Chapter tonal/song: Matstubs - Alice
Three young boys are playing a game. They start to run off. And as they do, the tail end of their laughter carries in the wind. Their voices echo out.
The scene fades.
Craig slowly wakes up.
"Another one…" he murmurs to himself and sits up.
The strange dreams had started to become an almost nightly occurrence by this point for Craig, and he couldn't understand as to why that is. Although he wasn't quite sure if calling them 'dreams' was exactly accurate. It didn't seem like there was any way to stop them either and he'd just need to let them play out. But part of him couldn't help but wonder when his dreams would just go back to being about random shit again…
His phone buzzes with a message from one of his friends and he reads it. He replies to a dumb group chat meme that Clyde had sent and goes about getting ready.
When arriving at school it passes by like usual for him, although he found that when it came to watching the boy in orange, Kenny, from his class, he caught a small glimpse of him sleeping with his arms crossed under his head. He half-expected the teacher to wake him up, but instead, Kenny suddenly jolted himself awake, seeming startled from whatever dream it was that he was having. Kenny's eyes quickly scan the classroom, as if searching for something. And something they find, but it wasn't something that Craig was expecting. As soon as Kenny's eyes had found his, they stayed on him, studying him over, as if wondering if Craig was really there or not. They eventually left Craig's, but it felt like there was something more behind them. Almost as if he was silently trying to speak with Craig. And in that moment, a thought began to bubble up in the back of his mind.
Could Kenny be having the same kind of dreams as him?
Now, for the rest of that day Craig found the notion of that thought to be a bit ridiculous. He didn't even know how something like that could be possible, and it was just one instance in class that he was probably overthinking way too much. Because Kenny having those dreams wouldn't make sense, especially when… No. Not after all this time… Still though, part of him couldn't help but think that it wasn't too far of a stretch either. Especially if it was related to back then. The look in Kenny's eyes that kept appearing in his mind, told him so.
As Craig ponders on these thoughts in his room and what any of this could possibly mean, the strange pull from before comes back. It was as if something was trying to reach out and call him.
The weekend comes, Craig spends half of it with his friends over a voice chat and the other half running an errand. His parents were both out and when asking why his sister couldn't just do the errand, they told him she was sick and that the weather was too cold for her to go out in. This of course made him the designated one to brave the freezing cold; it didn't help that it was snowing either. Whatever, he didn't care, he just wanted to drop off this dumb letter, that he was now tasked with, for some distant aunt's birthday at the post office, and hurry the fuck back to the warmth of his home as fast as he goddamn could.
He delivers the letter a short while later and hurries to head back home. However, on his way back, something across the street catches his eye causing his pace to slow.
It was Kenny.
He was sitting on a bench, to which Craig figures he was probably waiting to meet one of his friends, or girlfriend, or something. He's about to keep on walking, but something in Kenny's movement stops him. He watches as the other sways a bit, then suddenly sees him fall to his side, then to the ground.
At first, all Craig does is stare in surprise and wonder what the hell to do, before he gets the idea that it might be good to check on him. He hurries over, slowing down once he reaches him. Part of him was still unsure on how to handle the situation, but he at the very least wanted to know if he was still alive.
He reaches out a hand and gently shakes him.
"Um… Kenny…?" he asks, hesitant. He slowly turns him onto his back and examines him. "Hey, are you okay?" he gently shakes him again, "Come on man, don't tell me that you froze to death or some shit out here," he mutters to himself, "that would really suck…"
As the lack of response prolongs, Craig starts to think that Kenny may have actually froze to death and starts to worry about what to do. He thinks of calling the police, or an ambulance, or something, and pulls out his phone. But Kenny's eyebrows furrow together and he stops to look back at him. A couple seconds later, Kenny's eyes open. They seem distant, as if he's not fully there, before they focus on the side of the bench, then move over to Craig's face.
"Craig…?" he says, quietly.
A bizarre surreal twinge of some sort passes through Craig. It'd been so long, so long since he'd heard the other say his name, that he was almost certain that he had forgotten how to say it, or what it even was by this point.
"Yeah," Craig replies.
"Where…" Kenny trails off.
"You passed out in the cold," Craig tells him, "I happened to be passing by and saw you collapsed on the ground. Wasn't sure if you were even still alive or not to be honest."
"Oh…"
Kenny's lack of response to the situation worries Craig a bit. The guy had seemed like he was on the verge of death, but he almost seemed like he didn't care about it either. It almost looked as if he was lying down willingly at death's door, waiting for it to take him or something. The tired bags under his eyes didn't help either. It looked as if he could close his eyes again and that would be it.
"How long have you been outside?" Craig asks, in thought.
"I don't know… what time is it?"
"9:18 a.m.," Craig replies, checking his phone.
"Oh, since six then."
Shock crosses Craig's face. He had figured it was a while, but didn't think he had been out for that long.
"Six?!" Craig exclaims, "Why the hell have you been out since then?! No wonder why you look like you're about to die!"
"Mmm, it's peaceful out here though, don't you think?" Kenny hums.
Craig can't tell if Kenny is being serious in what he says, or just has a very morbid sense of humor. Either way, he's had enough by this point and can't just sit by and watch anymore.
"Alright, that's it," Craig says, putting his phone away, "sit up."
"Why?"
"Because you're going to freeze to death if you stay like this," Craig points out.
"What's so bad about that?" Kenny asks, looking up at the sky.
There's a strong unease that settles in Craig at that. And something that seems very off in the way in which Kenny had said it. Almost as if he were truly wishing for it to be the case.
"No," Craig replies, "sit up, or I'm going to call the police to come and get your ass."
Kenny glances back over at him, as if to say 'leave me alone', but Craig only glares defiantly in response at it. Unwavering.
"Fine," Kenny mutters and looks away. Slowly, he turns to the side and pushes up to a seated position, "Happy?"
"Not yet, " Craig replies and stands, "get up."
Kenny looks up at him, as if searching for something before looking away again.
"Just go. I'll be fine," Kenny tells him.
"I'm not going to leave when you just said you were fine with freezing to death," Craig deadpans.
"I'm not going to…"
"I don't believe you. Stand up."
"I'm telling you I won't…"
"Look, I'm not just going to let you die in front of me, when I know that I could've helped," Craig tells him.
"Helped…" Kenny repeats, his voice distant. He stays quiet for a while longer, as if thinking something over, then sighs, "Alright," he finally agrees. He attempts to stand, but nearly falls, Craig steadies him, but Kenny shakes his head as a way to signify that he's fine and straightens up, "Now what?"
"Follow me," Craig replies.
Kenny gives a curious look, but does as he says and follows. It takes a while, and Craig suspects that Kenny is in pain from being out in the cold for so long as he trails behind. He guides Kenny back to his place after some time and walks to the front door. When he turns around, he finds Kenny now standing at the end of the pathway leading to it.
"Well?" Craig asks.
"Well what?" Kenny asks back.
"You coming in or not?"
Kenny looks at him and the house a couple times, as if unsure.
"I…" he trails off.
"Oh my god," Craig mumbles, walking over to him, "honestly, come on. I'm sick and tired of being in the cold. You can't tell me that you aren't as well," he grabs him by the arm and pulls him along. They enter the house and are instantly met with a wave of warmth consuming them. Craig shuts the door and removes his jacket and boots. "Take a seat on the couch or armchair, either one, I don't really care," he tells Kenny as he heads upstairs, "I'll be back in a sec."
He returns a short while later with a blanket in his arms and sets it down on the couch. He looks at Kenny, who's now sitting in the armchair with his coat on. Still seeming to be unsure as to what to do exactly.
"You can take your coat off you know," Craig tells him, "it's covered in snow and starting to drip."
Kenny pauses, as if debating on it, before he slowly removes it. Craig takes it from him and hangs it up, next he grabs the blanket off of the couch and hands it to him. Kenny takes it, slowly, and wraps it around himself, pulling his legs up and close to himself into a huddled ball, his gaze drifting away as he does so.
"You want some like, coffee? Or anything?" Craig offers.
"No thanks…" Kenny says and pulls the blanket closer to himself.
Craig doesn't say anything and only gets up to head to the kitchen. He could tell that Kenny was trying to hide how red his skin had become from the sheer cold when he handed his coat over to him. It must've been stinging by this point, or burning, if past experiences of long exposure in the snow were anything to go by for him.
He puts on a kettle and waits for it to whistle before pouring the hot water from it into two mugs he has set up. After he finishes, he heads back to the living room and sets them down on the coffee table placed between the couch and armchair.
"Here," Craig motions.
"But I said I didn't…."
"I know, but got you one anyways," Craig shrugs.
Kenny stares at it for a long while, watching the steam rise out of it, before looking back at Craig.
"What is it?"
"Hot chocolate."
Kenny looks at the mug again, hesitating, before slowly reaching for and taking it. He doesn't take a sip out of it, and instead just holds it close in his hands, as if trying to soak up its warmth into his body. Kenny's bright red flaring fingers create a stark contrast to the dark green of the mug in his hands as he holds it. There's something both oddly endearing and somber that Craig finds in the action, but isn't sure as to why that is exactly.
Eventually, Kenny takes a sip out of it and holds it there. As if taking it all in. The taste, scent, warmth, everything. There's something about it that Craig can't help but smile at, but it quickly fades when Kenny looks at him.
"What?" Kenny asks.
"Nothing," Craig replies, "just, you never said why exactly you were out roaming the freezing cold streets at six in the morning."
"Just seeing the sights," Kenny replies.
"The sights?" Craig monotones back with an arched brow.
"Mhmmm," Kenny hums, taking another sip.
Craig sighs to himself, he knew that Kenny most likely wouldn't share his real reason and decides to just let it be. He wasn't going to push him on it, not when he finally got the chance to talk with him again after so long. After so long… His mind wanders to distant memories, triggering a thought that had been on his mind lately. Briefly he thinks if he should bring it up or not, or how to even bring it up. But it had been gnawing away at the back of his mind for a while now, and there was only one way in which he would get an answer for it.
"So uh, hey, I know this might sound a bit strange, and you can feel free to just ignore it if you want, but uh…" Craig stops, trying to figure out how to phrase this.
"But what?" Kenny repeats.
"I was just wondering if maybe you've been having any uh, like, strange or odd dreams lately?"
As soon as the question is asked, Kenny freezes and grips harder at the mug in his hands.
"What do you mean?" Kenny asks, hesitantly.
"I just, I've been having these strange dreams about our past and stuff, and I was wondering if maybe… you've been having them too at all? Or if it's just me."
"What makes you think I'm having those kinds of dreams?" Kenny asks, after a brief pause.
"Well I don't. But I saw you asleep in class the other day and just got this feeling that maybe you might be, or something, I don't know…" Craig tries to explain.
There's another pause from Kenny, a long one, as if contemplating on answering or not. The air starts to weigh and Craig begins to feel as if maybe he shouldn't have asked that question.
"I have been…" Kenny finally says, stopping Craig from changing the topic.
"Really?" Craig asks, surprised.
"Yeah, for a while now."
"I wonder what it could mean…"
"I don't know," Kenny mumbles.
A silence falls.
"You don't think that," Craig starts and looks at Kenny, "he could be behind this… do you?"
"I… I don't know…. maybe," Kenny replies.
"It's been so long since I've last seen him and now all of these… 'dream-memories' are coming back to us both. I can't help but wonder if…"
"…That means he may be back too?" Kenny finishes saying.
"Yeah," Craig nods.
"Maybe, who knows," Kenny quietly says, "but knowing him and how he was, I wouldn't be surprised if he were somehow behind this."
The two fall back into a long silence, neither one knowing what to say or how to react, but both mutually feeling uncertain of what lies in store next.