aubrey grabbed his hand.

"Hey, hey, I didn't mean to get you worked up."

Sunny nodded. "I know..."

"Look, if you don't find any new friends, you're gonna be miserable as long as you're there. Just look at Aubrey back when all you guys left. Before she found us, well..."

"You don't need to remind me, Kim. Or any of us, for that matter." Aubrey glared at her.

Kim took a few seconds before she responded. "Sorry, I didn't mean to... You know... I just figured that I should give him an example, and... Well... You guys can relate."

Sunny and Aubrey looked at each other.

"Hm... Actually, have you ever really been angry at anyone, Sunny?" Kim asked.

The room was silent for a minute.

"No." It was a lie.

Aubrey looked away. Basil nervously fiddled with the plant by the door.

"Well, there goes a bit of that relatability, I guess." Kim chuckled.

"Yeah... I guess..." Aubrey sighed.

Kim got up, and she went over to the door.

"Where are you going?" Basil asked.

Kim ruffled his hair. "I gotta go home. My parents don't want me out too late, and frankly, I'd rather not end up grounded like my brother. Tell Kel and Hero that I'm sorry for just sneaking out while they're away."

"It's okay, Kim. I'm sure they'll understand." Aubrey smiled.

Not too long after, nighttime would set in. The five of them decided to sleep over at Kel and Hero's house. The two brothers and Basil quickly fell asleep, though Aubrey and Sunny were still awake. He got up and started pacing around, which soon caught her attention.

"Sunny, what are you doing?" Aubrey whispered.

"Thinking." He responded.

"That doesn't... God..." She got up, throwing her blanket onto Kel, who was sleeping on the floor. "Look, if you're gonna pace around, at least do it away from them. And let me come with you. Screw it, let's go for a walk."

Sunny blinked, then he nodded. The two walked out the front door, and they started going towards the crosswalk.

"What's wrong?" Aubrey asked.

"Nothing..."

"You can tell me, Sunny. You've always listened to me, so the least I can do is listen to you at least this once."

"I don't want to sleep." Sunny looked towards the street. "Everything's melded together."

"What does that mean?" Aubrey realized that she didn't take her bat with her, but that didn't really matter.

Sunny took a moment before responding. "It's complicated. I don't know how to explain it. I don't know if I want to explain it."

Aubrey sighed, then she nodded. "I get it, I mean... That's okay."

He wished he could explain it to her. If there was anyone he was willing to talk about it to, it would be her.

"I don't like thinking... Especially when I'm away from you guys."

"Okay, that's a start..." Aubrey smiled a bit.

"I don't want to live in the city. I want to live here, in my old house. I want to live with you guys. Everybody just expects me to... Replace you."

"Making new friends doesn't mean you're replacing us. Look at me. I'm friends with my crew, but they could never replace you guys." Aubrey replied.

"They did for a while." Sunny walked a bit toward the right, though Aubrey tugged his arm so that he wouldn't go farther away.

"No, they didn't. All of you guys going away hurt, and even though I was really happy with all of them, it didn't just make that pain go away. I still missed you guys. I still needed you guys." Aubrey looked at him.

Sunny looked away. "I... I'm sorry for not being there."

"Hey, I get it now. You couldn't be there. I guess none of you could've been there. I didn't really understand that at the time, but... I do now. And I want you to know that it's okay." Aubrey tugged his arm again, but this time it was to make sure that he knew that she was there.

He looked up at her, and he smiled. "Yeah... Um... Thank you."

"It's okay to make new friends, Sunny. I know you said you've tried, and I do believe you, but... Something inside just isn't letting you do it. That's my guess, anyways."

He looked down as they arrived at the crosswalk. Aubrey looked around to see if any cars were coming.

"Everything's been fine without me?" Sunny emphasized the last couple of words.

"Fine? Yeah. The same? No. As good as it would be if you were here? Not in a million years." Aubrey replied. "We all missed you a lot."

Sunny smiled, though he also felt selfish. Somehow, he could still only think about himself, or at least that was what he thought. Aubrey kept looking around, this time at all of the trees. It seemed like a myriad of eyes were staring back at them, yet she didn't really mind.

"How are your folks?" Aubrey asked.

Sunny froze up, and Aubrey frowned.

"Um... Sorry, I-"

"My dad left." Sunny mumbled.

"O-Oh..."

"When I told them what happened... He... I... I never..."

Aubrey grabbed his hand. "Hey, hey. Calm down, okay? I didn't mean to make you start freaking out, let's just talk about something else, alright?"

Sunny felt like going over to the intersection, but with Aubrey keeping a tight grip on his hand, he knew that he wasn't going anywhere.

"No... No, I don't want to talk..."

"You don't have to talk, Sunny."

"I know he didn't want to leave mom... I know it's hurting her that she left..." He started shaking as he spoke.

"Sunny, stop..."

He began tearing up, and his trembling only grew worse.

"I ruined my family... I-"

Aubrey pulled him into a hug.

"Sunny, relax! Look, it's just as you said... It was an accident. You didn't mean to do it. You're still a good person!" Aubrey said, but he wasn't letting up.

"I shouldn't just get to walk around freely like this!"

"Sunny! Listen to me!"

He sniffled, and he looked up at her.

"Mari wouldn't want to see you crying right now, alright?" Aubrey looked down at him with a concerned expression.

"I know... I know..."

"Please... Smile for her, okay?"

After a few more minutes and after Sunny wiped his tears, the two walked back to Kel and Hero's house.

"Do you want me to sleep on the floor with you?" Aubrey asked.

Sunny nodded. "That'd be nice..."

"Okay..." Aubrey smiled, and she opened the door.

Afterword-

I don't really have anything to say here. I hope you liked the chapter, and I hope you're enjoying the story so far. I appreciate everyone who's reading and following this, and especially those who have favorited this. It means a lot to me. All I can really ask for is for you to leave a review so that I can better understand how to make this story the best it can be. If you don't, that's okay, I'm happy enough with you all reading it. I hope you all have a nice day.

I guess I lied with that first line.