Aubrey and Sunny

A strange boy looms over Aubrey. His hair is dark, and clings to his pale, sallow skin. His eyes are set deep in his face.

Aubrey does not know to be afraid.

He looks like Omori - her Omori, a boy of black and white. But where Omori is colorless, this boy looks like a washed-out painting - a facsimile of a boy (a word which Mari taught Aubrey a few days ago, one that she's been trying to pepper into her sentences ever since.)

The boy startles at Aubrey's appearance, and in spite of her initial shock, she ventures forwards. He looks.. lonely, more than he does scary. Like he's afraid no one will want him.

(I want you, whispers a voice in Aubrey's stomach. I want you to be my friend forever and ever.)

Aubrey sits down, crossing her legs in a pretzel shape. After hesitating for a moment, he sits too.

"My name's Aubrey!" She says cheerfully. "What's yours?"

The boy blinks before speaking with a voice that sounds raspy - as if it's gone unused for years.

"Sunny."

As Aubrey holds out her hand, she can't help but think this will be the beginning of an illustrious (Another new word, Hero will be so proud of her,) friendship.

_______________________________________

Aubrey doesn't understand what's happening.

The world around her is crumbling, like a broken pinata, all the pieces tearing away in the wind. The big yellow cat fell from the neighbors room and hit the ground with a fantastic crash. She's alone - all alone - and she's cold, so cold, like the darkness is going to come and take her too, eat her up starting with the guts.

Suddenly - a boy. That boy. Sunny.

Aubrey runs over to him, desperate to see a face she recognizes. "Sunny!" She cries out. "What's going on? Can you help me?" Her last sentence comes out as a whimper, in spite of all her bravery. It's starting to hurt. All her limbs are tingling like they're going to come apart.

Sunny looks at her and a complicated expression crosses his face. Aubrey doesn't know it, but it's a little bit grief, a little bit relief, and a little bit resignation.

"Aubrey..." He says quietly, and reaches out to her.

Sunny's never touched her past that first handshake. Even as she showed him all the best and shiniest parts of Headspace, he stayed one pace away from her, never even patting her head. But now he opens his arms like it's second nature, and she falls into them willingly. She expects him to be cold, like everything else, but he's soft and warm and Aubrey wants to cry, but she won't, she's brave, she's a big girl. She can't let Sunny see her act like a baby.

"I'm sorry," Sunny says, and kisses her head. "I never wanted to hurt you. But I have to live my own life, beyond you all. I wish there was another way."

"Don't leave me," Aubrey says, because it's all she can say.

Sunny kisses her once more and vanishes with the wind.

And Aubrey falls.